Deep catch

It means keep your arm nearly straight during the pull.

This will bring on shoulder problems with this .

This causes you to push down @ the start of the stroke , rather than pull you forward as in the bent arm pull thru.

It means keep your arm nearly straight during the pull. nearly straight = dropper elbow so it don't look a great move, even more if you've long arms, only maybe with a Bernard-like arm it can be a good move or with a very short arm, like a 5-5/5-7 women, Lenton/trickett use a deep pull but she's a on the short side, his elbow is still very high due at his "short" upper arm. My :2cents:

I thought "deep catch" meant that you do not start applying force after entry until your hand is several inches farther below the water surface (and positioned with the fingers pointing at the pool bottom, elbow higher than hand). I found it easy on the shoulders as you are not pressing down on the water immediately on entry, also no dropped elbow.

I thought "deep catch" meant that you do not start applying force after entry until your hand is several inches farther below the water surface (and positioned with the fingers pointing at the pool bottom, elbow higher than hand). I found it easy on the shoulders as you are not pressing down on the water immediately on entry, also no dropped elbow. This is what I always thought a deep catch was. Do we have a real definition? Maybe a video clip of a proper catch?

A deep catch seems to be what the most recent set of coaching instructions has encouraged me to do. It solved the problem of 5 different angles my arm was composing itself into at any one time, does not cause pain, and is faster and more powerful. (Also, it "feels" like swimming.) Hand slices into water at usual angle to begin stroke, then forearm drops/presses down to roughly a 45-degree angle (in my case) from surface with elbow held stationary, at which point (45 degree forearm) the catch proper is initiated. So it is like a long press approach to the catch. And I'm sure this particular technique will change over time. I do not have much shoulder girdle flexibility and wing span is less than body height, altho' those factors may be unrelated to trying to use a deep catch at this point in my swimming efforts. YMMV. :)

I'd love to see a video of the difference too. Anybody have a link to a clip?

Yeah , a video is needed to resolves the question.

The depth and angle/rotation (from the shoulder to the elbow) will be different for every swimmer. Alain Bernard has a very deep and straight-arm catch and on the other extreme Rebecca Addlington has a very shallow and bent-arm, both are very successful swimmers. The pulling pattern that is best for you is determined by timing your 25's and deciding which pattern is the fastest and most efficient. Stay away from pulling patterns that scull toward the mid-line before a catch (straight or bent) is established. Every swimmer needs to extend their arms and at that point of extension an EVF comes sooner with a bent arm and later with a straight arm but neither world class swimmer drops their elbow (the opposite of an EVF). A shoulder that lacks muscular balance necessary to stabalize the joint is prone to tendonitis and/or bursitis. Shoulder pain should be attributed to a muscular imbalance or weakness and must be looked at as a warning sign that says: "STOP". Even a twing of pain in the shoulder tells you that you're not ready or need to adjust your pulling pattern (including how you exit or recover you hand/arm). A weight training regime that includes religious shoulder-cuff strengthening exercises is a must for every swimmer. I suggest letting a coach who's forte is stroke mechanics watch you swim for a while and let them give you some ideas. Here are some good sites dealing with the catch or EVF. Good luck, Coach T. Total Immersion EVF Video YouTube - How to swim with a High Elbow Catch/EVF - Total Immersion Israel Underwater EVF (Catch) Technique YouTube - SwimTherapy - Frontcrawl Catch EVF Article - The Holy Grail to Fast Swimming www.swimmingcoach.org/.../EVFbyTomTopolskiSMALL.pdf Underwater Swimming Techniques YouTube - Underwater Swimming Techniques Grant Hackett Swimming Technique YouTube - Grant Hackett Front Crawl Technique A lot of my EVF Videos www.youtube.com/.../tomtopo I'd love to see a video of the difference too. Anybody have a link to a clip?