too much pull.

[dgk2009]

realized today I'm still trying to pull myself through the water,how do I retrain my brain to stop doing this.

[Janos]

You need to focus totally on the 'push' and not the pull. When your recovery arm traces its arc into the water in front of you, your focus is on piercing the water and rotating and pushing your body past the catch, until you are left with a small amount of active pull to initiate the recovery. Think beyond the catch, unless you are drilling specifically for EVF technique or feel etc.

Regards to all

Janos

[dgk2009]

easy for you to say.

[Mike from NS]

Don't you start out after the catch with a pulling action until the hand is at about chest level at which point leverage assists and the push becomes the forcing action? Also, pulling with a speed which you feel doesn't give just slip of the arm through the water without any resultant propulsion.

Something I tried today was a slight re-definition of where the beginning of the stroke cycle was for me. Rather than mentally set the start of the stroke at the spear, as I normally do, or the end of the stroke with the shinji wrist flip, I tried placing thought on the start of the stroke cycle with the dropping of the hand to the catch position and the end of the stroke at the entry & spear just before setting the catch. It was an attempt to create greater smoothness or continuous flow - at least mentally. Not sure if it helped but was an interesting exercise and will try it again another time.

Mike

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by dgk2009

realized today I'm still trying to pull myself through the water,how do I retrain my brain to stop doing this.

How did you realize it? What event led you to think this?

[Janos]

I think you are thinking along the same lines as me Mike, but we are arriving from different points. Whole stroke for me, means the 'whole stroke'. I think stroke counts ideally should include the full cycle of both arms. They are inextricably linked. The dropping of the shoulder as you spear must initiate the catch on the other side, or you are doing a catch up drill. For me there is no beginning or end, just a continuous cycle or flow as you say.
DGK, you might like to try underswitch drills, where you can see and practice the feeling of the shoulder dropping as you spear, which then initiates the catch.

Janos

[CoachToby]

dgk2009, I'm familiar with that feeling of pulling too hard. I've worked on correcting this in my own swimming for several years. I believe the key is not to focus on the arms so much, but to establish effortless balance. Only then will your extending arm become weightless, giving you the control necessary to initiate a patient catch and effectively anchor the arm. The more time you spend doing simple drills mastering balance, the sooner you will experience a truly weightless arm.

[andyinnorway]

I don't feel I pull too hard, but this week I have been experimenting with bringing the catch nearer to the shoulder before applying the power.

I think its the same thing as pulling too hard just expressed differently.

Isn't fist drill a good one for correcting this?

[dgk2009]

I noticed that I use the pull to turn to breath,thats when I realized it most,I understand I need to rewire my brain to push instead of pull but to me it's like learning to write with my other hand,even when I do underswitch I instinctively want to pull instead of push,I think this also explains my breathlessness,too much pull,this is my new thing to focus on.

[tomoy]

Have you tried 'slow hands' (in the water) as a focus point? Usually TI thinks in terms of setting an anchor and moving past it. Sometimes pulling is a kind of yanking which slips the water. You can try slow hands even at different tempos. I just recall a video with Terry talking about how the fastest swimmers seemed to have the slowest hands.