Interesting... side stroke was one I learned as a kid, but it isn't an official competition stroke in any of the big meets. After seeing the utube video and how fast it can be, I could see the stroke making a comeback.
That's not the same sidestroke I learned in lifesaving back in the 80's.
Almost looks like one sided freestyle with an in the water arm recovery. Notice all of the flutter kicks. Standard over the water recovery freestyle will be much more efficient than an in the water recovery.
Hi, all: the guys in the teams wear fins when they do 'insertion' swimming like what is being taught by the instructor in this video you provided. This class you show is at the BUDS in San Diego - Basic Underwater Demolition School. They have a 45m (or so) pool that they use for swim training (yes, to keep the base from ever hosting a swim meet!!) The reason they teach and require SEALs to execute underwater arm recovery is for tactical reasons, not fast swimming. By this I mean that SEALs cannot take above-water freestyle-type strokes because this is quite visible to observers from a distance, even at night in some waters because of bioluminescence. With fins, these fit guys zoom right along yet are plenty stealthy - although in the real world they are generally dragging a big pig of nasty stuff along with them as they swim. My perspective on this is personal: I am now retired from the Navy and a swimmer, but in the past I have served the SEALs as a diving medical officer and swim training consultant (1997 SEAL Physical Fitness Manual chapter author 'swim training'). Cheers! John Hughes
By this I mean that SEALs cannot take above-water freestyle-type strokes because this is quite visible to observers from a distance, even at night in some waters because of bioluminescence.
Thanks John. That makes a lot of sense. I'm a scuba diver and have done lots of night dives and the bioluminescense is pretty cool. Guess I think more like an otter than a SEAL. :lmao:
The stroke he was teaching looked pretty quick for these circumstances.
Hi, Allen: yes, that instructor was quite good at recovering his sidestroke arm with a minimum of drag - making good speed without fins. Imagine being out in the ocean and dragging that buoyancy-neutral but heavy pig of equipment into the surf zone of a coral reef. If the surf is big, you come against a good rip as you try to hit the channel rather than getting stuffed into coral heads... that side-stroking arm comes in handy for grabbing the water and fending off the coral. In this instance, the swimmer will have rubber and chafe-resistant diving gloves. This is the real life of a SEAL going to work gathering intel somewhere... perhaps an island in the PI or Indonesia, or the Carib coast of Columbia to mention a couple of real world examples. So, as a complete diver and open water swimmer it is a good technique to add to your stroke collection! Cheers, John
Sorry to go on here, but I noticed something else from watching the whole video - this particular technique is being taught to Navy cadets (termed 'pre-tadpoles' according to a SEAL instructor I knew) at a thing called 'mini-BUDS' - and the stroke is really more specific for their early non-tactical swim training in BUDS - like the long, night swims off San Clemente Island... and later they modify the scissor kick by switching over to fins. When I was in dive school, I just did breaststroke instead as it was permitted and was faster for me than this sidestroke as I could do multiple pulls and kicks off the wall (the Navy is non-FINA!). OK, I have doubled my entire number of posts in the past 3 years - I'm done!
Former Member
looks really slow... I'd hate to have to do that for any amount of time.
It appears like it is more geared more for those less experienced or for those wearing fins... or maybe it would help if you're towing a lot of gear? I don't know.. We did a fun little race at our last practice where some pulled (me and others) while someone grabbed our feet and did the kicking. I can't imagine doing that this way...it would be a lot harder if you couldn't keep a continuous pull going.
Anyway.. I'd have to see and try it to believe it. This appears to me to be more of a simplified lesson for those new to swimming and who may feel uncomfortable having their faces in the water the whole time.
Former Member
This stroke has brought me back into the water. After years of swimming, ranging from age group and high school, to tri's and open water events, my shoulder began to ache. The doc gave me an x-ray, then showed me what he called an impinged shoulder. He discouraged any over-arm motion(s), indicating the breaststroke would work. Unfortunately my knees don't don't agree with the whip kick. Granted, it's a huge change from the traditional competitive strokes, the combat swimmer stroke allows me to swim again, albeit a little slower. Having a pulling motion similar to the front crawl is refreshing. The kicking combination of both flutter and scissor have made it interesting too. As one that once specialized in fly, and also swam a lot of front crawl, the underwater recovery still seems awkward (no offense breaststrokers). Adapting to this stroke has been both a fun challenge and a very refreshing return to the pool (and lakes). I'm curious if/how the kicking motion, at times with fins, will benefit other activities, such as hiking, cycling and snowshoeing?
