End of Controversy - No catch-up or straight arm catch

Former Member
Former Member
I know everyone has been watching the Olympics and if anyone sees someone (in any stroke and at any distance) not showing an Early Vertical Forearm (EVF) stroke please point it out to me. In the men’s 400 Fr Relay, Lezak’s better EVF stroke helped him touch the wall before Bernard who dropped his elbows in the last few strokes. These Olympic Games should put to rest the controversy of the catch-up stroke (never once performed by any freestyler in these Olympics). So what you see someone do in a drill (catch-up) is not done in competitive swims when it counts!! The high elbow at the front quadrant of every stroke is so pronounced that every lay-on-a-straight-arm proponent has to become a convert (I know it’s not ever going to happen). I’m anxious to hear the rationalizations and support from the opposition. If you’re watching with your eyes open, there’s no catch-up and no straight-arm catch - PERIOD!!! If you want to make significant gains in your swimming focus on improving your Early Vertical Forearm technique. Improving your EVF should take about 6 to 8 weeks and when that becomes better you should focus on improving a good streamlined position by spending as much time as possible on your side while making sure that your catch begins early. Of course athleticism goes hand in hand with improvement. But you get my drift. Nuff-said.
Parents
  • This whole argument is becoming pretty ridiculous. It's an argument over semantics. I personally prefer the term "front quadrant swimming". I think people need to look at the definition of front quadrant and why (at least according to Laughlin) it's valuable. A vertical line drawn at the shoulders and a horizontal line at the water line make the quadrants. The anterior lower quadrant should always have an arm in it at all times to be front quadrant swimming. The theory behind it is that it improves efficiency by lengthening the body, just as you go faster kicking in streamline than kicking with your arms at your side. That definition allows a lot of variability in stroke, ranging from pulling when the recovery arm is in full extension to beginning the catch/pull before the recovery arm enters the water but still being anterior to the shoulder when the recovery arm does enter. The way I have seen most of these swimmers is that their EVF is anterior to their shoulders, so being in the power pull phase when the recovery arm enters is still front quadrant. There are some swimmers who pull a little later, at least from what I've seen, but I think we all agree that none do it to the extent of the classis catch-up drill. This video of Thorpe shows a classic front quadrant stroke, but clearly a pull before the recovery arm has entered the water. www.youtube.com/watch
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  • This whole argument is becoming pretty ridiculous. It's an argument over semantics. I personally prefer the term "front quadrant swimming". I think people need to look at the definition of front quadrant and why (at least according to Laughlin) it's valuable. A vertical line drawn at the shoulders and a horizontal line at the water line make the quadrants. The anterior lower quadrant should always have an arm in it at all times to be front quadrant swimming. The theory behind it is that it improves efficiency by lengthening the body, just as you go faster kicking in streamline than kicking with your arms at your side. That definition allows a lot of variability in stroke, ranging from pulling when the recovery arm is in full extension to beginning the catch/pull before the recovery arm enters the water but still being anterior to the shoulder when the recovery arm does enter. The way I have seen most of these swimmers is that their EVF is anterior to their shoulders, so being in the power pull phase when the recovery arm enters is still front quadrant. There are some swimmers who pull a little later, at least from what I've seen, but I think we all agree that none do it to the extent of the classis catch-up drill. This video of Thorpe shows a classic front quadrant stroke, but clearly a pull before the recovery arm has entered the water. www.youtube.com/watch
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