Geek...have a lot of master's on your team switched? What distances do they swim? Or is it more the club team? What is the ratio of male:female that have made the switch?
On our USMS team we have been working a lot on the catch and catch-up drills, so not necessarily a straight arm focus. I do think catch up forces more straight arm. We've also been turned away from finger tip drag/zipper drills, which tend to emphasize high bent arm.
I was referring more to the age groupers. I've definitely noticed more straight arm free swimming in the past six months. This shouldn't be construed as a blanket statement, just my general observation at our club, which is big however.
What are you seeing these days on this topic?
My experience around a large club team is different. Straight arm is back in vogue, big time.
Geek...have a lot of master's on your team switched? What distances do they swim? Or is it more the club team? What is the ratio of male:female that have made the switch?
I'm thoroughly confused by this discussion. In Jonty's article he was talking about how the new suits allowed the less efficient but more powerful "straight arm catch" versus the "high elbow catch" (emphasis mine)
It seems to me that all the discussion above concerns the straight arm or bent arm recovery. Quite a different thing altogether. Am I mistaken?
Rich...Geek and I kinda highjacked the topic. You are right...we just took it in the overwater phase of the stroke.
I have seen both. Some club teams around here have kids swimming with something between a bent and a straight arm recovery. Others focus on a high elbow.
Personally, I am not a big fan of high elbow. I think it leads to a lot of stress on the shoulders. I prefer somewhere in between, like what Marsh was talking about.
I think kids see some of the sprinters doing straight arm and want to copy it without reallying know why or the proper way to do it. Parents may push it on the kids or the kids see fast times and copy the way the swimmer swims.
I don't think there is a right and wrong way. Straight arm, high elbow, somewhere in between isn't right or wrong...it is an individual preference.
