
encouraged by kindness, I'll recklessly venture some more words onto the table, like a gambler on a roll ...
I've been gazing (again!) on the Shinji vid, and it reminded me of the way cats walk across wet ground! I tried to find a YouTube video to illustrate the point but failed to find anything good. I think that anyone who has watched a cat getting its paws wet may be able to relate to the thought though.
A cat places it's front paws down on the ground, almost gingerly, deliberately, carefully. When the ground is wet they lift each paw up, with some distaste, shaking the presumptuous water off with a twitch, before reaching forward and placing them down again. That's what I saw Shinji doing: lifting his arm and shoulder disdainfully clear of the clingy water, before carefully reaching forward to slip it down under the surface again. There seems to me to almost be a pause after his arm exits vertically from the surface. Time for that pesky water to drain off!
Edit:
Stumbled on an Ian Thorpe video that shows the striking difference in this hand entry between "normal" and "TI" . I think I also pinned down the pause in Shinji's out-of-water arm movement. It's just before his hand enters the water. His hand pauses only for a fraction of a second, but it stays about 10cm over the water just for a moment before slipping in. he looks almost as if he's picking his spot. It really does look just like a cat!
This is the Thorpe video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=2b1Fiw9uekM