In looking at the animation on www.swimsmooth.com I see that the hand follows a straight path front to back. This is probably better seen when looking up at the swimmer from under water. If you put a ruler to the path it is pretty much a straight line.
Now, I've seen and I've read posts that talk about a non-linear path. I guess the idea is to always try to accelerate new water rather than applying force to water that you've already accelerated.
So...why do they show a straight path.
And, if curved is better, what is the best path?
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Former Member
Here's a link to a Sun Yang video that shows his armpull path pretty well:
2011ä¸–ç•Œæ¸¸æ³³é”¦æ ‡èµ›ç”·å1500米自由泳决赛-2 - YouTube
My takeaways are that he really does an early bent-arm grab; and the forearm rotates fairly horizontal at mid-pull, when there is a subtle hand traverse toward the body's centerline.
So that the overall pull path is neither straight, nor S, but a slight sweeping arc, like the rail outline to a big-wave surfboard. Which is about as long as Sun Yang is, when he's stretched out.
Here's a link to a Sun Yang video that shows his armpull path pretty well:
2011ä¸–ç•Œæ¸¸æ³³é”¦æ ‡èµ›ç”·å1500米自由泳决赛-2 - YouTube
My takeaways are that he really does an early bent-arm grab; and the forearm rotates fairly horizontal at mid-pull, when there is a subtle hand traverse toward the body's centerline.
So that the overall pull path is neither straight, nor S, but a slight sweeping arc, like the rail outline to a big-wave surfboard. Which is about as long as Sun Yang is, when he's stretched out.
