Total Immersion

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Total Immersion (TI) is a method of swimming instruction, developed by Terry Laughlin, an American swimming coach. Its primary focus is to teach swimmers to move in a more efficient, natural way in the water. The instruction is sold in several ways, including instructor led in-water courses, books, and videos.

Contents

[edit] Principles

TI starts from the basis that traditional swim instruction - such as that offered by the Red Cross - focuses on getting the swimmer through the water as fast as possible.[citation needed] TI instead focuses primarily on efficiency and comfort in the water, and emphasizes form over conditioning; the swimmer's form in the water is more important than the swimmer's speed through the water.

The style of swimming it stresses can be beneficial to entry-level swimmers and also for distance swimmers, as the goal is to make swimming more natural. TI approaches swimming as a mindful practice done in the spirit of yoga or tai chi. The aim is to become more self-aware and to feel "one with the water." Lap counts and pace times are considered less important than improving one's efficiency.

The instruction focuses on four essential skills, which are non-instinctive and counter-intuitive to most swimmers.

  1. Balance - the body is level in the water, with the head farther down and the legs farther up than is instinctive.
  2. Active Streamlining - reducing drag as much as possible, and keeping the longest possible body shape in the water, to increase efficiency.
  3. Rhythmic Weight Shifts - using weight shifts to generate force uses less energy than simply using force to pull
  4. Traction - actively discovering what generates the most traction, and a focus on "holding onto your place in the water" instead of pushing forward.


[edit] Technique

[edit] Front Crawl

The most common stroke is the front crawl/freestyle stroke. Its TI technique includes five focal points: [1]

  • Release your head's weight to the water, so your head and spine align.
  • Focus more on using your hand to lengthen your bodyline, less on pushing water back.
  • Relax your legs until the kick blends easily with your stroke.
  • Swim more quietly - minimize waves and splash.
  • Count strokes.

Emphasis is placed on developing balance and awareness of the dynamics of swimming, over and above the development of simple strength and power. [2]

[edit] Breaststroke

For the breaststroke, the technique includes:

  • Streamlining during the glide phase is emphasized; the body must stay as long and sleek in the water as possible.
  • Arm movement is minimized, and does not contribute to forward motion.
    • When not moving, arms are streamlined in front of the swimmer.
    • When moving, the arms are only used to bring the head above water for the breathing phase.
  • The movement of the head above the water starts a full-body movement that ends with the kick.
  • The force of the kick should come as the final step of a full body movement.
  • Eyes are looking down, and never looking directly forward at any point in the stroke.

[edit] Butterfly

Similar to the breaststroke, the body undulates up and down for the butterfly, using the movement of the torso to contribute to the power of the kick.

[edit] Advantages

Improvements in technique and efficiency help any level of swimmer, beginner or elite. Terry Laughlin's claim is that while gains in fitness will produce gains in speed and endurance, improvements in technique are more important. Beginners being trained with the TI method may be more comfortable in the water, encouraging them to swim more, and letting them swim farther and faster than they would have without the training.

The emphasis on balance and streamlining[3] removes the need for a strong leg kick (so often needed to prevent the feet from sinking) and directs more of the force from the kick to forward propulsion. The stroke is thus less tiring, and can be sustained for long distances. Many triathletes[citation needed] use Total Immersion methods because their sport is very endurance based, and TI lets them conserve their legs for the cycling and running stages of the competition.

It is important to note that while TI can be helpful as a tool to learn to swim, to improve one's endurance, and to make swimming a more intuitive activity, it never goes beyond introductory technique.

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Laughlin, Terry. Blog Comments
  2. ^ EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page
  3. ^ Streamlining

[edit] Notations

[edit] External links

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Styles of Swimming
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