Can slow tempo and stroke rate be a reason for syncing legs? While learning TI, in the begining, it is inevitable to be slow as you need to focus on technique.
Shinji Takeuchi
Yes and no. It is easier to sync leg and hand movements at a slower tempo. But you can do it at a faster tempo, too. And the timing can be adjusted not in accordance to the tempo, but the degree of propulsion.As you delay the timing, you can get more propulsion.
问：更慢的频率是不是有利于手脚动作的协调？
答：是，也不是。更慢的频率，手脚协调确实更容易。但更快的频率，同样也可以达到。手脚配合的时机，不仅和频率有关，和推进力也有关系。延迟打腿，你能获得更大的推进力。
You seem to stick your arm and then extend it underwater. Why is and does it save energy on long distances?
Shinji Takeuchi
You can move the other hand underwater more quickly by doing so.
问：你看起来好像在水底往前伸展手臂。为什么呢？是因为长距离能够节省能量吗？
答：这样，能加快划水。
My question: is 2 beat kick better than 6 beat kick?
Shinji Takeuchi
For long distance swimming.
问：二次腿比六次腿好吗？
答：对长距离游泳来说是的。
you seem to be a good floater besides being a great swimmer! would I be right in thinking that if
your natural buoyancy is low, then you would have to kick more ?
Shinji Takeuchi
50-70% of body balance can be improved without kicking. If you are taller than 180cm, and your BMI is less than 18, you might need to hone your kicking skill.
问：你看起来浮力很好，如果浮力不好的话，是不是要更多地打腿？
答：百分之五十到七十的身体平衡能够不通过打腿来提高。如果你身高超过180公分，BMI少于18，你可能需要提高你的打腿技巧。
I can see you are at about 1.40 sec/stroke on the video. I just got a tempo trainer and am trying to find my stroke rates. What are your range of stroke rates, for training, long distance, 200m…? How do you find the best stoke rate? Thanks!
Shinji Takeuchi
1.15: base tempo
1.00-1.30: for tempo pyramid practice
1.00: race tempo
问：我发现你视频中的划水频率是1.4秒。你的其他的划水频率是多少？如果找到最适合自己的频率？
答：1.15基本频率
1.00-1.30: 频率金字塔练习
1.00: 比赛频率
I am left handed …and I tend to breathe only on one side which leads to right shoulder injury …any solution to that other than bilateral swimming ?
Shinji Takeuchi
There may be a problem in recovery rather than breathing. Check if you can see your elbow at the initial phase of recovery when you stand in front of the mirror.
问：我是左撇子，只在一侧呼吸，这样导致我的右肩受伤。我想知道除了双侧呼吸之外有其它的解决办法吗？
答：也许是移臂的问题，而不是呼吸的问题。在镜子前试一试，看在移臂的初始阶段，你能不能看到你的肘部。
Hi Shinji, I see a lot of videos of TI swim on the net. New learners like me get fascinated by the slow motion part of you incredible swimming and try to implement your technique as slow as in the slow motion part of the video. Which I believe is a big mistake. My concern by saying all this here is, what must be the minimum tempo rate to maintain the smoothness of the TI swim? In different words what is minimum tempo or stroke rate after which it gets impossible to maintain or follow TI swim rules?
Shinji Takeuchi
I did not use the tempo trainer, but it looks 1.40 seconds.
问：维持流畅自由泳的最低频率是多少？
答：我没有使用节拍器，但是我觉得是1.4秒。
How do you pull? With shoulder only? Entire hand power? Or something else?
Shinji Takeuchi
Catch and pull phase: Leaning forward while positioning the forearm vertical to the surface. Push phase: Syncronizing the hand movement with the body rotation.
问：你是如何划水的，是只用肩膀的力量还是其它？
答：抓水阶段：身体前倾，让前臂垂直于水面。推水阶段：让手臂动作，跟随身体转动。
Hi there, it’s been a while I am trying to learn TI on my own. No matter how hard I try, my legs are not parallel to the surface. They are around 10 inches down. Lot of talking on this issue on you tube but nothing helped me. Some says just keep the head down, some says engage the back and hip muscle…..so confusing. Can you please share your knowledge? Really need help.
Shinji Takeuchi
If your BMI is less than 18, you need to practice efficient kicking. If not, many factors can raise your legs.
问：我的腿老是下沉，有的人说是要头部朝下，有的人说要用上背部和髋部的肌肉。我想问一下你有没有什么好办法。
答：如果你的BMI少于18，那么你需要练习有效的打腿。如果不是的话，那么有很多其它的方法来帮你的腿部上浮。
What is the ideal number of strokes to swim a 25 m pool ? I noticed you did 14 strokes in this video ..assuming this is a 25 m length pool.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Anas Bahsas , it depends on your height. 16-18 strokes/25m for 170 cm height swimmer.
问：25米的理想划次是多少？我注意到你在视频中的划次是14下。
答：这要根据你的身高来决定，对于170公分的人来说25米16到18下是比较合适的。
amazing. How do you stay afloat with such a low cadence? I am trying to learn to swim with less effort, but I fail pretty badly…
Shinji Takeuchi
+BikerProfesor , lean forward. Pressing the water with your face might work.
问：你是如何在这么慢的频率下，保持身体漂浮呢？
答：身体前倾，用脸部压水也许有效。
just amazing! you just slide through the water. really soft! can i ask you something? i can do that ‘flexible’ armstroke like you did in this video. (my swim trainer taught me that posture) but if i swim like that i can’t swim for a long time. about 200m i guess. it make my shoulder muscle lump and tired so can’t swim longer. in a word, it doesn’t feel natural for me. so if how can you swim naturally like that? and do you feel your shoulder and arm feel lump?
Shinji Takeuchi
+lucky7 , maybe you pulled your elbows during finish. You might try to open your armpits to engage recovery instead of using the shoulders.
问：我的移臂也能像你那样，但是游不到200米就累了，你这么游肩膀和手臂累吗？
答：也许是因为你划水结束的时候，把肘部推直了。移臂的时候试着把腋下多打开一些，而不是只用肩膀。
hi Shinji, does this work for sprint distances? This looks more like stayer/open water distance style. what sort of time can you produce over 50/100m?
Shinji Takeuchi
+Dmitry Drozdov , some fundamental skills can be applied to sprint swimming. Some will be set off with more energy consumption movement since you do not have to worry about spending energy for such a short time.
问：这个技术适合短距离游泳吗？好像比较适合公开水域的长距离游泳。
答：有些基础的技巧能够运用到短距离游泳中。
Hi! I can’t catch when you breath.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Selamar Moren, I lower the surface of the water just before I breathe by a bow wave. So you cannot see my head.
问：我好像看不到你在呼吸？
答：我是在水面的波谷中呼吸，所以你看不到。
how can he move so fast with that leg movement? i do move my leg with faster frequency, but no significant move towards at all
Shinji Takeuchi
+ReizaVanHalen , my kick contributes my body rotation rather than making propulsion by itself.
问：这么打腿，怎么能够游得这么快？我的打腿频率比这高的很多，但是却不怎么向前移动。
答：我的打腿更多的是帮助我身体转动，而不是产生推进力。
Hi Mr. Takeuchi. You swim beautifully!….I was just wondering….wouldn’t you reduce more drag by pulling with a higher elbow? ..maybe an inch below the surface of the water?. Thanks for your response Mr. Takeuchi
Shinji Takeuchi
+Juan Jimenez Guerrero, I think higher elbow positions are for elite swimmers. An ordinary guy like me, it is hard to move the hand back without push-down action.
问：你划水时肘部更高一些，是不是能够减少更多的阻力？
答：更高的肘部对专业选手来说比较适合，对我这种一般人来说很困难。
Hi,
Thanks for the inspiring video. I have a question. Which one initiates the roll the kick or the hips ? Thanks.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Ali Dengizek, I use my hand entry as a queue to switch sides. I use hip rolls when I get tired.
问：是什么启动了身体的转动？打腿还是髋部？
竹内：我用手臂的前插来帮助身体左右转换。但如果觉得累的时候会使用髋部来滚动。
Do you ever do faster stroke rates with your 2-beat kick?
Watching videos of Laure Manaudou and Sun Yang who also have used 2bk during competitions.
It’s really amazing how they keep up with rest of the field with less effort…almost matrix like ;-)
Shinji Takeuchi
+nemrut , it depends on the distance. If it is short such as 200m, I use 6 beat kick.
问：你有没有试过快频率的二次腿？
竹内：要看距离，如果是少于200米，我会用六次腿。
hellos mr. Shinji Takeuchi, with the help of your technique I can swim up to 1500 m / h
– Is what this distance is in the standard for hours
– How far can you make yourself
(sorry for my bad english)
Shinji Takeuchi
Hi,
The first goal for beginners is to swim 1500m non-stop. Then the second goal will be to swim in 35 minutes. To achieve it, you practice will be shifted to swim faster.
问：你最远可以游多远？
竹内：对于初学者来说，第一个目标是连续游1500米，第二个目标是能在35分钟内完成，这需要你游得更快。
Will it make any difference if breath just from one side all time?
Shinji Takeuchi
+Kerem Otag, I think it does not matter until you do open water swimming.
问：只用一侧呼吸行不行？
竹内：没问题，但公开水域不行
+Shinji Takeuchi Mr. Takeuchi, would you please explain the breathing technique you use? I don’t see you breath out under water and hardly see you breath in either.
2
Shinji Takeuchi
+Tam Nguyen , I just breathe out to get enough air for me. I create “bow wave” to lower the surface of the water. It is why my head is hidden in the water.
问：能不能介绍一下你的呼吸技术？好像看不到你在呼吸
竹内：我会头前造波，这样呼吸水面会降低，头可以藏在水里。
Hi Shinji,
I have question about Superman Glide practice. As many others, I’m having the problem with sinking legs and find it difficult to keep balance and floating longer. I see Superman Glide is the most basic and important lesson to be successful in TI freestyle swimming so could you please give me some advice to take Superman Glide more effectively?
Thank you very much!
Shinji Takeuchi
+Khanh Nguyen , when you do Superman Glide, it is very important how you push off the bottom. 1) Lean enough so that your shin is parallel to the bottom, 2) Stretch the back of your knee very quickly.
问：关于超人滑行你有什么建议？
竹内：1 尽量前倾，让上身平行水面 2 快速伸直膝盖打腿
how do my head and body always go up to surface about all the time ? It’s cause me hard to take a breath,
although I keep my head on bottom. But it’s not work.
what’s the keys ?
Shinji Takeuchi
3 key points.
1) Head position: Top of the head is just beneath the water surface
2) Hand position: 6 inch (15cm) deeper from the water surface
3) Hand entry angle: 45 degrees so that you can shift the weight during recovery
问：你的头和身体如何总是保持在水面附近？
竹内：三个关键点：
1 头的顶部在水面附近
2 手在水面下方15公分
3 手入水45度角，这样能重量转移
I have a question. Yes it looks graceful but from this technique it seems acceleration is the key to look ‘efficient’ for propelling forward. My question is, does the energy expend from strong kick like this is even more tiring than the standard 4 beat kick? I tried it, but it felt that the kick use relatively the same amount of energy than the 4 beat flutter kick.maybe im doing it wrong
Shinji Takeuchi
In my style (not TI standard), kicking itself does not create propulsion, So I do not get tired from kicking. If you try 2-beat kick with scissors style, you might get tired mainly coming from tension. If you use 6 beat kick, you might swim faster but you get tired sooner.
问：二次腿比四次腿累吗？
竹内：我的二次腿并不是全浸标准的二次腿，不产生推进力。如果用剪刀式二次腿，你觉得累可能是因为肌肉紧张。
Hello Shinji, my extending arm sinks. If i don’t press down with extending arm I have to lift my head to breathe. How to solve this?
Shinji Takeuchi
+Amit Verma, 1) Just before you breathe, insert your hand closer to your head and extend it underwater very quickly. 2) Match the timing of inhaling with the extension of the elbow.
问：呼吸时老是压手怎么解决？
竹内：1 呼吸前，在头附近入水，水下快速前伸 2 肘部前伸的时候吸气
Hello! Just found you and TI. Beautiful Freestyle Swimming. I am encouraged that I can improve my swimming after seeing this! Curious, how many strokes to you take and then breath? I am capable of like 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 something like that for a 2 mile workout. I never seem to tire, but need an improved method to become better at what I love! I taught myself to swim at age 50 through YouTube! Now do TRI’s! Swimming was the only thing I didn’t know how to do so I turned to YouTube! Worked!
Shinji Takeuchi
+Lolly , I breathe every 4 stroke. When I need to speed up, I breathe every 2 stroke.
竹内：我四下呼吸一次，如果需要提速我两下呼吸一次。
I am a big fan of yours Shinji. How fast can you do 400m and 1k with this style of swimming?
Shinji Takeuchi
+outlawcatcher1 , I try to keep my pace at 90 seconds / 100 m.
问：你这么游1000米的速度是多少？
竹内：保持在90秒/100米
if im kicking that little my feet would sink way too low :(
do you guys try to keep ur torso relatively flat or are you supposed to twist it from side to side w each stroke?
Shinji Takeuchi
You do not have to worry about twisting.
1) Insert your hand closer to your head and spear down in the water. It will help your lower body to go up.
2) Press the water with your face and chest. You will feel your weight shifts forward. The leaning sensation is important to keep your body flat.
问：我需要扭动躯干左右转动吗？
竹内：1 靠近头部入水，向下插，会帮助你下身抬高。
2 用脸和胸部压水。你会感觉重心前移。这种前移的感觉对保持身体水平很重要。
Takeuchi-san – I could not make out from the video but are you moving your hand in a S like fashion? (Right arm in a S and left in a mirror-S). If so how close your hand is to your torso when you are in the middle of the pull.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Nasir Khan
I just focus on the form of the arm in the beginning. Then I relax my arm while my body rotation move it. Then I focus on the way of pushing the water to add more momentum for recovery.
问：你的划水是s型吗？
竹内：划水开始时我关注手臂的形状，然后放松让转动带动，快出水时推水让回臂更快速。
When I first saw this video – about one year ago – I said to myself ‘Wow!! I would like to swim like that’ So, one year on, I’m nearly there….hopefully. So thank you for all your videos, they have been a huge inspiration. I do have one question, how much do you pull on your catch? I was under the impression that you hardly pull at all and that it is the leg kick plus rotation of body that creates the propulsion. This is the only mental part that I cannot seem to get quite right.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Wondrin Minstrel
My intentions is to form my arm then let the body roll do the rest. I may need to push more for open water swimming.
问：你是如何划水的呢？
竹内：我是固定好手型，然后让身体转动来带动，在公开水域我也许要推水。
Hi Shinji. Awesome swimming. Just have a question about kicking. I have recently started doing the two-beat kick but I can’t seem to get my hips level after I breathe. For example,after I breathe on my right, and as my left hand is pulling thru, I kick with my left leg but I can’t get my hips level like you do in your video. Any suggestion will be much appreciated.
Shinji Takeuchi
+Jae Lee
Your legs might get tensed after down-kick. Once you move down your leg, you try to relax it so that the water pushes it up.
My dry-land rehearsal for 2 beat-kick will work for you. It makes you recognize the connection between toe-flick and hip rotation.
问：我打完腿后为什么身体不平呢？
竹内：你打完腿后可能没有放松，打完腿后要立即放松，让水流把腿推回水面。
I have watched your video hundreds of times. Amazing technique. You are an inspiration. From not being able to swim 10-15 meters, I do 1200 meters trying to use your technique. I follow your guru Terry Laughlin as well. Thanks for the video. I still can’t get my lower body parallel to the surface with the 2 beat kick. Resort to the buoy every so often. Any suggestions.??
Shinji Takeuchi
It is great improvement swimming from 15m to 1200m!
As for your leg sinking, check as follows;
1) Is your top of the head submerged all the time?
2) Are you looking down (at most 1.5m ahead)?
3) Can you see the spearing hand?
4) Is the elbow in front of your ear when insertion?
5) Is the degree between the surface and the hand more than 45?
Once you say yes to all the questions above, you feel your lower body goes up.
竹内：如果你的腿部下沉，检查一下几点：
1 头顶是不是一直没在水中
2 是否眼睛朝下，最多朝前1.5米
3 能否看见前插的手
4 入水时肘部是否在耳朵前
5 入水角度是不是大于45度
如果回答都是是的话，你的下身就会漂起来
how can i kick like him? i tried but i lost my body balance.
Shinji Takeuchi
+park鞝戩榿 , the kick is to assist body rotation, not to raise your lower body. You can improve your balance with your upper body.
竹内：打腿是为了帮助身体转动，而不是为了抬高下身。你可以通过上身来提高平衡。
This is very smooth really …iam trying to do your style but not yet reaching your level as i feel very slow , others told me that i am over-gliding because of the slaw stroke rate..so how can you keep your speed with the slow stroke rate?
Shinji Takeuchi
+mahmoud elsonbati , even the tempo is slow, you need to rotate your body very quickly with your arm stroke. It will create propulsion.
竹内：即使是很慢的频率，也需要快速的转动来产生推进力。
Hello,
I swim my freestyle with a six beat kick as I feel swimming TI with a 2 beat needs very strong and durable lat muscles, which I do not have. Even after using the six beat kick to add propulsion to my stroke, I am not able to sustain it for too long. I can swim only 500m, in about 12 mins or so. What may I be doing wrong? Should I just hit the gym and focus on building by back muscles?
Shinji Takeuchi
+fegdfg
You do not need very strong lat muscles to swim 2 beat kick. Using core enough to keep the posture is what you need. Find how to minimize engaging your core while doing Skate drill with kick.
竹内：二次腿不需要很强的肌肉，用躯干核心来保持体态就够了。在侧漂的时候，练习用尽量少的躯干核心来完成。
I notice that my T.I. front crawl stroke is more like Terry Laughlin’s and my physique is more like his than yours, Mr. Takeuchi. I notice that Terry and I are more barrel-chested than you, and I also observe that Terry and I don’t shrug our shoulders as much as you during forward motion/recovery, nor do we have such extended shoulder lifting.
These are very subtle observations on my part and perhaps I am wrong. It is hard to see everything with different camera angles and with the water refracting the light. I wonder if it is because you have a wider shoulder to waist ratio than Terry and I?
Basically I am hoping that you can comment on differences in body types for stroke dynamics, in other words, how do different builds affect T.I. swimming style.
Thank you very much for offering to answer questions! Josh in Canada
Shinji Takeuchi
Hi Josh,
It is true swimming style may be different based on flexibility and other factors. In addition to that, I intentionally stretch my shoulder blade during recovery in order to put my elbows in higher positions before insertion.
I do not intend to shrug my shoulders.I intend to open my armpits and move the elbows to the side in the beginning phase of recovery. Then I engage my shoulder blade to bring the whole arm without changing the shape. Some of movements are introduce in my newly published “Freestyle Toolbox” digital content at
http://shop.tiswim.net/en/
竹内：在移臂时我主动伸展肩胛骨，这样入水前我的肘部更高。我没有刻意耸肩，而是在移臂开始的阶段打开腋下，让肘部在身体的外侧。然后，不改变手臂形状，用肩胛骨来移动手臂。
