I think it is sad we have slipped down the slope we call “being civil”. Being away from these posts for the better part of a week has allowed me to look at them in a different light then before. The thoughts and feelings of many of the people who post here are very raw right now. Decency, understanding, compassion, patience and kindness have been lost to pain and anger.
I have learned some very valuable lessons over the past nineteen months. Often, anger is directly driven by pain. I read pain into many of the post here. People have offended one another and tramped on each others toes and people have been hurt emotionally.
Gosh, I am the farthest thing from a counselor or referee for that matter, but I am qualified to say that each of us has good days, and each of us has bad days. Without exception, EVERY SINGLE POSTER was decent, understanding and compassionate towards me during a very tough time in my life. Ion has a way of invoking anger and hostility in people. Having said that, he reached out to me during a very tough time and demonstrated a very different and compassionate side then the one we see here.
My point, in the final annalists we call life, what more do we really have then one another? We are a body of swimmers who share a common bond for the love of swimming and adult exercise in the water. Let us keep to this course as opposed to offending one another and fracturing our beloved sport with pain, hard feelings and anger. We are different, yet, we are the same. We all love our children, we all want to excel in life, we all want to think of ourselves are winners, we all want to be free people, we all want to raise our families and enjoy life as best we can. Regardless of how fast we are, how smart we are or anything else…. in the final toll….we all want and strive for many of the same things. As we all did on playgrounds all over the world as children, let’s shake hands and make up….
So you are saying that these same Europeans were laughing at Albert Einstein? Christians number over 1 billion worldwide, let alone Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. (Pardon to any groups I've forgotten. :) )
Anyways...
Originally posted by Ion Beza
there are two things that apply to my technique, one is 'you cannot teach an old dog new tricks'...
That's a strange comment, from someone who claims to be constantly improving himself. There are plenty of swimmers who are learning new tricks, even those who have been training since age-group swimming.
another is that at slow speed I deliver good technique but at high speed under the stress of the load technique is sacrificed in the process, not just for me but for Olympians too
I'll let you in on a secret: it's not just you and the Olympians... it's everyone. When you read the TI book, it is stated quite clearly. The point is that you give up the minimum amount of technique while you are speeding up. If your loss of stroke length balances out your increase in stroke rate, then you've gained nothing.
Just watch Popov or any other Olympian (or elite swimmer). Even at maximum speed, their technique is much better than the average (or above average) swimmer going at any pace. Their aerobic capacity makes no difference compared to the field, because they can swim faster at any energy output.
You have already shown that your conception of front-quadrant swimming does not match what other people are saying. Can't you open your mind to the *possibility* that your conceptions of what technique means, is not what everyone else is using? That you should listen and read, and make sure you understand the terms, before you start yelling your personal definitions?
So you are saying that these same Europeans were laughing at Albert Einstein? Christians number over 1 billion worldwide, let alone Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. (Pardon to any groups I've forgotten. :) )
Anyways...
Originally posted by Ion Beza
there are two things that apply to my technique, one is 'you cannot teach an old dog new tricks'...
That's a strange comment, from someone who claims to be constantly improving himself. There are plenty of swimmers who are learning new tricks, even those who have been training since age-group swimming.
another is that at slow speed I deliver good technique but at high speed under the stress of the load technique is sacrificed in the process, not just for me but for Olympians too
I'll let you in on a secret: it's not just you and the Olympians... it's everyone. When you read the TI book, it is stated quite clearly. The point is that you give up the minimum amount of technique while you are speeding up. If your loss of stroke length balances out your increase in stroke rate, then you've gained nothing.
Just watch Popov or any other Olympian (or elite swimmer). Even at maximum speed, their technique is much better than the average (or above average) swimmer going at any pace. Their aerobic capacity makes no difference compared to the field, because they can swim faster at any energy output.
You have already shown that your conception of front-quadrant swimming does not match what other people are saying. Can't you open your mind to the *possibility* that your conceptions of what technique means, is not what everyone else is using? That you should listen and read, and make sure you understand the terms, before you start yelling your personal definitions?
