From mid-February to early May, I took the longest trip of my life, in both duration and miles covered, visiting New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Taiwan. There were many exciting developments on that trip that suggest TI is approaching a tipping point for spreading enthusiasm and awareness beyond a small vanguard of enlightened swimmers. I’ll describe them here.

New Zealand

I left New Paltz at 0430 on Feb 20, to catch an early JFK-LAX-Tokyo flight. Shinji Takeuchi, director of TI-JPN picked me up at Narita Airport and during a 28-hour layover showed me his two TI “Swim Salons,” one each in Chiba Prefecture and in the Funabori district of Tokyo, where I also met his four full-time coaches. More on TI-JPN later.

The next evening I flew overnight to Sydney (11 hours) then several more hours to Auckland, where I was met by Dunstan Bertschinger, leader of TI-AUS (more on AUS later). Dunstan and I led a small workshop in Auckland on Feb 24-25. From Auckland, we traveled by bus to Taupo, site of Ironman New Zealand where we had the opportunity to make a video presentation on open water racing, which featured footage from two of my 2006 races, the FINA Masters World Championship 3K and the 1-Mile Cable Swim in which I broke the USMS record. As well, Dunstan received a free entry into the race. Though Dunstan had not trained, he did it as a “tourist,” enjoying himself enormously. In 2008 (race date March 1) we plan to have a stronger TI presence at IMNZ.

Dunstan and I swam the 3.8km (2.4 mile) course with 100 others in an informal event several days before the race. We were two of only three without wetsuits. I finished in the top 10 in a bit under an hour. The next morning I swam the course again, trying a Blue Seventy wetsuit, the official suit of Ironman. It was an eye-opening experience. While I progressed from buoy to buoy at a noticeably faster pace than the night before, I also had to rest every 200 to 300 meters from the strain of trying to reach my usual fully-extended position in each stroke, against the tightly confining neoprene. I’d never worn a wetsuit and hadn’t realized how difficult it is to swim TI-style, when wearing a wetsuit.

Fortunately, by later this year, this will no longer be the case, because we recently completed an agreement with Quintana Roo to produce a TI-branded wetsuit. In a recent design meeting at QR HQ in Chattanooga, we fleshed out a design concept for what will be the first wetsuit intended to facilitate the high-efficiency stroke we teach. While other wetsuits are designed primarily to help a poor swimmer “survive” an OW swim, the TI wetsuit will be the first to prioritize energy efficiency as much as speed. I’m convinced that the TI wetsuit will soon outsell all others.

The Opportune Injury
While in Taupo I foolishly entered a mountain bike race on an unfamiliar course and bike – unaware that down under the brakes are switched. Consequently, I went over the handlebar on one of the first downhills, resulting in a separated AC joint in my right shoulder. Ouch and a sudden end to what had been shaping up as my best Masters season ever.

Fortunately I’ve realized the possibility of the Opportune Injury as it's been termed on the TI Discussion Forum. In 2005 my training was interrupted by two significant injuries to the same shoulder – a detached biceps tendon while weight training and another AC separation, also from a mountain bike crash. Forced to forgo conventional training as I recovered, I replaced it with “examined swimming” – a strict focus on gentle effective movement and virtually no timed sets. I was rewarded with stunning progress in efficiency that was instrumental in the remarkable success I enjoyed in 2006.

During the last two months, I’ve again made a significant breakthrough in technique. This time I’ve increased the integration of my 2BK with my stroke and enhanced my ability to get significant power from it while remaining relaxed. When it’s working at its highest level, the effect is literally thrilling! My improved technique will receive it its first significant test May 19 in the USMS 5K National Championship in Fort Myers FL.

I spent my final four days in NZ at Wellington, a truly picturesque place ringed by verdant mountains surrounding a beautiful harbor. While there I did three “Taste of TI” classes. These were brief sessions with five to six students, all of whom had some TI experience. Each class was revelatory in reinforcing the truth of the Kaizen mindset. While each of these students were practically euphoric about the transformative effect TI had already had on their swimming, it was clear that they’d only barely scratched the surface of how much improvement and mastery was possible if they remained focused on continuous improvement. Everyone made significant further progress in 90 minutes or less of pool time, usually by refining still basic elements of Skating, UnderSwitches and ZipperSwitches.

TI is poised for exciting growth in New Zealand with one certified coach, Lionel Padial on the South Island, already organizing workshops and others poised to join him over the next year. I’ll return to NZ next year to conduct teacher training and perhaps attend IMNZ.

Sydney

On Monday March 5, I flew from Auckland to Sydney, which must lead any list of cities wishing to be considered a “paradise for swimmers.” Sydney boasts an astonishing concentration of wonderful 50-meter pools, as well as its famed beaches, including Bondi. From virtually any neighborhood, one has a choice of four to five great pools ranging in travel time from a 5-minute walk to a 20-minute ride on Sydney’s great public transport system…which made it rather disappointing to have my swimming opportunities so restricted by injury. I had planned to participate in an 11K race from Sydney Harbor Bridge to Manly Beach on March 11 and that was out.

I stayed for two days with TI swimmers, Anne and Michael Besser, who live on Macquarie Street across from the Botanical Garden, and a short walk from the harbor and Sydney’s iconic opera house. is a short walk from their apartment. Anne and I swam at Cook & Philip Pool my first afternoon in Sydney. My shoulder limited me to Skating and UnderSwitches, but Anne and I worked on those two drills for 30 minutes. After we finished, two patrons asked if we’d been practicing TI. Naturally I was delighted to see TI so well recognized in far off Sydney. The next day I visited Dymock’s, Sydney’s leading bookseller. I found several copies of the original TI book on the shelf and took them to a store clerk, offering to autograph them. And again received evidence of TI’s great popularity there as she told me “These just fly off the shelf” adding that it was by far the best-selling of all their swim books.

During my final week in Sydney I stayed with Dunstan in his loft, in a converted warehouse, steps from Sydney’s Central Station. This location made it easy to explore Sydney on foot and by train, making this the most enjoyable of my three visits there. Dunstan’s personal warmth, energetic networking and gift for teaching make him ideal to lead TI-AUS to greater recognition and to create the viral buzz that has been so valuable to TI in the US.

I’m certain TI will have far more friends and fans when I return to OZ next March before the FINA Masters World Championships (April 15-25 in Perth.) While in Sydney I conducted a teacher training update for seven TI-AUS coaches, culminating in a weekend workshop. One of those coaches, Scott Stefl is offering Tues and Thurs evening TI practices at Cook & Philip Pool. Because that pool is so popular with those who work in or live near Sydney’s Central Business District, two lanes of fluent, purposeful, mindful swimming should attract considerable attention and create its own buzz.

Japan

The evening of March 15, I boarded Quantas for another overnight flight, arriving in Tokyo at 0600 the next day. I spent most of that day recovering from my travels. On Saturday morning we flew to Osaka, for a workshop. The most striking aspect of this workshop and all the TI instruction I observed in Japan was how impressively Japanese swimmers master TI. While we have always felt, justifiably, that we teach more effectively than any other program, the outcomes I saw in two workshops and several private lessons at the Swim Salons in Tokyo outstripped the improvement I’ve seen at TI workshops elsewhere – including US, Canada, Europe, and Australasia.

I attribute this to two things. (1) Japanese are ideally built for mastering balance. Japanese tend to be more evenly proportioned between leg and torso length, making it much easier to learn balance and a relaxed, rhythmic, 2-beat kick. (2) They also seem noticeably better at the patient concentration on technique points – Mindful Swimming – that accelerates acquisition of any skill. At both workshops, there was a noticeably higher level of efficiency in the pre-workshop stroke test and almost universal mastery of a graceful, relaxed 2-beat freestyle at the end. There were still plenty of Kaizen opportunities within those strokes, but the basics were well-learned.

A Kaizen Workshop
Naturally, mention of Kaizen was warmly received in Japan, birthplace of that philosophy. During a 1-day graduate workshop program near Tokyo, we stressed a goal of progressing toward “movement mastery.” The swimmers seemed unconcerned with thoughts of greater speed. All joined enthusiastically in seeking only more ease, flow and consistency in their drills and strokes.

The aspect of my visit to Japan that I found most charming was the great modesty and politeness of the Japanese people. One example was in a Long Distance meet, sponsored by the Japan Triathlon Union. This meet, held in the most impressive aquatic facility I’ve seen anywhere in the world, offered 800, 1500 and 3000 meter races, and a 4 x 400 meter relay in a 10-lane 50-meter pool. All individual events were conducted in circle swimming, with up to five swimmers per lane, starting 10 seconds apart.

After gingerly testing my shoulder in a 200-meter warmup I decided to swim the 3000, as a test of my ability to block out pain by focusing on technique. Though I had barely swum for the previous month I managed to complete 2500 meters before feeling any fatigue and placed 2nd in my age group. But what was most interesting was the ritual of parading to the blocks with all my fellow contestants for the event. Once there we each bowed to the race officials, our lane timers, our lap counters and finally to each other. That round of bowing was repeated upon finishing the event. I have missed this ritual expression of regard for others since returning to NY. I also swam a 4 x 400 relay with three TI-JPN coaches. We finished second.

Taiwan
In June 2005, George Shuang came to New Paltz from Taipei for one of our weeklong 4-stroke camps, which he attended with two other adults and a couple of dozen kids. George had become a TI fan through our books and videos, then went to Kuala Lumpur for instruction from TI Coach Tang Siew Kwan. He came to New Paltz to learn the other strokes. but I soon learned he had another reason for visiting.

George is president of the United Daily News, Taiwan’s leading newspaper group. He hoped to persuade his company’s book-publishing arm, Linking Publishing, to publish Swimming Made Easy and our 4-Stroke DVD in Chinese. Naturally I was delighted at the opportunity to have our learning tools released in Chinese for the first time.

With exposure looming to several billion new students – and because our teaching methodology had evolved steadily since SME was published in 1998, I decided to update it. I’d only revised a single chapter when I realized it was time to write an entire new book. I spent most of 2006 working on what became Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body and three new DVDs to complement it. As I wrote new chapters, George translated them.

George invited me to Taiwan for a promotional tour, timed to the book’s release. This happily coincided with my already-planned trip to Australasia and Japan. I flew Tokyo to Taipei on March 26 and began a round of interviews with newspaper reporters, and appearances on radio and TV, as well as a news conference, attended by a horde of media.

The media came in such numbers because George had invited Dr. Ma, chairman of the Kuomintang Party and the leading candidate in Taiwan’s next presidential election. Dr. Ma came because he and George are close friends, but also because he actually is a fan of TI, having bought the original TI book in 2000.

The upshot of all this attention was that the Taiwanese edition of ES4EB shot to the top of Taiwan’s best-seller list immediately after its release on March 28 and remained there for several weeks. It was already in its 5th printing of 3000 copies after a month. Besides the obvious satisfaction of seeing so many new swim enthusiasts exposed to TI, this has been great for two reasons: (1) Seeing that when TI ideas are given wide exposure, they resonate with the broader public, and (2) Ever since my Taiwan promotional tour, the top generator of traffic to the TI web site has been Baidu.com, mainland China’s equivalent of Google. Thousands of mainland Chinese are now seemingly curious about TI.

Tang Siew Kwan, an ethnic Chinese based in Singapore and Malaysia, has begun training the first group of TI coaches in Taiwan to begin conducting 2-hour introductory workshops. Tang will continue with their training at intervals throughout the rest of the year. As he does, these coaches will conduct more advanced instruction. I’ll return to Taiwan to train them personally at my first opportunity.

I’ll return to Australasia and the Far East in early 2008, and will no doubt include mainland China in my itinerary. And, though I didn’t visit Israel on this trip, in February that became the latest country to establish a formal TI program, led by Gadi Katz. And in the future, when you plan an overseas trip, the chances will be better than ever that you’ll be able to swim with a TI coach when you do. Visit these TI programs virtually here.