The Letters of the Strokes

By Coach Robert Strauss

Learn to swim IN the water where you are “FALLING UP”, not ON the water where you are “FALLING DOWN”. Everyone is getting into Body Balance, the next generation of swimmers will achieve their swimming speed from a better combination of Balance and Distance per Stroke, of course turn-over rate will still be important, however shedding drag has taken priority over increase of stroke rate. The intention of this paper is to identify body positions with letters, to depict the places where the arms need to go by in order for the body to travel. The letters of the strokes give the beginner, advanced and adult swimmer a real good mental picture of what the body should look like at the different positions of the style. Can you write letters with your body, while swimming? …Can you stay in “balance?”… TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

Freestyle Body Letter Positions

“U” – Everyone has done catch-up freestyle, initially, with a kick board to speed up learning of the skill. The arms and shoulders write a “U”, when the recovery arm catches up to the leading arm while the swimmer still has side exposure to the bottom. At the instant when the leading arm strokes the body goes past the flat position to roll on the other side. We have said that, “you do not swim freestyle on your belly…keel down, you swim arm pit to arm pit.” The object is to have the body travel faster on its longer water line, just like a boat. Photo 1 & 2

Broken “L” – The swimmer that recovers the arm with a high elbow fingers near the water is said to be writing a “Broken L” with his arms and shoulders, when the elbow is perpendicular to the body, and the hand is about to slip in the water.

Photo 3 (just exiting the water on the way to broken “L”)

Photo 4 (right at the broken “L”)

Long “L” – Some swimmers recover their arms straight over the top, with little or no elbow bend, Janet Evans was very successful back in 1988 with that type of arm recovery. It is important not to drop the leading arm while you are breathing. If the arm drops too soon we say you are writing a “T”, that is hand to the bottom and hand to the sky, and that is not a very efficient position. Photo 5 and 6.

“I” – At the instant in which the leading arm is in the front end and the swimming arm is exiting extended near the hips, that is letter “I”, it is a position in which the body is truly flying supported in liquid. We cannot remain a long time in this position because there is too much weight to the back end of the “vessel”. The “I” letter position is used frequently when doing drills like 8 kick free side to side and variations. Photo 6

Butterfly Body Letter Positions

“Y” -When your arms are extended in the front end, right at the instant when they enter the water, your body looks like a letter Y. The Swimmers “drives” or “glides” at the “Y”.

Photo 7, 8, 9

“T” - Many swimmers find it very difficult or tiring to learn the Butterfly stroke. The simplest way to correct it is to teach the arm movement standing up and instructing the swimmer to bring the arms around the ears, and not over the head. After a few “easy strokes” of standing up fly, add the breathing to the rhythm and your swimmers will FLY.

Photo 10, 11

“T” -From the “Y” press your hands down and scull out to the “T”, that is the instant where you breathe. You go by “T” to breathe, and then you drive on the “Y”.

Photo 12, 13

Backstroke Body Letter Positions

“I” - As in the Freestyle, at the instant that your leading arm is in the front end and the arm exiting the water is extended near the hips, and you are slightly rolled on your side, that is the letter “I” position, it is very important that the back end hand recover toward the sky before the leading arm drops deep into the water. Photo 14

“L” -When the recovery arm points to the sky and the leading arm is about to drop towards the bottom we pass by the “L” position, for obvious reasons we do not stop at the “L”. Photo 15

“T” -At the instant that the leading arm drops towards the bottom, and the trailing arm is pointing to the sky we say, “we go by the “T”, on the way to reach the “I” on the other side.” This position is very useful for swimmers to learn a good feel for depth in the stroke. Notice the picture shows the “T” is lying down. Photo 16, 17

Breastroke Body Letter Positions

Circle the Pizza and Cut it in half. - The arm motion is described as the hands drawing a pizza that is traveling vertically in front of the swimmer, “above the head”. The arm recovery is the instant when the hands cut the pizza in half, and you are on the way to the extension of the stroke, you then go into letter “Y” position. Photo 18,19,20

Swimmer Is About To “Circle The Pizza”

“Y” - The breaststroke has a phase to glide or drive the body forward, when your feet finish the kick, you reach the “Y” the instant your feet clap. Once you are set up at the “Y”, you are ready to: Circle The Pizza. Photo 21, 22, 23, we’ve used a ring buoy to illustrate the round pizza.

Circle the pizza and CUT IT IN HALF, Photo 24,25

Cutting the pizza in half lunges the body into the next “Y” and into the next stroke.