The first loss of a master is memory, the second...I forgot. I probably have already asked this question, but here goes:
Does anyone bring their arm straight down and out after the grab? I am talking no sculling, no lateral movement, just bringing the arm straight parallel with the line maintaining the elbow high position. This would be to avoid crossing the midline with your forearm. Even though I breathe on the left, I still rotate fully to the right (a learned and trained and voluntary movement), but even so my right forearm tends to the middle, while my left arm has less pull and is erractic. When I learned the crawl it was from watching Tarzan movies, later when I was 16 and in a USA high school they taught the S shaped movement or the straight down and back. In those days the breathing was to one side. Last question: aside from timing both methods, what are your preferences on the long dolphin versus "less dolphin" emerging sooner method of starts and turns on a 50 meter short course freestyle race? Thanks, billy fanstone
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The vortex (tornado like turbulence behind the hand) that establishes itself as the hand moves through the water should be avoided. A vortex creates a loss of pressure the hand can exert as it tries to hold water or as it tries to create pressure on the hand. So, the sculling motion allows the hand to avoid establishing a vortex as it moves the body over it and into water that is more still. The straighter the pulling pattern the greater chance the hand has at increasing a vortex.
The body type of an individual is another important factor as one tries to establish the most effective pulling pattern. Eddy currents surrounding a moving body should be avoided by the hand. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, the larger your waist size the straighter your pulling pattern (not really a contradiction but an important nuance to consider). For example, a skinny person can move their hand under and closer to their body without fear of moving into an Eddy current while a fatter person on the other hand has less leeway-way in that regard.
To answer your question a straight arm pull should be avoided during the underwater phases of the stroke, with the extension of the arm upon the entry as the exception. Good luck, Coach T.
The vortex (tornado like turbulence behind the hand) that establishes itself as the hand moves through the water should be avoided. A vortex creates a loss of pressure the hand can exert as it tries to hold water or as it tries to create pressure on the hand. So, the sculling motion allows the hand to avoid establishing a vortex as it moves the body over it and into water that is more still. The straighter the pulling pattern the greater chance the hand has at increasing a vortex.
The body type of an individual is another important factor as one tries to establish the most effective pulling pattern. Eddy currents surrounding a moving body should be avoided by the hand. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, the larger your waist size the straighter your pulling pattern (not really a contradiction but an important nuance to consider). For example, a skinny person can move their hand under and closer to their body without fear of moving into an Eddy current while a fatter person on the other hand has less leeway-way in that regard.
To answer your question a straight arm pull should be avoided during the underwater phases of the stroke, with the extension of the arm upon the entry as the exception. Good luck, Coach T.
