Criticism of TI Principles

Former Member
Former Member
I've noticed at lot of dicsussion in recent threads about TI principles, As you can see from my location, I'm on the other side of the atlantic and TI has started to make an impact over here. I've come across a lot of people in my local University pool who seem to have been mesmerised by the TI message and it is now common for me to see people swimming on their sides with one outstreached arm and a submerged head. When the time comes to breath these guys have their heads so deep from pressing their bouy that they end up lifting it so high that they loose whatever alignment they had in the first place. From talking to them, none of them seem to want to develop a proper kick and build up endurance so they can develop good form. I have decided to post a list of TI priciples and my own critism of these, feel free to add to the list or post a TI defence! TI PRINCIPLE 1 Side to Side Rotation to get into Low Drag Fish-like Position Criticism Rotation is good to get extentsion and a good catch + power into the stroke, Excessive rotation slows down the stroke. TI PRINCIPLE 2 Swim DownHill Press your Bouy Criticism: Holding head too deep creates drag Makes breathing Difficult TI PRINCIPLE 3 No Kicking Criticism Kicking essential to fast swimming + to maintain good form particularly for male swimmers. TI PRINCIPLE 4 Front Quadrant Swimming/ Distance per stroke, Criticism A reasonably high Stroke rate is necessay for fast swimming, Unless you have a very strong kick a glide phase in your stroke will cause decelleration TI PRINCIPLE 5 Drills will make you a better swimmer Criticism Drills are important, but there is no substitute for good quality fast training.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Great link, Ken. I think part of TI's appeal is that it seems to offer a short cut to swimming proficiency. Mr. Laughlin even advocates that you not use the term "working out." If by success you mean simply being able to swim laps with decent (?) form, I guess TI succeeds. It's hard to be critical of anything that gets adults into the pool, although I'm not sure I buy into a cookie cutter approach (nor do I find the end product that appealing). I would be very surprised if any of the top ten swimmers in my age group are the product of this method. BTW, I tried one of the drills one day, and my wife said something to the effect of, "That's nice, but why are you swimming on your side?"
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Great link, Ken. I think part of TI's appeal is that it seems to offer a short cut to swimming proficiency. Mr. Laughlin even advocates that you not use the term "working out." If by success you mean simply being able to swim laps with decent (?) form, I guess TI succeeds. It's hard to be critical of anything that gets adults into the pool, although I'm not sure I buy into a cookie cutter approach (nor do I find the end product that appealing). I would be very surprised if any of the top ten swimmers in my age group are the product of this method. BTW, I tried one of the drills one day, and my wife said something to the effect of, "That's nice, but why are you swimming on your side?"
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