Mr Smooths scull?

[belferink]

Hi All

I'm new on the block. I live in South Africa and have been busy with a number of swimming coaching courses over the past year. I'm not a swimmer myself, but my children (8, 10 and 13) seem to be showing some potential in the field. They already beat me in half the strokes, and not because I'm really bad. I must have some potential as a coach if that is happening. Anyway, they are the reason why I have become interested. I have also taken over the school swim team. I am a High School LIfe Science (Biology) teacher.

I have been watching Mr Smooth, and he looks great. I have one query though. In these courses, that I have done, sculling is seen as fundamental in a stroke. I don't see any outsweep and insweep in Mr Smooths stroke. Any reasoning behind this? Using a scull in a stroke makes a lot of sense to me.

Yours truly
Bruce Elferink

[manilenio]

Here's the reply I got for the same question:

http://www.swimsmooth.com/aboutmrsmoothcatch.html

Hope that helps

[belferink]

Hi again

Thanks for the link. It makes a lot of sense, and goes contrary to what I have heard from some coaches. It is good to know that my thinking is not completely ridiculous on this catch point. However, I think I need to be more specific about what I mean by "scull". The link deals with the catch.
I was wondering about from, after the catch, to the point of exit, in the propulsion stroke. The scull would be the lateral movement achieved by the slight "s" shaped trajectory from after the catch point to the exit point. Mr Smooth shows a very linear path between these two points. To my mind this linear stroke would allow for the hand to slip backwards through the water, and so allow less forward movement of the body on that one stroke (kind of like wheel spinning). The slight lateral sculling movement as the arm pulls backwards would have the effect of fixing the the hand in a spot, and therefore allowing the body to move forward more per stroke. Any more comments?

Bruce

[manilenio]

I can't speak with any authority on the topic really, because I'm just a novice swimmer still trying to find my balance in the water. So bear in mind this is just my 2 cents. Judging from watching Mr. Smooth and from the article above, I think the point of that very linear catch and pull is minimizing the effort but getting the same results. It makes sense to me that when you "catch" the water at the start of the stroke, you "pull" the water straight back to push you forward. Kind of like climbing a rope, once you latch on to the rope above you, you pull straight down. I've watched videos of swimmers doing an outsweep before they pull, and I personally don't see the value of the effort, save for maybe to correct their direction? Anyone please feel free to contribute your thoughts and personal experience

[Madrid]

... The scull would be the lateral movement achieved by the slight "s" shaped trajectory from after the catch point to the exit point...

Simply put, you should just forget about the S-shape pull altogether. Read this

http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html#sshape

Cheers

[Adam Young]

Hi Bruce,

Just got 10 seconds for a very quick reply: It comes down to whether lift forces (sculling) or drag forces (direct pull) are dominant. In the 70s they used to believe that lift forces were very strong but our modern understanding is the opposite - they are very small - and it is much more effective to focus on a direct pull. The S-pull shape also has disadvantages - the side forces tend to push your body off line so you fish tail slightly down the length, adding drag.

Elite swimmers are definitely going a lot faster now than they did with the S-Pull!

Cheers,

Adam