Swim commentators should never try to explain technique to viewers; they don’t know what they’re on about.
But this is not to exclusively disparage their knowledge, since even scientists admit the waters are muddied when it comes to an exact understanding of swimmer propulsion.
In fact, the better informed the expert, the more they’ll defer to mystery rather than pedantry.
But one can disparage commentators for mouthing antiquated platitudes and expecting viewers to swallow them, much less care.
In the recent Commonwealth Games trials in Brisbane, Nicole Livingstone claimed women distance freestylers had all now switched to “a rolling six-beat kick” in place of a two beat kick. (The inference was that the two-beat kick is now obsolete).
Unfortunately for her, but instructively for the viewer, the very final on screen at that moment was the blue ribbon women’s distance event, the 800 freestyle.
Pan below the water line and you see the leading three contenders (Jessica Ashwood, Laura Crockart and Alanna Bowles) splashing it out in – oh no – good old two-beat. At least Livingstone was honest enough to admit her claim was bogus, which is more than can be said about the faux progressive coaches she may be getting advice from.
Making matters more embarrassing for commentators and slavishly orthodox coaches was that Bowles, just 16, swam a world junior record in finishing second to Ashwood.
And an ideological blow of many times that magnitude was delivered in the men’s 1500m, where the winner and junior world record smasher, Mack Horton, was also doing two-beat. His breach was the more heretic because men are far less likely to be natural two-beaters than women.
This is where I get to vent my spleen and tell the reader that coaching in Australia is so choked by myopic orthodoxy that most coaches will attempt to snuff out any hint of a two-beat kick as soon as it rears it’s head in junior squad. Yes, a kind of infanticide of a kicking species. And this is done chiefly for marketing reasons, to satisfy parental notions of a ‘classical’ freestyle ideal (high pointy elbows and flutter kick).
All that silly nonsense about Ian Thorpe’s foot size only reinforced such palaver. This is why we haven’t had any women distance champions for quite a while and our men are only now beginning to emerge gingerly from the long shadows of Perkins and Hackett.
At the risk of confusing readers, I’ll describe the difference between the kicks as briefly as I can.
A six beat kick is basically when you see legs kicking without any noticeable pause. It is what almost all sprinters use. It gets it’s name from the six downward kicking strikes in one complete arm stroke cycle (eg. from when your right arm enters the water until it enters again).
A two-beat obviously has just two downward strikes per stroke cycle, or one strike per alternate arm entry. In casual terms, you see very little kicking action in ‘two-beaters’, but the kicks you do see strike down deeply and seem to hang there a moment (they don’t have much else to do).
Believe it or not, very few swimmers can do more than one of these kicking styles comfortably. Switching from one to the other presents such a massive disturbance to the chain of balancing interactions from toes to fingertips that it can be like trying a new sport.
Do you want to hear about other less common, but equally valid kicking variants like ‘four-beat cross-over’ and ‘asymmetrical three and five beats’?
I thought not. But they exist and world records are occasionally set employing them.
Next time you watch a major distance race (women’s 800m or men’s 1500m) check the underwater pans for the kick. The vast majority of distance swimmers have always done two-beat and always will, simply because it is a more economical way to swim.
The legs have so much meat in them (compared to the arms) and yield so little propulsion that they are less efficient to operate vigorously for such a long period.
Sprinting, on the other hand, operates on an ‘all hands on deck’ propulsive principle. Kick as hard as you like because the wall is never too far away – grit your teeth and bear the pain.
There is always one exception to prove the rule, and that is the American six-beater, Katie Ledecky. Because she has dominated women’s distance freestyle since she won the 800m in the London Olympics, the pedants simply assumed all would follow suit.
But Ledecky is a rare ‘motor savant’ who probably would have risen to such stature regardless of her kick pattern – or perhaps sport.
But there is no proof either way – and this is what wise commentators should keep in mind next time they begin to spruik the merits of a swimmer’s stroke.
ss
Guest
Nice points of views. In the middle of the long distance, I can see a variety of the kicking styles. Always wonder why some people defy it. They seem to believe only one true theory, only one Best kicking style in practice, which must be applied to anyone at any phase of the race. I've never got a good explanation of sung yang's 4 beat kick from the commentators. K.ledecky 1500m kazan 2015 looked like an odd rhythm, one beat kick on left omitting right one. Some other competitors did actually 2bk. Complex reality isn't so simple. We need better explanations.
brad cooper
Guest
Thanks Stevo @ Lennox. On your suggestion that orthodoxy is taught for comfort, this is the last thing on most instructors' minds. It is far more comfortable to have no formal kick instruction and leave legs to respond freely to the general forces put in play by the arm cycle. Then your legs will truly do either a simple two beat or a cross-over response, as you apparently did. The cross-over is due to body roll (they cross to counterbalance the torso roll!). The cross-over is usually the default kick of males, while the two-beat is the default kick of females. (iThis gender difference is because males' more forceful upper bodies create more axial roll for the legs to counterbalance, or because of the wider hips of females). So orthodoxy is taught purely and simply for orthodoxy's sake....and to satisfy arcane notions of propulsion and 'style'. A high arm return (like Klim's) can cause shoulder injuries because of the extreme rotation range. But then, six-beat kickers have some of the highest rotator-cuff burn out in sport because their kick prevents the hips (and therefore the torso and shoulders) from rolling with sufficient pitch to optimise shoulder capsule geometry during rotation. Two-beaters and four-beat cross-over kickers have relatively few shoulder injuries because they follow arm responses, whereas a six-beat tends to dictate arm responses. You may suggest what you like about the sort of kicks employed by distance swimmers, but just watch the underwater shots and actually find out. Yes, some two-beaters will try to comply with their coach's pedantic instructions to 'bring it home' in the last 100m with a flutter kick, but this change more often than not throws their stroke out. You will find a few more four beaters and cross-over variants in the men's distance events than the women's, but they are still what are referred to as 'broken tempo' kicks and are much more practical for distance than a six beat. In any case, there are so many kids being taught to do six beat now, that it is a wonder there are any two-beaters left at all, let alone dominating the distance events.
Stevo@Lennox
Guest
HI Brad, Interesting article. I used to employ a two-beat cross-over kick hence why my swimming career reached the heights of a gum tree in a sawmill. I for one, however, find Nicole Livingston a great commentator. Maybe it's just me. However, I think you are not entirely right in your article. I would suggest that most distance swimmers would employ a variety of kicks from a two-beat, to a four-beat and to a six-beat. Obviously this would depend on how the simmer is feeling, how fit they are, what time they are aiming for, how the race is panning out, what lap they are on etc. I agree about swimming strokes, and kicks, being a different strokes for different folks kind of thing due to anatomy, skill, injury etc, but I for one always found it an amazing pleasure to watch those with the traditional/orthodox stroke. Like Popov, Thorpe and even Magnusson to an extent (found old footage of Murray Rose the same). I liked Michael Klim and thought he was a great swimmer but thought his stroke looked terrible - kind of like watching Rob de Castella running during a marathon. I would also suggest the reason why orthodoxy is taught in swimming, particularly freestyle, is that the majority of swimmers will never reach the heights of the Olympics, and that it is the easiest way to swim and also the least taxing was to swim on a person's body. A maverick technique, like Klim's may be great for an elite athlete but would probably be disastrous for the weekend warrior. Indeed, Klim was plagued with injuries in his career and I wonder if his technique was partly to blame. Anyway, enjoyed your article, really got me thinking about the days on the old kickboard - geeze I hated that kick board.
brad cooper
Guest
No Josh, but it suggests you're open minded. When an arm comes over the long way around like Klim, the extra time it takes seems to complement a vigorous (six beat) kick cycle by giving it more time. The bent (or folded) arm return was once exclusively favoured because it could actually deliver the hand back into the water sooner. But because it then had to sit in a movement queue while waiting to synchronise with the kick, this was simply no advantage to six-beat kickers. Lots of coaches just sprout whatever pedantry and orthodoxy seems fashionable in order to consolidate their authority. It's not good for business to go around saying 'we're never really sure'. To a mum and dad already certain their kid has what it takes to become a champion, a coach without a smile and a ready platitude doesn't last long. Good techniques are invented every day by swimmers answering the unique advantages and limitations of their own anatomies. But they still have to put in the miles.
josh
Roar Rookie
Is it weird I'm still fan of Klilm's straight arm method?
Boomer
Guest
Thanks Brad, you've changed my life. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
Half Volley
Guest
Great read, thanks Brad. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.