Ugly & Fast

I've found that I can't sustain straight-arm free for very long. It seems faster initially for me, but it gets messy in a hurry, and then I slow down. It never occurred to me to use it as a weapon at the end of a race, like switching to a 6-beat kick. Maybe I'll try switching to straight-arm for the last 25 of the 400 IM... :banana:

Jim...don't forget...UCSB and Cal have some long-standing ties I could tell you some stories about our Christmas break training camps to SB, staying in an (almost) empty sorority house....

Not nearly as ugly as Fred Bousqet's swims. I saw him race in Austin last week and thought his freestyle was about as ugly as they come. But of course he whipped the field. Can't be ugly if the clock is beautiful. Many masters are simply predisposed to prefer or admire high elbows because they've been told all their life to keep their elbows up.

For some reason I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought Paul Smith's gotta be involved in some kind of self-inspection commentary. :anim_coffee:

Now here's a statement with no bias attached! My own thought is that ALL sprinters look ugly in the water, kind of like a firehose with no one holding it. Or, maybe, a riot at the opening sale of the newest electricaltronical gadget. I still remember a teammate's comment after one of my free events: "Well, you go awfully fast with that ugly straight arm thing." But you gotta admit straight arm sprinters have really exploded on the scene lately. I think it gives me more propulsive force. I've going to have wookiee give me tips on the "open stroke" next ... And I agree with Jazz. I don't think it's "ugly" at all; it's very old school/evil smith/anti-change to say that. And I don't go around calling lopers or other variations on free ugly ... Ugly is missing a turn or making a technical mistake or dying the last 10 yards as I am wont to do ...

What is ugly about his stroke? David Marsh is converting Jones to a more "open recovery" in attempts to get him faster(or at least not blown out of the water by Bousquet again) John, I didn't say his "stroke" was ugly...I think he has a very fluid, powerful stroke with an insane kick. What I was refering to were the things I listed; slow start, breakouts on the last 2 turns and switching to the windmill arms the last 5 strokes (which is a bit ugly)... Clemmons...I never did like you much. :)

I was lucky enough to attend the Stanford/Cal men's dual meet this year. In general, all the Cal swimmers breathed every stroke until the last 5 meters of their 100 free. None did much SDK on the start or turns, but I don't believe they lost ground to their opponents who did. I feel they have tried their turns both ways and stuck with what works best for them. John

Clemmons...I never did like you much. :) Yeah, that's okay, I'm getting used to it. :chug:

Not nearly as ugly as Fred Bousqet's swims. I saw him race in Austin last week and thought his freestyle was about as ugly as they come. But of course he whipped the field. Switching to straight arm is very weird. At that point in my much slower 100 I would be worried about oxygen and not able to attempt a change in stroke!

Not nearly as ugly as Fred Bousqet's swims. I saw him race in Austin last week and thought his freestyle was about as ugly as they come. But of course he whipped the field. I would be worried about oxygen and not able to attempt a change in stroke! What is ugly about his stroke? David Marsh is converting Jones to a more "open recovery" in attempts to get him faster(or at least not blown out of the water by Bousquet again)