Can the camera lie? I dearly hope so.

[dougalt]

hydrophobe,
It appears to me that your 2-beat kick is 180º out of phase.
Left kick should be helping you rotate as RIGHT arms pierces the water.
Right now, your left kick is occurring as your left arm is entering the water - counter productive - that left kick is actually attempting to prevent torso rotation. This is probably also contributing to the very horizontal forward stretch of the reaching arm - the forward arm is attempting to "anchor" your torso, to prevent the kick from turning it the wrong way.
With all this, you are missing out on the "mail slot" relaxed entry and the weight shift component that could be making your stroke much more relaxed and effective.

[hydrophobe]

Many thanks for the comment Doug.

Originally Posted by dougalt

hydrophobe,
It appears to me that your 2-beat kick is 180º out of phase.

Damn. Really? I thought that my kick fires when I begin the catch on the same side. I mean that as I catch on the left, the left foot fires. At the same time, the right hand is spearing and I'm rotating over onto the right side... Am I really not doing that?

Originally Posted by dougalt

With all this, you are missing out on the "mail slot" relaxed entry and the weight shift component that could be making your stroke much more relaxed and effective.

Thanks, my movements don't seem very relaxed. This may be partly explained by my making the videos early in the session, when I'm least coordinated and maybe I loosen up a bit as it progresses. Next time, I'll try to film at the end of a session to see if it helps. I will try to get some decent above-water images of the hand entry too.

Thanks again.

[hydrophobe]

Originally Posted by daveblt

You need to relax into balance and a well timed kick.
Dave

Thanks Dave. I'm not absolutely clear what this means...can you please explain a bit further?

I'm convinced that one should be relaxed. I'm also convinced that sense of balance is indispensable. I couldn't agree more that the kick should be well timed... but I think you're saying more than this....I just don't know what it is :)

Please help me to understand?

[daveblt]

Keep your weight forward of your lungs ,make sure your hand is below the elbow on extension into the water. and keep a neutral head position. These should help with balance .

Dave

[ananthaditya]

Thought I'd give you a bit of maverick advice...

When I figured out I wasn't swimming downhill like I thought, I went back to SG's, and while gliding I tilted my head until I could see my legs floating behind me, right beneath the surface of the pool. I did this several times until I could imagine them that way even when I wasn't looking. It helped me find a deeper, relaxed head position and a better sense for downhill swimming. In case you want to try, keep in mind you'll have to be breathing out all the time to ensure you're comfortable looking at your legs upside down.

[dougalt]

Hydrophobe,
Check out this Blog for a discussion about the timing of the two beat kick:
http://smoothstrokes.wordpress.com/2...at-kick-steps/

[dougalt]

hydrophobe,

In looking more closely at the video clips you provided,

In the video at http://youtu.be/b0g9cn6R8nU
0:05 - you are spearing with the right hand and kicking with the right foot.
0:07 - the left hand is spearing and the left foot is kicking

In the video at http://youtu.be/LXdWaaWCpoA
0:03 - the left foot is kicking downward as the left hand is spearing forward

In the video at http://youtu.be/z1IlL6TWgdM
0:05 - there is a strong downward kick with the right foot as the right hand is spearing, then, immediately following, within the same second, while the right arm is at its maximum forward stretch, there is a less dramatic kick with the left foot ... way too late to assist with the roll to the spearing side.

Doug

[hydrophobe]

Many thanks to all for your helpful advice.

I've been thinking about your comments and tried to be more conscious of the areas you highlighted. Here is the outcome...

http://youtu.be/34Yif09sKBY

http://youtu.be/AfT1Cn3nLos

I've tried to focus on keeping my head position steadier when rotating to breathe and pressing down on my upper chest to keep my balance a bit better.

I've tried to be more aware of the kick timing linking with the body roll and feeling its contribution to the arm pull, though when I push off from the wall, my kick is odd (I included it in the video). It is a little more relaxed and regular (I think, but please do correct me if you don't agree:))

I'm still spearing deeper with right hand.....will try to drop the left hand a bit.

Any thoughts / advice greatly appreciated.