How To Keep Shoulders Out Of Water

[Ben Neenan]

Hi,

Just having problem with skating,

I seem to be able to find my sweet spot and skate ok,

but my shoulder is always just under the water.

Can't figure it out any suggestions?

[daveblt]

You could be over rolling to stacked shoulders or pushing your head down. Try rolling just enough to clear the shoulder and relax the head and neck .

Dave

[Ben Neenan]

Definitely not stacked shoulders could be pushing my head down though,
Any tips on how to relax my head and neck
Thanks for the reply
Dave

[daveblt]

Look down but keep the head neutral and try to let the water help carry it's weight without any tension.

Dave

[WFEGb]

Hi Ben,

did you ever try the "dead man" position? Get as much air as needed just to float look to pool botton, relax totaly arms a little in front, legs relaxed spread and let your head and neck RELAX too. No muscle work. Let the water do it for you. May be that shows you to focus where your head should be... It's clearly not a TI-drill...

Regards,
Werner

[Ben Neenan]

Hi Guys,

Thanks very much for the tips it was a great help really appreciate you taking time to reply to my post

Cheers

Ben

[CoachToddE]

Originally Posted by Ben Neenan

Hi,

Just having problem with skating,

I seem to be able to find my sweet spot and skate ok,

but my shoulder is always just under the water.

Can't figure it out any suggestions?

How did you do on the superman glide? Did you feel like your head was hanging between your shoulders and relaxed? I can't really give you too much based on your description above other than it sounds like you haven't rotated enough if your shoulder is not clearing the water and you said it is clearly not stacked shoulders. Some find it hard to maintain this rolled position initially when learning to skate. It takes relaxation, balance and engaging core muscles through the hips and spine to maintain this position. Not really sure what you mean by "sweet spot and skate ok" either. Sorry can't be of more help. Can you post a video?

[Richardsk]

Hello all

With regard to terms of use for specific drills, it seems to be that it isn't possible to patent a drill. There are hundreds of drills out there, some of them, such as the Biondi drill, named after swimmers who either invented them or popularized them. I believe they are all in the public domain but if you want someone to tell you whether you are doing a particular version of a drill correctly then you probably have to pay a qualified person.

A few years ago I attended a four stroke TI course at the famous Millfield school in Somerset, led by the late Ian Smith, whom I remember fondly. the content was based on the earlier four-stroke DVD, which I still have, and which I think can still be bought on-line as a digital download. The course cost a few hundred pounds but included full board and two two-hour sessions each day in the pool (25m) and an evening session of video analysis. It lasted about five days so it seemed to me that it represented unbeatable value. It would have cost more to stay in a small cheap hotel for the same length of time with no tuition at all.

I can't say my strokes were totally revolutionized by the course but it gave me a framework to work in and I have improved in all strokes since then. I hope to continue improving until I drop off the twig.

PS sorry this post is in the wrong place. It should be in the 'Price' thread. I'm afraid I don't know how to move it.