Correcting My Freestyle: Going from an S-Pull to an I-Pull

Good luck with changing your stroke. For me, the hardest part was my catch. I had to do a lot of one-arm drills while kicking on my side to really work on keeping my elbows high during the catch. What part of the change are you having the most difficulty with? I have been doing a lot of drills. I have tried it with keeping my elbow high, but also letting it hang a little lower on my pull. I have found that by letting my elbow drop slightly, I feel I am getting a much more powerful stroke.

Can someone clear this I-pull/S-pull thing for me. When you do an I-pull with body rotation, my understanding is that there is some curving or at least change in pitch to maintain a hold on water. When people talk about the s-pull, are they talking about a conscious effort to make an S versus an unintentional curve?

Renie I like my little finger down but as long as your arm is bent it is what is comfortable for you. The body must rotate in order to do the "I" pull. So contrary to what most believe all the action of the "S" pull still happens because of body roll when you do the "I" stroke. I have done an I pull for an awfully long time. I have done it since 1958 and maybe even longer. Stud It is too bad that some need a line to follow, there are no lines on the bottom of the pool I swim in. It is a matter of body, hand co-ordination. You just put the hand in let it drop to the catch and push straight back to the finish.

I'll ask a more basic question. What are S-pulls and I-pulls?

This is a nice clip here, maybeyou could watch this and tell me is it an "S" stroke or an "I" stroke??? YouTube - èåŽŸæºå­æ•æ¸¸æ³³-自由式 You may enjoy this butterfly footage also YouTube - èåŽŸæºå­æ•æ¸¸æ³³-蝶式

I'll ask again: I was under the assumption that the I-pull is a technique for sprinters. I haven't read Maglischo's book, so maybe I'm mistaking the I-pull w/ the new sprinting technique that some of the guys used in the Olympics. Maglischo doesn't advocate a different stroke for sprinters vs. distance swimmers. He claims, with scientific evidence, that a straight pull is the most efficient way to generate thrust.

WOW. I just got called a swimming novice. Not quite, but thanks for playing. LOL OK to the stroke. Well, I am a bit of a novice in USMS terms but I've gone from swimming how I did as kid to doing high elbow fingertip, hand touch catch-up, & mailslot drill which led to mild impingement pain, and crossing over (Books have their failings in analysing your stroke). From there I went to a wide, almost over the barrel pull but lost a lot of rotation, and the last 6 months I have settled on a more body driven/momentum stroke which has worked for me, and got the rotation back. I got some pain in the front delt/rc from crossing my pull over too far in search of good rotation and have corrected that out mostly, and am now working of getting the right amount of arm bend in the "hold." OK, now I'm not going to tell you what style stroke to pick. What makes you faster (pain and injury free) is the right one for you. I have though chopped and changed a few times in 2.5 years and to drill the changes in however, I used several techniques. Flat swimming 50's and watching your arm entry width. Using a snorkel to watch underwater. Padles with finger loop only--this will magnify feel DPS swimming Using the line to guide your arm/hand (swimming off centre). One arm pull with a board and without. Slow swimming, smooth entry, let hand drop to catch and then recover...I guess it's catch up but not stictly as the book writes. You know the things to do. Definitely recommend a snorkel though as you can see more and work at it. Admittedly without a 12-18 age group swimming career, my habits may not have been so deeply ingrained so unlearning may not have taken as long. Hope my input is helpful. I have been doing a lot of drills. I have tried it with keeping my elbow high, but also letting it hang a little lower on my pull. I have found that by letting my elbow drop slightly, I feel I am getting a much more powerful stroke. Kristi, just re-read this: again from my learning in recent weeks. I was pulling a lot with the arms and bypassing the body. It felt powerful because I am a stocky guy and the muscles liked engaging, rotating was being ignored and I've worked on that, and now I feel faster. I hold, throw the recovery arm and rotate with the momentum. Just ruminating that feeling the pull could be misleading.

Let's keep it simple. Rt hand enters Rt hands thumb follows the right hand side of the black line on the bottom until you get to the finish. Repeat with the Lt hand on the left hand side of the line on the bottom. No stupid drills needed.

Let's keep it simple. Rt hand enters Rt hands thumb follows the right hand side of the black line on the bottom until you get to the finish. Repeat with the Lt hand on the left hand side of the line on the bottom. No stupid drills needed. ...and swim as flat as a pancake? Well at least I know what to do on Monday at practice with the kids...been looking for the key for weeks. George, you can't just label drills as stupid. What if there are no lines on the bottom? What if you are being forced to circle swim and can't use the line. This isn't meant as a swipe, but with respect George, maybe you're so far past your basic learning experience as a younger person that you are assuming the basic stuff is absorbed, and or ever present in the mind. I agree to a point about simplicity, I've gone a circle back to the way learned to swim as a kid, with the addition of more rotation. Drills have their place. It's not just dive in and swim until you've mastered something new--others will say it's never swim with you mind shut.

I'll ask a more basic question. What are S-pulls and I-pulls? An S pull is a freestyle pull where the hand enters in front as usual, then moves outward, then inward, before finishing straight back before exiting the water. The hand travels in an approximate S shape. An I pull (I suppose since I never heard this description before) is simple - hand enters and pulls essentially straight back. I think the S pull was specifically taught for many years, even decades because it was thought to be a more efficient/powerful technique. But Maglischo's book clearly states that modern research shows the straight pull is more efficient.