Intro to Freestyle Fundamentals
There are many skills that need to be in place for the freestyle stroke to work well and feel good. We have organized them into what we call the Four Fundamental Features of the Freestyle Stroke. They are listed in their order of priority, in the order they are best learned. The first skills in place set the stage for the second, and so on.
When these four features are in place, working together, you are in position to experience the ‘magic’ of a smooth, rhythmic stroke. If one of these features are missing, or far less developed than the other features, then you may not be able to tap into that satisfying stroke motion so easily.
Here are the four features in your stroke:
- Build the Frame
- Form Streamline Shape
- Generate Forward Momentum
- Make First Connections
Over the course of our lesson series we work through each of these, making sure you have the essential features in place.
With these four features in place, you are set up for much easier breathing and so the lesson on Integrated Breathing typically comes after you have been introduced to and worked on these features.
In our first session, we typically work through the first two lessons on this list: Build The Frame and Form Streamline Shape. In the second session we typically work on Generate Forward Momentum. In the third session we would work on Make First Connections. In the third and/or fourth lesson we focus on Integrated Breathing, while going back over and reinforcing the four fundamental skills.
Build The Frame
Just as a boat or a plane, or any vessel has an internal frame, you also need an internal frame to interact with the forces of nature and to transfer the forces you generate into effective forward motion.
Upon this frame you can establish much better balance and stability in the water, so that your body remains more easily, if not effortlessly, parallel to the surface of the water.
Through this frame you can transmit forces forward smoothly, efficiently, without absorbing or dispersing that force in useless directions.
Form Streamline Shape
Power is important in swimming, but because water is 740x denser than air, maintaining good shape is far more important than power.
The human land-mammal body is not designed for hydrodynamic motion in water, but we can make it much better through lining up the body line into its ideal asymmetric rotated streamline position. You will learn to find this ideal position on each stroke and hold it while the other side of the body is completing the recovery swing. In this position you will most easily transmit force into forward motion and travel the farthest.
Generate Forward Momentum
The return of the arm from rear to front is actually the beginning of your acceleration forward. When well shaped, sent on a particular pathway and held with relatively relaxed muscle tone, this arm motion contributes greatly to your forward motion and overall stability in the water. The arm is attached to the torso and its major muscles through the scapula and its supporting tissues and the way this arm moves determines how well you can tap into the power of the torso for the slide forward as well as for setting up a more powerful (and safe) catch in the moment ahead.
Make First Connections
And this final feature is where you learn to connect the action of the two arms, through their scapula, to the power of the torso rotation, for one smooth coordinated action of both sides of the body together.
This is a preview of the thrilling synchronization lessons to come later in Freestyle Advanced!