Requesting feedback on video

[MarcusNZ]

Hi all,

I've been following the TI drills for a couple of months now -- mainly balance drills -- in an attempt to improve my freestyle technique. I certainly feel like my stroke has improved (and so has my speed in the pool).

I've put together some video at the link below. There's a lot there to work on, so my question is what should my priority be?

http://youtu.be/ARVolbwmIJ0

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

Marcus

[georgedoty]

YOU Look pretty good to me. Nice glide and rotation. Try leading your arm recovery with the elbow, trailing the fingers on the surface and spear just a little deeper. Your underwater video shows you reaching upwards on your glide. Looks like a regular flutter kick rather than the two beat, but that is probably ok for you as you look like you are swimming fast with good wind.

[daveblt]

Just too add , your entry appears to be too a little too narrow . Try to widen out just a bit.
Looking good .

Dave

[mjm]

Marcus: 38 seconds 34 strokes for a fifty is great. Keep up the good work.
Your horizontal position is excellent. However, even Michael Phelps is not perfect.

Your hands are way outside your elbow (and bodyline) during the catch phase. Now obviously that's not terrible but a more powerful position would have your hands and forearms angled in at less than 90 degrees. For an example, look at this Ian Thorpe video. --mjm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P31XJ16C4Ag

[HydraFx]

I agree with comments posted above but think that your should focus mostly on the timing of your kick and the focal point of your spear. Shane Eversfield commented at my TI instructors course that the beat of the kick is much like the percussion section in a band...it sets the tempo for the rest of the players. Also try using a tempo trainer. I use one all the time especially when tweaking. Good luck

[MarcusNZ]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It's all very useful and I really appreciate it. Now to apply it to my practice!

The first thing I noticed when I watched the video was my recovery looked much stiffer than it felt. I'll definitely take your advice, George, to lead more with my elbows. I was also reminded of this video posted in another forum of Popov, where it describes a drill to emulate the 'kayak principle':

http://youtu.be/hkaX9WRTh0s

I hadn't noticed the entry before -- thanks Dave for pointing this out. It looks like my left hand enters at a unusual angle too. Something to work on along with the recovery phase.

Very interesting feedback on my kicking. I've generally avoided thinking about it so far, as I didn't think of it as the foundation of a good stroke -- perhaps it's time to give it some attention!

And finally, mjm, thanks for the video link. That has really clarified the catch for me, and what to work on.

Well, lots to work on there. My goal is to swim a couple of 5k and a 10k next summer (Kiwi summer: Dec-March), hopefully with a respectable time.

For the next few months, my plan is to play around with technique and see what works; and to get in the open water regularly and enjoy it! Come spring, I hope to get more systematic & focused with my training.

I've spent the last 10 years free diving and never really understood why I'd ever just want to 'surface swim', but right now I'm loving it :).