Hi ,
I thought I did pretty good butterfly, but I was wrong again ! , now I got a chance to film myself, I realised that I do swim some weird butterfly. Things that I noticed myself doing wrong :
= Quick arm Exit before I even touch my thigh
= Arm Entry creating lots of splashes, not clean entry !
= L shape wrist/palm when exiting , why am I doing that , I wonder hmm
Please let me know other mistakes as well if you spot them :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Eric the Eel
Hi all ,
When I was taking my Singapore swimming instructor certification back in 2003/4 , the lecturer then, (think his name is Wong Sooi Kut ) told us a true story about an African guy who participated in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Since my lecturer then happened to be the starter of that particular 100m freestyle heats , he has first hand encounter of what happened then.
The African dude, Eric Moussambani apparently just learnt how to swim 8 months prior to the Olympics and expectedly , didnt perform up to Olympic standard and my then lecturer almost wanted to stop the race , fearing that he could not even swim.
He did finished the race at the end through sheer determination and he was well received with standing ovation albeit his 100m time was 1:52 (worst in Olympic history, I guess) , which is slower than the current 200m (100m X 2 ) world record of 1:42:00
Subsequently, he was given a swimming scholarship to refine his stroke and after some years of training , he managed to do a 57 secs !, according to wikipedia :)
Moral of the story ? you got to have determination ! If Eric can do it , so can you !
Enjoy the video .
When I was taking my Singapore swimming instructor certification back in 2003/4 , the lecturer then, (think his name is Wong Sooi Kut ) told us a true story about an African guy who participated in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Since my lecturer then happened to be the starter of that particular 100m freestyle heats , he has first hand encounter of what happened then.
The African dude, Eric Moussambani apparently just learnt how to swim 8 months prior to the Olympics and expectedly , didnt perform up to Olympic standard and my then lecturer almost wanted to stop the race , fearing that he could not even swim.
He did finished the race at the end through sheer determination and he was well received with standing ovation albeit his 100m time was 1:52 (worst in Olympic history, I guess) , which is slower than the current 200m (100m X 2 ) world record of 1:42:00
Subsequently, he was given a swimming scholarship to refine his stroke and after some years of training , he managed to do a 57 secs !, according to wikipedia :)
Moral of the story ? you got to have determination ! If Eric can do it , so can you !
Enjoy the video .
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Water treading video lessons
Hi , This is my first time filming myself teaching , not in the water though , but on land. :) I will attempt to teach water treading (standing afloat in the water). Ideally , if you know how to swim breaststroke, this is very easy . (It is sort of like a vertical breaststroke ) , if you dont, suggest you learn breaststroke first. :)
points to note :
Arms sweeping in and away
Legs lift up to 90 degrees and kick downwards
practice near the edge of the pool so you can grab on the wall.
Stay vertical , dont bend your back like a prawn (I like to use the word prawn :) )
Another good and more professional version ( not mine :) )
Suggest not to try the flutter kick one , cause that is tough !
points to note :
Arms sweeping in and away
Legs lift up to 90 degrees and kick downwards
practice near the edge of the pool so you can grab on the wall.
Stay vertical , dont bend your back like a prawn (I like to use the word prawn :) )
Another good and more professional version ( not mine :) )
Suggest not to try the flutter kick one , cause that is tough !
Saturday, September 12, 2009
I am swimming breaststroke
Hi ,
I always wanted to film myself swimming , and since today is a saturday , I did that exactly. I did a couple of video on all my strokes and was quite disappointed with my self . I swam horribly in freestyle . My butterfly looks weird and my backstroke is kinda going left and right. The only satisfactory stroke is breaststroke, and that too needs lots of improvement.
Anyway , attached my video on my breaststroke (25m pool). I think I need to train more on my kick. I need to whip/kick downwards more ( Insweep) . My recovery is not narrow enough and I think my kick doesnt produce enough thrust. The timing of my arm pull and kick needs to be adjusted as well.
I always wanted to film myself swimming , and since today is a saturday , I did that exactly. I did a couple of video on all my strokes and was quite disappointed with my self . I swam horribly in freestyle . My butterfly looks weird and my backstroke is kinda going left and right. The only satisfactory stroke is breaststroke, and that too needs lots of improvement.
Anyway , attached my video on my breaststroke (25m pool). I think I need to train more on my kick. I need to whip/kick downwards more ( Insweep) . My recovery is not narrow enough and I think my kick doesnt produce enough thrust. The timing of my arm pull and kick needs to be adjusted as well.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Trick your kids to teach your kids !
How to trick your kid (Age 3 - 10 ) ? :)
Submerging head into water
Many parents do struggle to get their kids head submerge into the water . So how do you do that?
I have always find this method to work .
1) get your kid to pretend to wash his/her face in the pool . Stating that while doing that , he/she is already holding her breath naturally.
2) ask him/her to hold her breath and submerge only him/her mouth in the water. If she is able to do that just a while. Quiclkly reward him/her with a high five !
3) ask her to submerge but hold her breath longer ( ask him/her to count silently in the head 1 to 5 , 1 to 10 )
4) When he/she is very comfortable. Then now you ask her to submerge her mouth and nose as well . Repeat (Step 2 and 3 )
5) Finally when she is comfortable with his/her nose being submerge, Now you may try to ask him/her to submerge his/her eyes as well ( with goggles or eyes closed ) .( REpeat Step 2 and 3)
6) now drop his/her goggles in to a shallow floorbed of the swimming pool and challenge her/him to pick it up , not forgetting to reward him/her of course !
Blowing bubbles
In the meantime, you can also teach him/her how to blow bubble .
1) Ask them whether they had try blowing bubble with a straw into their drinks . Most probably they have done it .
2) Ask them to repeat the same thing in the water with their mouth (submerging their entire body upright and the mouth only ). Quickly reward them with high five once they done it eventhough it is a small and brief bubble
3) Ask them to try to blow a longer bubble , you can challenge them yourself to see who can endure a longer period of blowing bubble ( pretend to lose to them to boost their confidence :) )
Tell me whether it works! :)
Submerging head into water
Many parents do struggle to get their kids head submerge into the water . So how do you do that?
I have always find this method to work .
1) get your kid to pretend to wash his/her face in the pool . Stating that while doing that , he/she is already holding her breath naturally.
2) ask him/her to hold her breath and submerge only him/her mouth in the water. If she is able to do that just a while. Quiclkly reward him/her with a high five !
3) ask her to submerge but hold her breath longer ( ask him/her to count silently in the head 1 to 5 , 1 to 10 )
4) When he/she is very comfortable. Then now you ask her to submerge her mouth and nose as well . Repeat (Step 2 and 3 )
5) Finally when she is comfortable with his/her nose being submerge, Now you may try to ask him/her to submerge his/her eyes as well ( with goggles or eyes closed ) .( REpeat Step 2 and 3)
6) now drop his/her goggles in to a shallow floorbed of the swimming pool and challenge her/him to pick it up , not forgetting to reward him/her of course !
Blowing bubbles
In the meantime, you can also teach him/her how to blow bubble .
1) Ask them whether they had try blowing bubble with a straw into their drinks . Most probably they have done it .
2) Ask them to repeat the same thing in the water with their mouth (submerging their entire body upright and the mouth only ). Quickly reward them with high five once they done it eventhough it is a small and brief bubble
3) Ask them to try to blow a longer bubble , you can challenge them yourself to see who can endure a longer period of blowing bubble ( pretend to lose to them to boost their confidence :) )
Tell me whether it works! :)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Before the swim race
I recalled my first swimming competition and it was a disaster , I was only 10 years old back then and was very tiny :) I was so nervous that I didnt know what was happening around me . Got to the blocks akwardly , and dived in like a prawn and swam as fast as I could ( barely moving though), first thing that happened, goggle came off ! , So I looked like an idiot with half filled water goggles overflipped over my cheeks.
So ,my instinct was to adjust the goggles but i remembered my coach tell me not to adjust anything and kept on swimming , and I kept on swimming for the whole 50m breaststroke. I think it took me around 50 seconds and it felt forever , I must have pulled like 50 strokes and I was ranked like 45 out of 48 participants at my age group level . Not bad ! I came out 3rd , from the bottom of the list :)
Well , after that , throughout my 7 years of competitive racing , I have gathered much experience and I managed to do a best of 32.xx seconds for 50m breasstroke and I learned a lot . I hope to share it with you all so you all dont dive like a prawn and swim like an idiot.
Before the Race ,
The warm up : Do some drills that you normally do , aim is just to warm yourself up . Do some short sprints , like 25m . Do plunging , turnings and finishing . If possible , time it such that your warm up finishes 30 mins before your event.
The starter : Notice who is the starter, analyse his/her pause between swimmers on the blocks and the start. Say , between 'take your mark' and 'go' , person A takes 1.5 seconds for the previous events and you may get the same starter. So you should anticipate your dive in around that time frame.
The visualisation : Try to visualise the whole race from the start to the finish . Try to feel every moment that you will go through, think through how you will start, swim ,breath, turn and finish. What is your intended stroke rate and how you will glide through the water. Plan your race , if it is a 200m race , maybe do a 80% the first 50m , then 90% 2nd 50m , 3rd 50m 85% and last 50m 100%
The comparison : When I was young , I used to be very much intimidated by bigger more muscular swimmers . These swimmers look so fit and huge but alas , I realised most of them were slower than me because they dont have water feel and their weight causes resistance and inflexibility. So, be positive , try your best and dont let other swimmers intimidate you. Chances are you are better than them ! On the other hand , also dont judge that the fatso beside you will be slower than you because in some race, that proves me wrong.. so wrong..
During the race :
Before the blocks : Do some warming up , swing your arms , jump a few times to get your body warm up to the race. Focus on the race and the pool in front of you , do not be distracted by other things
On the Blocks : To cut down on reaction time , I always anticipate the 'start' horn , I would imagine the horn sound is almost coming and when I actually hear the horn sound , I will dive in right away. Do not dive in or move before the horn , many first timers will do that cause they are too nervous , you will end up being disqualified ( DQ ), if there happen to be someone who dives in in your race , do not follow , you might be DQ as well.
The Race : Unless it is a 50m race or unless you are Alain Bernard and those guys, do not go 100% the first 50m , I have seen many beginners do that and end up drained at the end. Instead, do a control first 50m , this is because the adrenalin that you built up before the race will be sufficient to drive you a fast first 50m . You will also be able to save energy for the rest of the race.
The Finishing : The last 15 m is all mental , mind over matter . Pull as hard as you can , kick as hard as you can , drive yourself to the wall at maximum speed . If you are doing a butterfly or a breaststroke , try to time your last stroke to be a complete stroke ( comes with experience ) and keep your head down when you touch the wall . Famous example is Cavic who lost the race 0.01 seconds to Phelps in the Beijing Olympics because he lifted his head up as he touched the wall . Because of this , he will always be remembered as "the guy who lost to Phelps" , instead of Milorad Cavic :)
The video at 36 secs ( Phelps head down, Cavic head up )
Funny stuff about Phelps and Cavic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxK05rOmOZw
Enjoy your race !
So ,my instinct was to adjust the goggles but i remembered my coach tell me not to adjust anything and kept on swimming , and I kept on swimming for the whole 50m breaststroke. I think it took me around 50 seconds and it felt forever , I must have pulled like 50 strokes and I was ranked like 45 out of 48 participants at my age group level . Not bad ! I came out 3rd , from the bottom of the list :)
Well , after that , throughout my 7 years of competitive racing , I have gathered much experience and I managed to do a best of 32.xx seconds for 50m breasstroke and I learned a lot . I hope to share it with you all so you all dont dive like a prawn and swim like an idiot.
Before the Race ,
The warm up : Do some drills that you normally do , aim is just to warm yourself up . Do some short sprints , like 25m . Do plunging , turnings and finishing . If possible , time it such that your warm up finishes 30 mins before your event.
The starter : Notice who is the starter, analyse his/her pause between swimmers on the blocks and the start. Say , between 'take your mark' and 'go' , person A takes 1.5 seconds for the previous events and you may get the same starter. So you should anticipate your dive in around that time frame.
The visualisation : Try to visualise the whole race from the start to the finish . Try to feel every moment that you will go through, think through how you will start, swim ,breath, turn and finish. What is your intended stroke rate and how you will glide through the water. Plan your race , if it is a 200m race , maybe do a 80% the first 50m , then 90% 2nd 50m , 3rd 50m 85% and last 50m 100%
The comparison : When I was young , I used to be very much intimidated by bigger more muscular swimmers . These swimmers look so fit and huge but alas , I realised most of them were slower than me because they dont have water feel and their weight causes resistance and inflexibility. So, be positive , try your best and dont let other swimmers intimidate you. Chances are you are better than them ! On the other hand , also dont judge that the fatso beside you will be slower than you because in some race, that proves me wrong.. so wrong..
During the race :
Before the blocks : Do some warming up , swing your arms , jump a few times to get your body warm up to the race. Focus on the race and the pool in front of you , do not be distracted by other things
On the Blocks : To cut down on reaction time , I always anticipate the 'start' horn , I would imagine the horn sound is almost coming and when I actually hear the horn sound , I will dive in right away. Do not dive in or move before the horn , many first timers will do that cause they are too nervous , you will end up being disqualified ( DQ ), if there happen to be someone who dives in in your race , do not follow , you might be DQ as well.
The Race : Unless it is a 50m race or unless you are Alain Bernard and those guys, do not go 100% the first 50m , I have seen many beginners do that and end up drained at the end. Instead, do a control first 50m , this is because the adrenalin that you built up before the race will be sufficient to drive you a fast first 50m . You will also be able to save energy for the rest of the race.
The Finishing : The last 15 m is all mental , mind over matter . Pull as hard as you can , kick as hard as you can , drive yourself to the wall at maximum speed . If you are doing a butterfly or a breaststroke , try to time your last stroke to be a complete stroke ( comes with experience ) and keep your head down when you touch the wall . Famous example is Cavic who lost the race 0.01 seconds to Phelps in the Beijing Olympics because he lifted his head up as he touched the wall . Because of this , he will always be remembered as "the guy who lost to Phelps" , instead of Milorad Cavic :)
The video at 36 secs ( Phelps head down, Cavic head up )
Funny stuff about Phelps and Cavic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxK05rOmOZw
Enjoy your race !
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