hi everybody
i was just a few weeks ago introduced to this fabulous website (thanx erik Y.
) and have spent a great deal of time reading and trying to learn and improve .
one topic though, which i personally believe to be very important, i could hardly find in the forum.
let me explain :
beeing a beginner freediver myself and (until recently) without any sort of guidance i spent a great amount of time just trying to figure things out by myself.
in various threads there are lenghty discussions on breathup techniques, relaxation and concentration procedures, nutrition and so forth. and all that is extremely interesting i have to say.
what i find missing is a discussion on swimming style. i spent 3 months in thailand this year and a great part of my time i tried to figure out in what way i could move more efficiently underwater.
the more i worked on that the more complicated the task seemed to become.
the simple question of whether to swim with arms forward or not keeps me busy to this day.
there are so many details i try to concentrate on and i want to name just a few :
- kicking cycle : how fast do i kick. do i use the blades natural rebound for extra forward movement?
- kicking width : do wider kicks slow me down cause i´m less streamlined?
- blade twist : as i kick are the blades beeing twisted, does it help if i spread my legs a little to lessen turbulence?
- legmovement : how much do i kick out of the hips, the knee, the ankle ?
- body and arm position : is a completely relaxed position streamlined enough ?
then of course there are the different demands : do i just go on a cruise or do i go for a deep pb, or dynamic or whatever else one is doing to enjoy the blue.
as a beginner i think that developing a good personal swimming style is very important. if i can hold my breath for x minutes a efficient swim will definitely get me further or deeper while beeing more relaxed for a longer time meaning i´ll enjoy the dive a lot longer.
unfortunately i´m not blessed with having a great many experienced freedivers in my neighborhood from whom to learn or copy. therefore i hope to get some different opinions and maybe some new ideas or suggestions that way.
i want to encourage anybody, beginner to pro, to please share some thoughts with me.
wishing you all some deep and clear water
roland

i was just a few weeks ago introduced to this fabulous website (thanx erik Y.
one topic though, which i personally believe to be very important, i could hardly find in the forum.
let me explain :
beeing a beginner freediver myself and (until recently) without any sort of guidance i spent a great amount of time just trying to figure things out by myself.
in various threads there are lenghty discussions on breathup techniques, relaxation and concentration procedures, nutrition and so forth. and all that is extremely interesting i have to say.
what i find missing is a discussion on swimming style. i spent 3 months in thailand this year and a great part of my time i tried to figure out in what way i could move more efficiently underwater.
the more i worked on that the more complicated the task seemed to become.
the simple question of whether to swim with arms forward or not keeps me busy to this day.
there are so many details i try to concentrate on and i want to name just a few :
- kicking cycle : how fast do i kick. do i use the blades natural rebound for extra forward movement?
- kicking width : do wider kicks slow me down cause i´m less streamlined?
- blade twist : as i kick are the blades beeing twisted, does it help if i spread my legs a little to lessen turbulence?
- legmovement : how much do i kick out of the hips, the knee, the ankle ?
- body and arm position : is a completely relaxed position streamlined enough ?
then of course there are the different demands : do i just go on a cruise or do i go for a deep pb, or dynamic or whatever else one is doing to enjoy the blue.
as a beginner i think that developing a good personal swimming style is very important. if i can hold my breath for x minutes a efficient swim will definitely get me further or deeper while beeing more relaxed for a longer time meaning i´ll enjoy the dive a lot longer.
unfortunately i´m not blessed with having a great many experienced freedivers in my neighborhood from whom to learn or copy. therefore i hope to get some different opinions and maybe some new ideas or suggestions that way.
i want to encourage anybody, beginner to pro, to please share some thoughts with me.
wishing you all some deep and clear water
roland