Matt Mann and His Swimming Techniques

hey all right boys you boys are here to learn to swim my assistant and i are going to teach you now we're going to put these cubes on you so don't be scared of anything keep your mouths open and breathe in and out of your mouth now we'll take one that's kind here put your hands up all right run that right around your tummy put your feet down right to the bottom of the pool that's it now hold on to me lift up and let your feet pass one two one two one two one two that's fine kick kick kick kick kick kick all right now stand up all right now i'm gonna hold your head and i want you to swing your arms first one and then the other try to keep that kick going one two that's it two easy easy one two one press down on your hands that's it one two six six six [Applause] all right get your feet up now i'm gonna let go as soon as we get going don't forget you got that tube on i'm letting go kick kick lift your head up kick kick head up head up one two that's fine come on one two one two one that's it i want you to reach your arms out you're going to point to us now keep your heads up pretty good one two one two one two that's good boy one two one and don't care if your face gets wet that's all right come on breathe open your mouth breathe all right boys now this the first time you're going to swim without these cubes done now keep your heads up all swim to harvey go one two one two six six kick kick pick em up pick them up kick all right boys now we're gonna start learning to dive you've got two or three lessons on your swimming now let's learn to dive everybody down on both knees knees right over the tank side these right up in there already harvey you pick them up and i let them go put your head down ready all right boys you're going to stand on your own feet now bend your knees and crouch right down gripping that side there with your toes staying down everybody down hands out in front go [Applause] in class instruction it is desirable to drill the students in the arm and leg actions by means of land drills before they enter the water these drills are designed to give the pupil the right feeling for the stroke complete relaxation is the key to successful swimming and even in these land drills relaxation must be stressed the first drill is done with arm action alone then the timing of the breathing is added to the arm action in this drill turn and breathe turn and breathe and breathe turn and breathe after the land drills water drills are necessary to help coordinate the breathing with the arm action here the class is standing in shallow water and executing the combination of arm action and breathing [Applause] [Music] [Applause] notice the explosion of the breath we do not exhale through the nose but rather through the mouth just before turning the head [Applause] the breath should be taken in quickly through the mouth immediately after exhaling exhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale now we take up the leg kick for the crawl stroke first with a land drill keep the legs straight but not stiff with toes pointed in the leg kick the power is applied on the uplift the leg is allowed to fall back of its own weight and is completely relaxed a water drill for the leg kick is very valuable in learning proper form a good kick is between 8 and 10 inches deep keep the ankles and knees relaxed [Applause] this kickboard drill gives the swimmer the first feeling of stretching and the real relaxation of the kicking action each swimmer places his hands on a light board and pushes against it as he kicks kick kick kick kick [Applause] this is a good illustration of the arm action both arms reach their peak on the center line of the body so that the head is in line with the rope [Applause] you have just seen the finished swimmer going at regular speed and now we will show a slow motion analysis of the stroke note the relaxed recovery of the arm and perfect coordination of the whole stroke the breath is held while the face is underwater and is exhaled just as the face is turned notice how little effort is required for turning the head to breathe [Applause] turning plays a big part in racing sprint turn is done without taking a breath in the middle distance turn the face is turned higher and the breath is taken most turns are done away from the regular breeding side of the swimmer the crawl stroke is the most efficient stroke in the use of energy [Applause] the backstroke is often called the back crawl because of its similarity to the regular crawl stroke this land drill should be practiced before the students enter the water 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 in the back stroke the streamlining of the body is very important the hips are carried low with the head carried fairly high this gives less resistance to the water [Applause] in the kick drill for the back stroke keep the legs very relaxed and lift the feet about eight inches letting them drop back of their own weight a water drill on the edge of the pool helps get the proper relaxation the more relaxation in this action the better hold you will get on the water with your feet note the absolute relaxation of this leg kick the throwing up of the feet gets up and down pressure from the water [Applause] in the backstroke the wide sweep of the arms away from the body eliminates water being thrown over the face also making it impossible to go too deep with the driving arm the depth of the stroke should not exceed 10 inches [Applause] the backstroke turn is a very important part of racing this is done by throwing the hand behind and past the head swinging the body around and throwing the head well back in the execution of the flip over in this slow motion analysis notice the absolute relaxation of the arm wrist and even fingers in lifting the arm back over the water when the arm enters the water it is straightened out for pressure against the water [Applause] this scene shows the wide arm action which is of great importance to a backstroke swimmer at the present time two distinct breaststrokes are being used one the old style or orthodox breaststroke and the other the new style or flying fish stroke this is the land drill for the arm stroke in the orthodox passion [Music] to ride pull one two ride full once to ride one we'll take the leg kick now the orthodox breaststroke everybody balance on your right foot all together one two three come on come on one two three up pick two three one two three one two three one two three we will now combine the arm stroke with the leg kick it is very necessary to work out this coordination on land before going into the water two three four one two three four all right boys we'll go through the orthodox press so calm soak hands forward ready one two reach one two reach easy one to reach easy one two reach one two three one two ten up reach one two reach one two ride it note the explosive exhaling and the timing of the breathing with the arm action [Applause] boys we're going to go through the breaststroke kick the orthodox kick the knees apart and underneath ready one two three float one two three float one two three float one two three float one two three float in practice in this kick use a kick board this helps the student get balance in the water and to feel the drive of the kick this is the complete breaststroke showing the timing the swimmer rides or coasts after the kick the legs are straight and relaxed while the arms are pressing here is the slow motion action of the complete orthodox breast stroke the arms and legs are completely relaxed after each drive watch the timing of the breathing with the full stroke ready now for the arm drill on the flying fish breaststroke lift the arms over easy and slow swing the arms forward and straight down to the thigh pressure is on the palm of the hands downward don't pull back by bending at the elbow would press through to the surface of the water and repeat all right boys we're going to practice the flying fish kick now when this kick is different from the other orthodox keep the side back swing the lower half of the leg back ready one two three one two three one two three good one two three one two three one two three one two three this drill is used to perfect the timing of the flying fish breaststroke ready one two three one two three one two three one two three one in this arm action note the relaxed recovery of the arms over the water and the timing of the breathing [Applause] this is the kick used in the flying fish stroke the main difference between this kick and the orthodox kick is in the lifting of the lower part of the leg and keeping the upper part of the leg straight this gives less resistance to the water down kick lift down kick lift [Applause] a racing dive for the breaststroke is the same as any other racing dive in this stroke the hand is pressed through the water until it reaches the thigh the full length of the stroke is necessary to lift the body forward for natural timing of breathing note that the arm action is even and slow the rule requires that both hands touch the turn at the same time in the breaststroke this turn is done by throwing the hand upward while the body is swinging around take a good push and coast in all swimming strokes the most important factor is relaxation [Applause] you