When Movements Muddy The Water – And Gliding Makes It Clear
Some people are too hungry to improve their strokes so they can swim lengths for fitness, or do a triathlon. Not Mary and Brendan, who came from...
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Fish Fingers? Get Your Hands On A Dog And Improve Your Stroke
F.M. Alexander said that if we chase tension round the body, it ends up in our hands and wrists. This is true in swimming. In the Alexander ...
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To the Wall – What’s Your Approach?
Because the wall in a swimming pool becomes a destination, it's symbolic for people learning to swim. How we approach the wall says a lot about our...
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Sing When You’re Winning – and always in the first lesson
When learners first attempt to breathe out into water, nervous tension gets in the way. But relaxation and enjoyment are more easily experienced th...
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A Man Made Pool’s What You Make It, It’s Up (And Down) To You
"The pool became an aquatic yoga or dance studio instead of a sports hall, gym or treadmill...I left the leisure centre feeling free and remained s...
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Control Freak? Cant Swim?
Are you a non-swimming adult who describes yourself as a control freak? Successful at what you do, you're usually able to achieve you...
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Floating Is A Feeling – When You Think About Its
About 15 years ago I was giving lessons to Christopher, aged ten. Ten's a bit late for a child to learn to swim and it took him a while. For severa...
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Mediocrity and Excellence – Two Paths, One Direction And Your Choice
"Think of life having two paths: one leading to mediocrity, the other to excellence. What do we know about the path to mediocrity? Well, we know it...
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Front Crawl’s Simple. So What’s The Catch?
For most front crawl improvers, it's difficult to understand exactly what the hand and arm should be doing under water. It's even more difficult to...
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Knowing Your A-Side and B-Side – Is bilateral breathing best for balance?
It's a popular assumption that bilateral breathing in front crawl is a good thing, for 'a balanced stroke'. If we were all capable of perfect...
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