Reducing stroke per length in backstroke

...Although I wouldn't say the legs cause or initiate rotation, I think the kick does help stabilize & control it.... I do think underwater video is important to dissect the pull/roll of the great backstrokers.... I agree... I find my kick is indispensable in stabilizing and controlling my backstroke. My flutter kick (both back and front) has been lame for a long time, but I've been working some kick drills in (finally), and I can tell the difference. It really feels good to have a strong(er) kick! I've always been in awe of folks doing just kick practice who seem to be flying along. I'll never forget one meet, standing poolside with a teammate, watching another in a 200 (free), who was pretty much kicking all-out through the whole race. "Look at Joe", he said, "If you want to do good in the 200 you have to be able to kick." I took from this that a big kick in a 200 was something "new school" (I don't really know any "school", so I'm a bit of a blank slate in that regard.) And as the quest for new records continues, the "schools of thought" change. Personally I think it is pretty simple... you just have to find your own stroke. There are some Universal Truths... but after that you just need to play around with different ideas (and this is a great forum for ideas). Finding videos that you can run through a viewer like QuickTime, where you can pause and step it frame-by-frame, are a fantastic educational tool. Getting vids of yourself and comparing them to the experts is very educational too. Above surface shots are easy (use a tripod!) Underwater cameras are more common now too. There have been several threads here on the subject: Digital Video Camera for Filming Swimming Underwater Camera? Underwater Video Camera? Swim video tools :) I've seen underwater vids from one of the Olympus compact digital cams (a Stylus 720SW maybe?)... amazing quality for the price. (About a year ago I believe these cashed in around $300+) Olympus currently has a STYLUS-550WP, estimated retail about $180, up to 10MP stills, with a vid rate (AVI, w/sound) of 640x480 (30/15fps).... It accepts a micro SD card (with an adapter, XD is the default)... and it is "Waterproof" to 10ft (3m).... This is a lot of tech for the price! 640x480 is the (old) VGA standard (remember the first IBM PC you laid eyes on back int he early 80's?)... and is substantially larger than most web vids you see posted (like at YouTube). Just so you'll know what 640x480 (VGA resolution) looks like on your current monitor configuration, the attached image here is just that size. Have Fun!

...Although I wouldn't say the legs cause or initiate rotation, I think the kick does help stabilize & control it.... I do think underwater video is important to dissect the pull/roll of the great backstrokers.... I agree... I find my kick is indispensable in stabilizing and controlling my backstroke. My flutter kick (both back and front) has been lame for a long time, but I've been working some kick drills in (finally), and I can tell the difference. It really feels good to have a strong(er) kick! I've always been in awe of folks doing just kick practice who seem to be flying along. I'll never forget one meet, standing poolside with a teammate, watching another in a 200 (free), who was pretty much kicking all-out through the whole race. "Look at Joe", he said, "If you want to do good in the 200 you have to be able to kick." I took from this that a big kick in a 200 was something "new school" (I don't really know any "school", so I'm a bit of a blank slate in that regard.) And as the quest for new records continues, the "schools of thought" change. Personally I think it is pretty simple... you just have to find your own stroke. There are some Universal Truths... but after that you just need to play around with different ideas (and this is a great forum for ideas). Finding videos that you can run through a viewer like QuickTime, where you can pause and step it frame-by-frame, are a fantastic educational tool. Getting vids of yourself and comparing them to the experts is very educational too. Above surface shots are easy (use a tripod!) Underwater cameras are more common now too. There have been several threads here on the subject: Digital Video Camera for Filming Swimming Underwater Camera? Underwater Video Camera? Swim video tools :) I've seen underwater vids from one of the Olympus compact digital cams (a Stylus 720SW maybe?)... amazing quality for the price. (About a year ago I believe these cashed in around $300+) Olympus currently has a STYLUS-550WP, estimated retail about $180, up to 10MP stills, with a vid rate (AVI, w/sound) of 640x480 (30/15fps).... It accepts a micro SD card (with an adapter, XD is the default)... and it is "Waterproof" to 10ft (3m).... This is a lot of tech for the price! 640x480 is the (old) VGA standard (remember the first IBM PC you laid eyes on back int he early 80's?)... and is substantially larger than most web vids you see posted (like at YouTube). Just so you'll know what 640x480 (VGA resolution) looks like on your current monitor configuration, the attached image here is just that size. Have Fun!