Recently I've forced myself to do flip turns in practice, hoping I'll get better/faster at them. My question is about hand position. Many years ago I'd use my hands to scull and help flip me over. Now, however, after some experimentation, I'm just using my torso and a dolphin kick to turn myself over. My hands stay in front of me the whole time as far as I can tell. This seems to put them in a streamlined position faster so I'm ready to push off faster. Back to the question part: Is/does this sound right? It feels faster, but I don't know if I'm missing something. Any help/suggestions is/are appreciated. Thanks.:wiggle:
Parents
Former Member
There is a video here of how to do a flip turn www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Noodle flip www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Add to this the balanced push off notice the streamline www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Well, I can really reccommend that you check out the links George has provided esp. the first one. Some really solid advice there:
Now for the key aspect of this drill: TUCK the knees toward the chest. Get them as close as you can, and create the smallest possible circle with your body. Remember (and we can’t stress this enough): The smaller you can make your body, the faster you spin. And the faster you spin, the sooner you're ready to come off the wall, and the more speed you carry off the wall.
In fact, I tried this out immediately in my practice this afternoon and it made a remarkable difference. I hadn't thought about tucking my knees up to my chest but you really do turn more quickly in a tight ball. Duh! In the past I was turning with my legs almost straight. With your knees under your chin and your legs like a coiled spring you get much more of a push off from the wall too. Double bonus. In fact, I was turning so quickly I was getting this lightheaded feeling but then I do get dizzy very quickly. The only downfall was that I missed the wall a couple of times. This is bound to happen when trying out a new technique and will sort itself out over time.
Thanks again for the link George.
Syd
There is a video here of how to do a flip turn www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Noodle flip www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Add to this the balanced push off notice the streamline www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Well, I can really reccommend that you check out the links George has provided esp. the first one. Some really solid advice there:
Now for the key aspect of this drill: TUCK the knees toward the chest. Get them as close as you can, and create the smallest possible circle with your body. Remember (and we can’t stress this enough): The smaller you can make your body, the faster you spin. And the faster you spin, the sooner you're ready to come off the wall, and the more speed you carry off the wall.
In fact, I tried this out immediately in my practice this afternoon and it made a remarkable difference. I hadn't thought about tucking my knees up to my chest but you really do turn more quickly in a tight ball. Duh! In the past I was turning with my legs almost straight. With your knees under your chin and your legs like a coiled spring you get much more of a push off from the wall too. Double bonus. In fact, I was turning so quickly I was getting this lightheaded feeling but then I do get dizzy very quickly. The only downfall was that I missed the wall a couple of times. This is bound to happen when trying out a new technique and will sort itself out over time.
Thanks again for the link George.
Syd
