Fqs

What really amazes me in listening to swimmers talk about technique/style is the "one size fits all" mentality. By that I mean that people seem to think that you should use the same technique for all events and/or the same style as a certain swimmer. In most sports there are a *set* of techniques that are generally considered "good" based on, say, distance being covered and then these are modified by each person (i.e. their individual style) based on the indviduals' limitations. In track you do not use the same technique in running the 100 meters as you do in the marathon. Likewise each person in an event has stylistic variations. So when I hear people say "You should swim like Phelps/Evans/Thorpe/Weismuller/etc" and then get nearly religious about it, I scratch my head. I do TI-style swimming. However, I have modified it to meet my individual limitations. So, for example, since I have the world's least flexible ankles and *NO* kick, I take an extra few strokes to get across the pool and not make lowered stroke count the only thing that matters. I have found that if the count goes too low, I "stall" since my kick will not carry through a dead spot. Instead of taking 11 strokes to get across the pool - which I can "force", I take 14 fairly comfortably. Furthermore, if I sprint (a sad sight), I change my technique to be slightly less TI-like and less efficient in favor of slightly higher turnover. If I use extra oxygen in a 50, who cares as long as I go faster? - It gets paid back after the sprint. Bruce Lee became the legendary martial artist he was by judiciously borrowing what he thought was the best of various martial arts and not by one school of thought. There are many paths to the same end. -LBJ

What really amazes me in listening to swimmers talk about technique/style is the "one size fits all" mentality. By that I mean that people seem to think that you should use the same technique for all events and/or the same style as a certain swimmer. In most sports there are a *set* of techniques that are generally considered "good" based on, say, distance being covered and then these are modified by each person (i.e. their individual style) based on the indviduals' limitations. In track you do not use the same technique in running the 100 meters as you do in the marathon. Likewise each person in an event has stylistic variations. So when I hear people say "You should swim like Phelps/Evans/Thorpe/Weismuller/etc" and then get nearly religious about it, I scratch my head. I do TI-style swimming. However, I have modified it to meet my individual limitations. So, for example, since I have the world's least flexible ankles and *NO* kick, I take an extra few strokes to get across the pool and not make lowered stroke count the only thing that matters. I have found that if the count goes too low, I "stall" since my kick will not carry through a dead spot. Instead of taking 11 strokes to get across the pool - which I can "force", I take 14 fairly comfortably. Furthermore, if I sprint (a sad sight), I change my technique to be slightly less TI-like and less efficient in favor of slightly higher turnover. If I use extra oxygen in a 50, who cares as long as I go faster? - It gets paid back after the sprint. Bruce Lee became the legendary martial artist he was by judiciously borrowing what he thought was the best of various martial arts and not by one school of thought. There are many paths to the same end. -LBJ