I am so disgusted--I've done the TI drills, had lessons, had swim team college kids give me tips, yet I still just can't seem to get the freestyle arm action right. Do you exactly move your arm in the recovery phase the same as you move it in the fingertip drag drills? Or do you do a wind up motion of your shoulder to bring the arm out of the water? No matter what I try, I am so pathetically slow--more often than not, I am feeling like it is all wrong. I am a good breakstroker and decent flyer, and great backstroker, but geez, I need to be able to do the free - I swim about 12 miles a week. Any tips are sooooo appreciated.:bow:
Former Member
Mazzy I have no idea what your point is. I do do not see an "S" stroke when Thorpe swims. To me it is a straiight in line stroke. Side shots are not even worth looking at. The hands follow a straight line.
I really have trouble seeing what some of you are saying about Thorpe I still think you are seeing water refraction in several of his from the side video shots. His stroke looks pretty close in and not the wide pull some are talking about. Maybe I need new glasses.
geochuck, my point is simple, Thorpe is a great master of I-stroke, and s-shape stroke and I-stroke are different, period.
I've a great deal of respect for you, I simply don't see reason because you need new glass :).
There're different "version" of I-stroke, every world-class swimmer perfect his particular version, nothing new there, someone have a wider pull that the others.
You talk about that his stroke is pretty close to his body...
well, yes!
but I've no read that somebody is talking about his great wide pull...
so I've asked you what is your point.
BTW Thopre roll a lot on his side, so a close path is better.
if you look at some sprinters that roll less, you'll see a wider pull, I think that the best examples is K.L. Joyce. look at this video... www.youtube.com/watch
her upper arm is nealy parallel to the deck/floor
Here is another of Thorpe www.youtube.com/watch
and another www.youtube.com/watch
I can see how these videos can be seen as a "wide" stroke, but compared to a lot of swimmers that I have seen it is still a "tight" stroke; notice how his elbow slightly comes out but he brings it right back in (the video for the front view).
Here is another of Thorpe www.youtube.com/watch
and another www.youtube.com/watch
BTW, www.youtube.com/watch this it's even better, forget the very last part.
but what is the point ?
The thorpe's hands don't draw a S-shaped motion at all from every point of view, his elbow isn't as high and as out as the Hackett's ones but it's essentially the same stroke, hands enter at shoulders level, front quadrant type, high elbow, rounded off at the hip, look like a single peak velocity type.
The "I" stroke in my eyes puts everything that Doc Councillman talked about in the "S" stroke into play. The "S" motion he talked about because of shoudler rotation is still done. But it now appears to be an straight line when under water. I have had a bout of montezuma's revenge, when I am feeling a little better I will get in the water and make some videos and show you what I mean. Wide elbows I do not mind but wide hands to me are a no no. Yet it appears a couple of swimmers also use wide hands.
Mazzy I do understand what you are saying. The go swim video is one I have sent to many but if you look closely she has more of an old school "S" stroke. when she wears the paddles it is more like an "I" stroke. What is this old guy doing hands in elbows out oregonmasters.ning.com/.../show
