Who says the s-pull is dead? ;-)

[CoachSuzanne]

Originally Posted by CharlesCouturier

Rod's specialty is dynamic measurement of propulsive forces. I'm therefore a bit hesitant in disrupting him with this case, as I wouldn't know what to ask for exactly..

If he would care to comment on the original video posted and, if you like, what he would predict about the propulsive forces your athlete is creating.

BTW, this is by no means a criticism of his swimming nor your coaching. Just interesting dialogue is all. :)

[CharlesCouturier]

Yeah, I didn't feel it was the case don't worry.

I's just trying to understand.

One thing is certain, Maglischo does a neat job in 2003 at separating lift force from Newton's third in their respective probable contribution to forward velocity. If you haven't yet read Swimming Fastest, probably for less than 50$, this 600 page bible is a must have.

Ahhh Prof Maglischo. Probably the most objective, and hard working contributor to documenting swimming. He has started testing "à la Rod" since the beginning, in 1980. Already then was he measuring backward hand velocity, hand pitch (very precisely), forward body velocity, with variations etc, all that against frame by frame swim sequence.

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by swimust

this "academic nonsense" destroyed my shoulder 4 years ago. not even Maradona watching at the back will make me swim S-shape again. never again! :)

I most certainly won't spoil an occasion to agree with you Swimust.

For most people, this is and should remain an academic non sense, something to stay away from. As simple as that.

For what it's worth. Professor Ernest Maglischo has consistently been observing this occurring among a certain category among the top swimmers, but he's also be consistent in mentioning that the swimmer should not really try to create this artificially. It is something that, for some, occurs naturally.

In several instances, it is badly executed. For instance swimmer crosses over, enters thumb first, then moves the molecules outward, etc. Thumb first + cross over = vulnerable shoulder + pressure outward = potential injury + fish tailing and increased drag resistance...

[sailor.chuck]

Coach Distance Dave has a very nice explanation of the s-curve in this video that has been linked to here a number of times recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDmQiHQ8mW8

[swimust]

Originally Posted by CharlesCouturier

...For instance swimmer crosses over, enters thumb first, then moves the molecules outward, etc. Thumb first + cross over = vulnerable shoulder + pressure outward = potential injury + fish tailing and increased drag resistance...

That's exactly what I was doing about 4 years ago. I ended up with a shoulder so stiff, that when I was starting to swim, on the first stroke I was touching the rope on the left side of my lane although I started on the right side of the lane... I couldn't swim straight until my shoulder warmed up for about 15 minutes. A wrestler... :)