https://community.usms.org/swimming/f/general/2572/straight-arm-freestyleJust wondering what the current thinking is on straight arm freestyle. By this I mean straight arm recovery as well as a straight arm pull underwater. How many swimmers are coached in this style? Age groupers and masters. Does this style require moreen-USTelligent Community 12https://community.usms.org/thread/18368?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:03:24 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:7eaee2e0-3540-4d1f-a02e-704fb1fbb969Former MemberRead the current addition of Swim. there is a very long article about the straight-arm recovery. I can&#39;t do it. As to the increased flexiblity, I don&#39;t know.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/18408?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 23 Sep 2004 11:54:43 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:367eb049-d27f-4129-8be5-7c82a1825c53Former MemberI think straight or bent-arm recovery and straight or bent-arm pulling depends on what feels right to you and works best for you. Some incredible swimmers have had straight-arm recoveries (Janet Evans for one). I know I always had a straight-arm recovery and I&#39;m working now on bending my arm more - I just feel like I can recover the arm faster, and the faster I recover, the faster I start the next pull. As far as the angle on your arm when pulling, IMHO it depends a lot on the strength of your roll and your upper body. Personally, I&#39;m able to get more distance per stroke with my arm nearly straight, but I know swimmers who have their arm at almost a 90 degree angle, directly under their body, and they do just fine. I&#39;d encourage you to experiment and find out what works best for you - our bodies are all too different to generalize about something like this!<div style="clear:both;"></div>