A Rumsfeldian approach to TI

[Lawrence]

In seeking to arrive at graceful and efficient freestyle, there's:

1. knowing what you should do;

2. knowing what you in fact do;

3. knowing how to do what you don't do; and

4. knowing how to stop doing what you shouldn't do.

I think 1 is easiest.

3 undoubtedly takes more time.

4 and (especially) 2 are the hard ones.

From this it appears not so much that efficient freestyle is hard to learn, as that inefficient freestyle is hard to unlearn.

Perhaps that explains the length of the journey.

[westyswoods]

Lawrence,

Well said, could not agree more with the fact numbers four and two are the difficult ones.
This is why I have concluded video taping and or periodic coaching reviews are critical for my advancement. It may be nothing more than asking the guard to observe one piece of your stroke. I am finding pieces of the puzzle which will jump out at me when they are not being done correctly. The difficulty is arriving at that point where neural feedback is not from that inefficient swimming you speak of. If any of this makes sense.

Be Well and Swim Silent

[splashingpat]

Originally Posted by Lawrence

In seeking to arrive at graceful and efficient freestyle, there's:

1. knowing what you should do;
2. knowing what you in fact do;
3. knowing how to do what you don't do; and
4. knowing how to stop doing what you shouldn't do.

I think 1 is easiest.
3 undoubtedly takes more time.
4 and (especially) 2 are the hard ones.

From this it appears not so much that efficient freestyle is hard to learn,
as that inefficient freestyle is hard to unlearn.
Perhaps that explains the length of the journey.

journey now is to move from free ^forward to butterflyN v
cya in that section of the forum
and if katie wants to video take me! I'm game even if its horrible!

[sasquatch]

I think I read these steps in something Terry wrote a while back. Not sure if it was his originally but I think it's a great description to apply to the process of learning any new skill.

1. unconscious incompetence (bad and don't have any idea why)

2. conscious incompetence (still bad, but you know what you're doing wrong)

3. conscious competence (you can do it well with physical/mental effort)

4. unconscious competence (you do it well without thinking about it)

I think the 4 steps you listed would fit in nicely as sub-steps to steps 2 and 3 listed here.