https://community.usms.org/swimming/f/general/9929/how-much-below-the-surface-of-the-water-is-your-hand-atI&#39;m not a great swimmer. I&#39;ve been swimming for a little over 3 years and very late to the game (late 30&#39;s) so I&#39;ve had a lot of catching up to do. I&#39;ve made a lot of gains over the three years but I continually find flaws in my technique that I&#39;m lookingen-USTelligent Community 12https://community.usms.org/thread/161493?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 26 May 2011 14:41:43 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:bbab2852-a69f-4768-95a6-0fcbf605d439Former MemberI don&#39;t think this is so clear cut. The stroke Karlyn is using in that video would be great for distance, but I bet she doesn&#39;t swim a 50 that way. Most great sprinters drive their hand down directly into a catch position. This is what I tell my younger swimmers when we get into differentiating sprint vs. distance strokes. With younger or more inexperienced swimmers we usually just concentrate on the long gliding technique. But a sprint you swim it a little wider and instead of extending fully forward with the stroke before the catch, you dive your hands more down directly into the the pull.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/161475?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 26 May 2011 12:29:49 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:11a6b0b8-972b-44ee-a246-bcf75b96dcfcorca1946Keep your hand out till you just finish the other arm pull, then push down &amp; catch to start the next stroke. Yes 1 - 5 below is a good range.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/161398?ContentTypeID=1Wed, 11 May 2011 05:59:36 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:7afc406c-c5fa-4d4e-89d9-cdd0b16e7ed1Former MemberYour hand is going to want to sink down into the water, I always swim with the the idea that I am trying to reach out in front and touch the wall, that keeps my hand from sinking. The video above show two key elements clearly, her hand is straight infront of her body until she initiates the catch, and when she does that her arm goes immediately to vertical. Very well done. I am a distance swimmer. If I were only looking at this video I would say that the distance between the surface and my hand doesn&#39;t matter as long as my arm is horizontal. ?? So my hand could be 1 - 5 inches, let&#39;s say, as long as it was straight before starting the catch.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/161273?ContentTypeID=1Fri, 06 May 2011 13:33:47 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:28135ac2-e0b1-452b-8fdb-c93e6f993484Former MemberYour hand is going to want to sink down into the water, I always swim with the the idea that I am trying to reach out in front and touch the wall, that keeps my hand from sinking. The video above show two key elements clearly, her hand is straight infront of her body until she initiates the catch, and when she does that her arm goes immediately to vertical. Very well done.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/161366?ContentTypeID=1Fri, 06 May 2011 12:05:23 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:c8e18fdf-bb54-4836-bcb9-4c017ceb4443knelsonI don&#39;t think this is so clear cut. The stroke Karlyn is using in that video would be great for distance, but I bet she doesn&#39;t swim a 50 that way. Most great sprinters drive their hand down directly into a catch position.<div style="clear:both;"></div>https://community.usms.org/thread/161246?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 05 May 2011 09:19:10 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:29799877-cd9a-441a-8b08-f87ad8a0cb56Swimosaur2bPvk0paWcg<div style="clear:both;"></div>