Recently I watched Denis Pankratov’s finals’ swims (two golds – 100 & 200m fly) at the Atlanta Olympics. His 25m long underwater kick helped him win these events. His underwater speed was obvious as he gained a significant advantage at the breakout point over the 2nd and 3rd place finishers whose times were 52.5 sec - still good ten years later (not wearing full body suit!).
What is interesting – his underwater kick was not streamlined. His hands were 10+ inches apart and they were making a wave-like motion. This technique breaks two main rules of the efficient underwater dolphin kick demonstrated by Ian Crocker in the March issue of The Swimming World magazine:
1. Keep the hands in a streamlined position, and
2. Keep the head hidden within the streamline.
Can anyone comment on why Pankratov’s (arguably wrong?) underwater kick was still fast:dunno:
Dmitri
But how much are your arms contributing to propulsion during the streamline? Typically not at all. In Pankratov's case maybe they did contribute a little bit. But I think the main reason to keep your arms slightly apart is to assist in the full-body dolphin motion. At least for me it seems very difficult to get the entire body involved with the arms tightly locked. It's easier if they're apart. It's gotta be a trade-off, though, because you are certainly not as aerodynamic with your hands apart.
I think each person has to test out what works best for him. As Wookie says, mainstream is not the answer for everyone. I have been doing tons of SDK-ing recently, so this topic is interesting. When I watched the videos of Crocker's recent 100 free and 100 fly at the SCY Champs, he didn't even look like he was doing a "full body dolphin" in the traditional undulating S. The dolphin action was very minimal but still had unbelievable propulsion.
When I do it, I always have my hands together like Crocker. But I might test it out the other way. I never thought to try it. It doesn't seem logically like it would be as aerodynamic. It seems more like the core and lower body is activated while underwater, as Good/Evil Smith suggests? But if you're flexible, doesn't it make sense to use the streamline and the hands fully locked position? Doesn't that actually require more flexibility than the hands apart method?
Any vids of Pankratov?
But how much are your arms contributing to propulsion during the streamline? Typically not at all. In Pankratov's case maybe they did contribute a little bit. But I think the main reason to keep your arms slightly apart is to assist in the full-body dolphin motion. At least for me it seems very difficult to get the entire body involved with the arms tightly locked. It's easier if they're apart. It's gotta be a trade-off, though, because you are certainly not as aerodynamic with your hands apart.
I think each person has to test out what works best for him. As Wookie says, mainstream is not the answer for everyone. I have been doing tons of SDK-ing recently, so this topic is interesting. When I watched the videos of Crocker's recent 100 free and 100 fly at the SCY Champs, he didn't even look like he was doing a "full body dolphin" in the traditional undulating S. The dolphin action was very minimal but still had unbelievable propulsion.
When I do it, I always have my hands together like Crocker. But I might test it out the other way. I never thought to try it. It doesn't seem logically like it would be as aerodynamic. It seems more like the core and lower body is activated while underwater, as Good/Evil Smith suggests? But if you're flexible, doesn't it make sense to use the streamline and the hands fully locked position? Doesn't that actually require more flexibility than the hands apart method?
Any vids of Pankratov?
