TI Question...heard this and doesn't sound right...
Former Member
I am teaching a stroke clinic class at the YMCA. My background is USS competitive swimming (ages 8-18) and some age-group coaching. One of my students, a triathlon trainer, has been to Total Immersion. Because of his TI training, he is doubtful of any stroke correction I am giving him. Basically he has the typical problems of a short stroke...entering too close to the head and not pulling thru.
The TI triathlete is telling me that the TI "Fish" style swimming technique says the hand should enter the water just in front of the head, then reach forward. In my opinion, he needs to lengthen his stroke, rotating and reaching as far forward as possible, entering out front (not by the head). I am thinking he is mixing up some TI drill with proper freestyle SWIMMING technique. He at least agreed with me when we talked distance per stroke (and started believing I know something about swimming)...but I don't see how you can maximize DPS with hand entry by the head.
Can someone shed light on this for me? What is this "Fish" swimming in a couple sentences? And where does TI say the hand entry should be?
Thank you!!
P.S. I'm new here and enjoying reading...I swim masters and hope to compete in butterfly someday...I'm waiting it out until I get a bit older so can face the competition. My butterfly has held out better than my other strokes (used to be a long distance freestyler too).
P.P.S. I did a search on TI and read some of the posts but they didn't quite get to my specific question above.
Parents
Former Member
Shari,
Please, read Emmett's article on Front Quadrant Swimming. (www.usms.org/.../circles.htm) To answer your specific question on reach, your swimmer is DEAD WRONG about not making full extension. As I understand the TI paradigm, we talk about not just reaching fully forward towards the other end of the pool (hence the phrase "swimming taller," but it also means more than simply full reach forward), but also a momentary, fraction of a second glide in that position (on your side, BTW) as the recovering arm moves forward. I want to emphasize, exactly where his recovering hand enters the water is not terribly important. What is important is full extension on his side and waiting until the hand on his recovering arm passes his ear before initiating the pull and roll to the other side. When you see the video, look at the switch drills very carefully ("stop-stop-switch," and "triple switch"). Please also note how many of the earlier drills work on getting comfortable fully reaching forward, and just kicking, while on your side. Not sure where he got the idea of cutting his pull short at the very beginning.
As far as TI being good ONLY for triathletes, that is a bum rap. Yes, TI is particularly useful for triathletes and beginners because it is a structured program that addresses their most common stroke flaws without piling on miles of yards to help them "get into shape" before they work on mechanics. However, as I have previously indicated, Adrienne Binder, world ranked in the 1500m, follows TI. If I can drag Paul Smith into this discussion (kicking and screaming, perhaps), there are many elements of his training program that sound like they have TI concepts in them (Paul may or may not agree with that characterization). The Orchard Park High School girls swim team follows TI, and they are routinely in the hunt for the NY State HS Championship (see "Long Strokes in a Short Season," by their head coach). And if I can add my own humble self, I swam varsity high school, D-III college, and many years of Masters, discovered TI in 2001, and am now swimming faster in all races at 42 than I was swimming at 32.
TI is one of several ways to approach swimming. It may or may not be for you, but it does work for those who like it.
Matt
Shari,
Please, read Emmett's article on Front Quadrant Swimming. (www.usms.org/.../circles.htm) To answer your specific question on reach, your swimmer is DEAD WRONG about not making full extension. As I understand the TI paradigm, we talk about not just reaching fully forward towards the other end of the pool (hence the phrase "swimming taller," but it also means more than simply full reach forward), but also a momentary, fraction of a second glide in that position (on your side, BTW) as the recovering arm moves forward. I want to emphasize, exactly where his recovering hand enters the water is not terribly important. What is important is full extension on his side and waiting until the hand on his recovering arm passes his ear before initiating the pull and roll to the other side. When you see the video, look at the switch drills very carefully ("stop-stop-switch," and "triple switch"). Please also note how many of the earlier drills work on getting comfortable fully reaching forward, and just kicking, while on your side. Not sure where he got the idea of cutting his pull short at the very beginning.
As far as TI being good ONLY for triathletes, that is a bum rap. Yes, TI is particularly useful for triathletes and beginners because it is a structured program that addresses their most common stroke flaws without piling on miles of yards to help them "get into shape" before they work on mechanics. However, as I have previously indicated, Adrienne Binder, world ranked in the 1500m, follows TI. If I can drag Paul Smith into this discussion (kicking and screaming, perhaps), there are many elements of his training program that sound like they have TI concepts in them (Paul may or may not agree with that characterization). The Orchard Park High School girls swim team follows TI, and they are routinely in the hunt for the NY State HS Championship (see "Long Strokes in a Short Season," by their head coach). And if I can add my own humble self, I swam varsity high school, D-III college, and many years of Masters, discovered TI in 2001, and am now swimming faster in all races at 42 than I was swimming at 32.
TI is one of several ways to approach swimming. It may or may not be for you, but it does work for those who like it.
Matt
