I submit that swimming is one of the worst sports in terms of following fad techniques simply because someone has been successful using that technique.
I submit that talent or genetics, aerobic capacity, workout intensity as well as mental toughness play a far greater roll than mere stroke technique in the end.
Seems like the US latches on to the winner's stroke techniques all too often as the way explain success and teach kids. Front quadrant swimming like Ian Thorpe..... head down sprinting like Popoff..... these guys would be successful in their events with or without these techniques in my opinion.
Except for the latest cheating techniques...... i.e. flip turns on backstroke, underwater dolphin kick on backstroke, head under on breastroke, full body suits, and the soon to be dolphin kick on breastroke pull outs, the sport has not improved a whole lot in the last 25 years.... especially when you compare it to 25 years previous to 1980..... (1955)
Thought for the day...... :-)
John Smith
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Allen Stark
I take great issue with the idea technique isn't important,it's huge.Without good technique you don't have a chance. That said there hasn't really been a great technique change since the sixties except in breaststroke and there the rules changed (unless you count underwater dolphin.) Basically it's been "rotate more on free and back and keep your head down". Hardly an earth shaking break through. Front quadrant swimming is not new and is one of those ideas that only works for some swimmers at some distances. The arguement between lift versus drag propulsion has been facinating, but has had surprisingly little effect on how most elite swimmers swim.I think the biggest reaso times dropped so much in the late 60's and 70's is goggles. Until comfortable goggles came out yardage was limited by eye pain.
But how technique is explained and what is seen as proper technique has changed dramatically. Rotation is a major change in stroke construction. It used to be that no sprinter was to rotate, now many do. When & how you breath has changed very much, especially in distance swimming. I was watching a friend who used to swim in the seventies. He has just begun to swim again. His technique looks very odd. His head is high. His elbows are very bent throughout the stroke, almost going completely underneath him. His kick is very narrow and he never rotates. He was a better than average college swimmer thirty years ago.
The lift versus drag argument is fascinating. It amazes me that we still can't determine which of hte two really propels a swimmer forward. I bet that in time we will understand that both do. I think that they probably work together at different times inthe stroke.
I remember when I got my first pair of goggles. My father, who had been a swimmer in the 30s, said that they were too much of a nuisance to really be taken over by the everyday swimmer. Now even the slowest lap swimmer uses them. And look at other equipment we use. All of the training devises have really changed the way we spend time in the water. Many swimmers now use sometype of weighted devise when they are practicing. There was an article about them in Swimming Wrold. I've heard that one reason Shoeman is so strong is because he uses weighted buckets on a pulley system when he swimms. I remember when many people thought that using a stretch belt was a bad idea.
Some might ask what is a fad. I thnk that many everyday, common practices started as fads. This is especially true in sports. Look at West Coast Offense in football.
Originally posted by Allen Stark
I take great issue with the idea technique isn't important,it's huge.Without good technique you don't have a chance. That said there hasn't really been a great technique change since the sixties except in breaststroke and there the rules changed (unless you count underwater dolphin.) Basically it's been "rotate more on free and back and keep your head down". Hardly an earth shaking break through. Front quadrant swimming is not new and is one of those ideas that only works for some swimmers at some distances. The arguement between lift versus drag propulsion has been facinating, but has had surprisingly little effect on how most elite swimmers swim.I think the biggest reaso times dropped so much in the late 60's and 70's is goggles. Until comfortable goggles came out yardage was limited by eye pain.
But how technique is explained and what is seen as proper technique has changed dramatically. Rotation is a major change in stroke construction. It used to be that no sprinter was to rotate, now many do. When & how you breath has changed very much, especially in distance swimming. I was watching a friend who used to swim in the seventies. He has just begun to swim again. His technique looks very odd. His head is high. His elbows are very bent throughout the stroke, almost going completely underneath him. His kick is very narrow and he never rotates. He was a better than average college swimmer thirty years ago.
The lift versus drag argument is fascinating. It amazes me that we still can't determine which of hte two really propels a swimmer forward. I bet that in time we will understand that both do. I think that they probably work together at different times inthe stroke.
I remember when I got my first pair of goggles. My father, who had been a swimmer in the 30s, said that they were too much of a nuisance to really be taken over by the everyday swimmer. Now even the slowest lap swimmer uses them. And look at other equipment we use. All of the training devises have really changed the way we spend time in the water. Many swimmers now use sometype of weighted devise when they are practicing. There was an article about them in Swimming Wrold. I've heard that one reason Shoeman is so strong is because he uses weighted buckets on a pulley system when he swimms. I remember when many people thought that using a stretch belt was a bad idea.
Some might ask what is a fad. I thnk that many everyday, common practices started as fads. This is especially true in sports. Look at West Coast Offense in football.
