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
Originally posted by ShariL
...
My question is: Are you saying Klim has a straight arm recovery like Janet Evans? I can't picture his stroke at the moment.
...
Klim has the most straight arm recovery I have seen in 2000.
I don't think that Klim has changed his style, since.
So, Klim a sprinter, and Janet Evans a distance freestyler, they both swam with straight arms.
When Klim's arm finishes the pull, it exits the water, travels in the air extended to the maximum (zero bending of the arm in the air), the arm travels very closely above the water surface, then Klim elongates himself by throwing the shoulder forward and rolling sideways the hip that is on the side of his arm, and finally the stretched arm at the end of his elongated 6'3" body enters the water to start the catch and pull.
Klim swims completely rotary style with straight arms, similar to the motion of a windmill propelled from behind by an explosion of firm kicking.
Klim and Popov used to train with the same rotary style, at A.I.S. in Australia, under the Russian coach Touretski.
Now Popov alone trains under that coach, in Switzerland.
Straight arms in rotary style, that's also what I have seen in a 2002 video of Inge de Bruijn (Ned.), when coached by Paul Bergen (U.S.).
de Bruijn, is now back to Netherlands, and I don't know how she is swimming these days.
I have seen very often, arms entering the water in a bent shape, V-like, as this was the most prevalent style (ahead of the rotary straight arm style) in the 90s, including how Matt Biondi was swimming.
However, whether is rotary straight arm or the more common V-shape arm position, in no case there is "...putting their hand in right by their head...".
Originally posted by ShariL
...
My question is: Are you saying Klim has a straight arm recovery like Janet Evans? I can't picture his stroke at the moment.
...
Klim has the most straight arm recovery I have seen in 2000.
I don't think that Klim has changed his style, since.
So, Klim a sprinter, and Janet Evans a distance freestyler, they both swam with straight arms.
When Klim's arm finishes the pull, it exits the water, travels in the air extended to the maximum (zero bending of the arm in the air), the arm travels very closely above the water surface, then Klim elongates himself by throwing the shoulder forward and rolling sideways the hip that is on the side of his arm, and finally the stretched arm at the end of his elongated 6'3" body enters the water to start the catch and pull.
Klim swims completely rotary style with straight arms, similar to the motion of a windmill propelled from behind by an explosion of firm kicking.
Klim and Popov used to train with the same rotary style, at A.I.S. in Australia, under the Russian coach Touretski.
Now Popov alone trains under that coach, in Switzerland.
Straight arms in rotary style, that's also what I have seen in a 2002 video of Inge de Bruijn (Ned.), when coached by Paul Bergen (U.S.).
de Bruijn, is now back to Netherlands, and I don't know how she is swimming these days.
I have seen very often, arms entering the water in a bent shape, V-like, as this was the most prevalent style (ahead of the rotary straight arm style) in the 90s, including how Matt Biondi was swimming.
However, whether is rotary straight arm or the more common V-shape arm position, in no case there is "...putting their hand in right by their head...".
