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.
Parents
Former Member
Of course the hand isn't actually anchored. But when a pull is efficient, it might feel that way. I personally don't get that metaphor for my swimming. I'm a sprinter, and every time I sprint I'm thinking "max force." That's a new focus for me and it has been working very well. I just started my season this week after about a month off with a shoulder injury and I'm already hitting my best ever practice times in the 50 and 100 free. So I am enamored with Huub's research, but I still have a skeptical eye for it. I see some flaws in his experiments, even the ones that are key to the understanding on which I base my training.
As for the real world cases of top swimmers improving by focusing on stroke rate, I don't understand how a coach comes to the decision that a swimmer's stroke rate is too low. Could that be said of such low tempo superstars as Ian Thorpe and Larsen Jensen? If a swimmer doesn't have a visible hitch in their stroke, how can a coach know that they are using the wrong stroke rate?
Of course the hand isn't actually anchored. But when a pull is efficient, it might feel that way. I personally don't get that metaphor for my swimming. I'm a sprinter, and every time I sprint I'm thinking "max force." That's a new focus for me and it has been working very well. I just started my season this week after about a month off with a shoulder injury and I'm already hitting my best ever practice times in the 50 and 100 free. So I am enamored with Huub's research, but I still have a skeptical eye for it. I see some flaws in his experiments, even the ones that are key to the understanding on which I base my training.
As for the real world cases of top swimmers improving by focusing on stroke rate, I don't understand how a coach comes to the decision that a swimmer's stroke rate is too low. Could that be said of such low tempo superstars as Ian Thorpe and Larsen Jensen? If a swimmer doesn't have a visible hitch in their stroke, how can a coach know that they are using the wrong stroke rate?
