Dancing and Swimming?

Former Member
Former Member
Hello everyone, I am writing a piece on the relationship between dancing and swimming for the next issue of SWIMMER. I would love to hear your thoughts and opnions on that relationship, if you think one exists. Me, I think swimmers and dancers share grace, excellent body awareness and pointed toes :-) And more, but now it's up to you! Thanks, Laura
Parents
  • Many swimmers do not generate power properly in the long axis strokes. They may be good at longer distance swims (500 and up) but are relatively poor in the 50. I have found that this is due to the lack of engaging the core body rotation in the arm stroke. Some folks rotate the body too late (essentially after the stroke is done or nearly done) and some folks don't rotate at all. To generate maximum power, the body should rotate beginning right after the arm has a good hold on the water with early vertical forearm (EVF) and continue during the stroke. In order to do that, the leg on the stroking side must kick down (top of foot toward bottom of pool in free and bottom of foot toward bottom of pool in back) as soon as the arm is in EVF position. This down kick will push the hip of the down kicking leg up and rotate the body toward the side away from the stroking arm thus engaging the body rotation in the arm stroke and generating maximum power for maximum speed. The timing of this down kick within a six beat kick is the same rhythm as that in a waltz, namely 1,2,3, 1,2,3 where the "1" kick is the down kick on the arm stroking side. That's how it works but how do you learn this very complex movement? It is certainly not by thinking about all the words above. I have found that the best way to learn the correct timing of the body rotation in freestyle is to do the "catch up" drill being sure to breathe every stroke (on each side) very early in the arm stroke, that is, as soon as the arm has a good hold on the water with EVF. For back stroke, use hip fins and see and hear the fin make a "whopping" noise as it is forced into the water going away from the stroking arm. The hip fins can also be used with freestyle to learn (by kinesthetic feed back) how it "feels" to do the movement correctly. Once you learn this timing you can use it within the six beat kick for sprints (1,2,3,1,2,3) or use it for longer distances in a two beat kick with one down kick on with the right leg as the right arm gets a good hold on the water and starts its pull/push and one down kick with the left leg when the left arm has a good hold on the water (EVF) and begins its stroke. --------------- the rest of the story is that you need to do the drills thousands of times over months/years to perfect technique; two recent books confirm this methodology (not just for swimming skills, but for any other skill) are Compound Success by Darren Hardy Amazon.com: The Compound Effect (9781593157135): Darren Hardy: Books which talks about small efforts consistently done over long periods of time and The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle Amazon.com: The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. (9780553806847): Daniel Coyle: Books which talks about how skills (of all kinds) are taught in pockets of excellence for those skills around the world Bob Hopkins swimsmart@yahoo.com
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  • Many swimmers do not generate power properly in the long axis strokes. They may be good at longer distance swims (500 and up) but are relatively poor in the 50. I have found that this is due to the lack of engaging the core body rotation in the arm stroke. Some folks rotate the body too late (essentially after the stroke is done or nearly done) and some folks don't rotate at all. To generate maximum power, the body should rotate beginning right after the arm has a good hold on the water with early vertical forearm (EVF) and continue during the stroke. In order to do that, the leg on the stroking side must kick down (top of foot toward bottom of pool in free and bottom of foot toward bottom of pool in back) as soon as the arm is in EVF position. This down kick will push the hip of the down kicking leg up and rotate the body toward the side away from the stroking arm thus engaging the body rotation in the arm stroke and generating maximum power for maximum speed. The timing of this down kick within a six beat kick is the same rhythm as that in a waltz, namely 1,2,3, 1,2,3 where the "1" kick is the down kick on the arm stroking side. That's how it works but how do you learn this very complex movement? It is certainly not by thinking about all the words above. I have found that the best way to learn the correct timing of the body rotation in freestyle is to do the "catch up" drill being sure to breathe every stroke (on each side) very early in the arm stroke, that is, as soon as the arm has a good hold on the water with EVF. For back stroke, use hip fins and see and hear the fin make a "whopping" noise as it is forced into the water going away from the stroking arm. The hip fins can also be used with freestyle to learn (by kinesthetic feed back) how it "feels" to do the movement correctly. Once you learn this timing you can use it within the six beat kick for sprints (1,2,3,1,2,3) or use it for longer distances in a two beat kick with one down kick on with the right leg as the right arm gets a good hold on the water and starts its pull/push and one down kick with the left leg when the left arm has a good hold on the water (EVF) and begins its stroke. --------------- the rest of the story is that you need to do the drills thousands of times over months/years to perfect technique; two recent books confirm this methodology (not just for swimming skills, but for any other skill) are Compound Success by Darren Hardy Amazon.com: The Compound Effect (9781593157135): Darren Hardy: Books which talks about small efforts consistently done over long periods of time and The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle Amazon.com: The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. (9780553806847): Daniel Coyle: Books which talks about how skills (of all kinds) are taught in pockets of excellence for those skills around the world Bob Hopkins swimsmart@yahoo.com
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