Feedback on my freestyle video

[yann]

Hi,

It's been a year and three months I started learning TI freestyle (two years ago I wasn't able to cross a 50m pool). I think it's time for me to dare showing you my current level. I'm going to take my first TI swimming lesson in UK in a month (with Ian Smith), so for now I've been only using TI DVDs&book.

I've shot a few sequences two days this week and I tried to get my stroke recorded to every possible angle: here it is my video

My personal opinion about the things I need to improve:

• I need to quit the feeling of accelerating/decelerating I currently feel (by improving my catch?)
• My 2-beat kick should use my whole leg, and not only the part under the knee (no clue how to do that for now...)
• My hands are not relaxed (but they don't make my hand scoop up, so is it a problem?)
• Even if my balance is not that bad, I'm still swimming too much uphill.

What do you think? What should be my next priotities?

Yann

[aerogramma]

What a fantastic pool... where is it?

One thing I could notice: you're not extending fully, your arm enters the water with a bent elbow.
you can see that clearly at around 2'40

my two eurocents :)

[yann]

What a fantastic pool... where is it?

Lausanne, Switzerland.

your arm enters the water with a bent elbow

Very good. I hadn't noticed that. It is even worse when I breath. Indeed a focal point to work on.

Thank you
Yann

[Lawrence]

Your recovery is hand-led, not elbow-led.

[Fisch]

Nice video and nice pool !

I would work on balance. The feeling of accelerating/decelerating which you currently feel is certainly due to the increased drag produced by your not-so-perfect position in the water. Improving your hand recovery (elbow-driven) might also help you get your hips and legs more horizontal.

So if you get a better balance, you'll create less drag and you'll probably less have this feeling of accelerating/decelerating.

I would then work on your kick: use your leg, start your kick from the hips and try to lengthen your ankles (this also produces drag). And then, building on your improved balance, do some fine tuning to optimize your kick. I would aim at making less bubbles.

[yann]

@Laurence
Good point, I've never noticed that.

@Fisch
I agree with the balance comment. I'd never linked the elbow-driven recovery to the balance, but that can be a good point. Personally, I think my balance is impaired by my kick. Because I bend my knee so much I had trouble with my feet going out of the water. So I decreased the amplitude of my kick, but probably also corrected the body position to avoid the problem. I remember feeling my hip were to high to kick properly. Some self correction I need to undo...
My problem with the kick is that I know I should kick from the hip, but I don't know how to make that happened...

Many thanks for your suggestions!

[tab]

This video was recently posted, I had watched it before, it is cool to watch the hips as they slightly undulate to the kick and push the core body rotation. 730,800+ views, that number would be higher if they counted the times I replay it in my mind. Once in the pool try to emulate the first swimmer,(not the second). They mostly point out extending to air but I first notice the slight hip drive, and pointed toes.

This could be a focal point to get your kick from the hips, Yann.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LqqNO3WYZ0

[Physics202]

Sometimes the stroke looks a little rushed. I would try to glide a little bit more before moving to the next stroke. Maybe the advice above about fully extending your arms will help with this.

[yann]

@tab
Very nice video indeed. I also noticed the undulation. It is facinating and inspiring. Looks like he's engaging the abs as the very first step (prior kicking). This makes him really swiming downhill, but I'm wondering how energy efficient it is. I know Terry says the core muscles (the abs) are virtually tirelessly and should used to create propultion through body rotation. But in this video, he seems to use the front abs (the six pacs) to somehow dive and then reuse this energy via the buoyancy.
Concerning the legs I spent my whole swimming session figuring out how to kick from the hip. I found this idea: swim with straight legs. Doing so I noticed I still bend the knees, imperceptly which is fine. Additionally I found a new focal point for my balance: feel air on my buttocks!

@physics202
I also felt a bit rushing, but before trying to glide more, I'd like stop feeling accelerating/decelerating during my stroke. Maybe I was rushing because I was not using my TT for the first time since January!

Thanks for all the comments

[RadSwim]

Originally Posted by Physics202

Sometimes the stroke looks a little rushed. I would try to glide a little bit more before moving to the next stroke. Maybe the advice above about fully extending your arms will help with this.

Agree with the observation that the "stroke" or "power" phase looks rushed, but I think that the recommendation to glide more would be step in the wrong direction.

Your lead hand is a little too patient. Your catch needs work, as you have identified. If you start your catch a little sooner, you will be able to wrap your forearm around the water as set yourself up for a more effective, less rushed pull.

Coach Rosita's recent post about thinking of your arms as competitors for the leading position is an excellent, fresh perspective.

http://www.totalimmersion.net/forum/...3&postcount=13

Overall, you stroke has many really good features. You have identified most of the areas for improvement.

My stroke looked very much like yours a couple of years ago. These focal points helped me when my technique was similar to yours.

To start, try a couple of things:

1. See if spearing less deeply improves your balance. Do your hips come up to the surface? With your long limbs and lean build, you may be able to balance with your leading arm almost horizontal.

2. Focus on adding 10 - 20 % more hip drive -- do you fell less acceleration/deceleration? Does your kick become less bent-knee?

3. You lift your head and curve your spine when left breathing but not right breathing -- try breathing right only for a few practices. Does it feel better? If so, how? Then, resume left breathing, trying to make it feel more like right breathing.

Good luck,
RadSwim