Logo
    MARKETPLACECOLLEGEFEATURESPRICINGBLOGLOGIN

All Strokes - Kaitlin Sandeno & Erik Vendt

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 32 VIDEOS

Butterfly

Butterfly

Kaitlin Sandeno is one of the fastest 200 butterfliers in the world, and her technique is nearly flawless. As you watch her swim at race pace, notice how she swims with her whole body, not just with her arms and legs. Here’s Erik Vendt at race pace. Notice that he also swims by using his entire body. Like Kaitlin, he initiates every kick from the chest rather than from the knees. Here’s a closer look. Watch how the wave-like motion of Erik’s chest and hips helps him flow through the water. Let’s watch from under water to see how the kick is really an extension of the chest and hips. First Kaitlin, then Erik. Here you can see the link between Kaitlin’s chest and hips. As the chest goes down, the hips go up. And as the chest goes down, the feet also go down. The kick begins with the motion of the chest and hips. Another key focus point for butterfly is to take two kicks per stroke. Watch how Katilin fits two kicks into every stroke cycle. Here you can see that Erik has the same rhythm – two kicks per stroke. He kicks his hands in…and kicks them out. In this clip, let’s focus on Kaitlin’s ARMS. Watch how they stay relaxed and straight and low on the recovery. And notice how Kaitlin leads with the back of her hands. Here’s another view that shows how Kaitlin keeps her arms straight and relaxed, and seems to throw them right over the surface. Eri’s arms look much the same. He keeps them straight and low and relaxed. He leads with the back of the hands. And he seems to throw his arms just over the surface of the water. In these final clips, watch how Kaitlin sends her energy forward, rather than up and down. Both swimmers have this in common. Watch how Erik sends his energy forward. He keeps his hips high, and tries to move forward rather than up and down. Let’s watch as Kaitlin and Erik swim fly. They each have a favorite focus point, but watch for the things they have in common. Whole-Body Movement… Two Kicks Per Stroke… Arms Low and Relaxed… And Very Little Up-and-Down Movement. These are the things that you can build into your own stroke.

Backstroke - Kaitlin and Erik

Backstroke - Kaitlin and Erik

When you watch Kaitlin swim backstroke, even at race pace, you can’t help but notice how steady she holds her head. This is something that nearly every world-class backstroker has mastered – keeping the head rock steady, with no side-to-side…or up-and-down movement. Erik, at race pace, has the same steady head. There’s almost no movement…no bobbing up and down. Everything is channeled into forward motion. What else do Kaitlin and Erik share? Great rotation. Watch Erik…then Kaitlin, as they rotate shoulders, torso, hips, legs, and feet. Another similarity between Erik and Kaitlin is rhythm. Notice how each one maintains a steady, consistent rhythm. Each stroke flows right into the next, with no hesitation at the start or the finish of each armstroke. They keep the tempo fairly high in order to maintain forward motion and momentum. The arms are always moving, with a steady, even rhythm. From under water, we can see another similarity. Watch how Erik catches the water immediately once his hand enters. Erik never lets his hand SIT on top of the water. The hand enters and goes deep – right into the catch. Erik’s full-body rotation lets him catch deep. He can then engage the muscles all along his side to help him pull. He doesn’t over-extend and he doesn’t over-pull. Now let’s watch for this in Kaitlin’s stroke. Notice how her hand enters and goes immediately into the catch. From the side, you can see that great rotation leads to a deep catch, which leads to a powerful pull and constant forward motion. As Kaitlin and Erik swim backstroke, watch for a Steady Head… Full-Body Rotation… Steady Rhythm… And a catch that’s immediate and deep.

Breaststroke

Breaststroke

Kaitlin and Erik have a breaststroke that’s ideal for swimming the 400 IM. They have fast hands in front, which allows them to get streamlined for a powerful kick. Here’s Erik at race pace to show what we mean. Notice that he finishes the pull and is back in streamline before he starts his kick. And here’s Kaitlin at race pace. Notice how fast her hands are, and that she’s in streamline before the kick even starts. Streamlining helps her get maximum power from the kick – a huge plus in the 400 IM or in any breaststroke race. It’s almost as if she’s attacking the water with her hands, getting back into streamline as fast as possible. Now watch as Erik does the same thing. He holds his elbows a little differently… …but the speed and aggression are the same. His hands are so fast that he’s back in streamline before the start of the kick. Now let’s slow things down and look at some of the other key focus points for a fast breaststroke. In these clips, watch the head and eyes. As Kaitlin comes up to breathe, her head and neck are steady and in a straight line. And the eyes are down. Watch for the same things in Erik’s stroke. The neck and head never move as he comes up for air. And the eyes are down. Watch the eyes again in these underwater clips. During the glide, Kaitlin’s eyes are looking down at the bottom of the pool. This allows her to ride in perfect streamline, getting maximum power from every kick. Same with Erik. Eyes down during the glide. Now let’s watch the feet. Notice how Kaitlin’s feet stay together as she draws them up to get ready for each kick. You can see this more clearly from under water. Watch how Kaitlin’s feet stay together from the instant they slam together…until the instant they break apart to get ready for the next kick. What Kaitlin is doing is “hiding” her feet and legs behind her body as she prepares for each kick. Here you can really see how the feet and legs remain hidden behind the body during the recovery. This cuts down on resistance and helps Kaitlin deliver a more power kick. In the next two clips, watch Erik’s feet. Notice how he slams his feet together to finish each kick. And how he holds his feet together as he draws them up to prepare for the each new kick. Finishing each kick and holding the feet together during the recovery is a major focus point for Kaitlin… …and for Erik. And it can help every swimmer develop a more powerful kick. As we review the things Kaitlin and Erik have in common, let’s focus first on the eyes. Watch how they keep the head steady and eyes down during the breath… …and during the glide. Notice their fast hands, and how they reach full extension before the start of every kick. And notice the feet. Watch how Kaitlin finishes each kick with precision and authority. And watch how Erik holds his feet together, hiding them behind his body until the very last moment. These are the things you can focus on every time you go to the pool.

Kaitlin & Erik Freestyle

Kaitlin & Erik Freestyle

Erik is an exceptional distance freestyler. He’s a four-time National Champion and two-time NCAA Champion in the mile, and the first American to go under 15 minutes for 1500 meters long course. Kaitlin came to the 400 IM from a distance-freestyle background. She has an Olympic Bronze medal in the 800 free, and anchored the world-record-breaking 800 Freestyle Relay in Athens to win Olympic Gold. Let’s look at what they have in common. In these clips, watch Erik’s head position and eyes. Notice how steady he holds his head, and watch how low he keeps his head and eyes when he breathes. Watch for the same thing in Kaitlin’s stroke. Notice how there’s no unnecessary movement with the head and neck when she breathes. And notice how her eyes, like Erik’s, are low to the water during the breath. In these underwater clips, you can see that when Kaitlin breathes, she actually keeps one goggle in the water. Here’s a breath to the left side, with one goggle still in the water. Erik has the same, low breath. There’s no extra movement, just a quick, clean turn to air. Let’s move on to the pull. In these clips, you’ll see differences in the way that Erik and Kaitlin pull, but notice the similarities. Look at the reach – the extension – that Erik gets on every stroke. Watch for the same thing in Kaitlin’s stroke. Still focusing on the pull, notice how quickly and precisely Erik catches the water with each hand – on every stroke. The hand enters…catches…and holds on to the water. Watch here for the catch in Kaitlin’s stroke. The hand enters and begins to grab water. Another striking similarity between Kaitlin and Erik’s freestyle is how they use the entire forearm to grab water. Notice how high Erik keeps his elbows during the catch and during the entire pull cycle. This high elbow turns his forearm into a paddle. You can really see this with Kaitlin’s stroke. She doesn’t extend quite so far as Erik, but she catches immediately and hooks in with her palm and her entire forearm. Here’s another view of Kaitlin’s high elbows. But notice something else: the straight line that’s formed from the elbow along the forearm, through the wrist and all the way to the fingertips. Does Erik do the same thing? Yes. Here you can see that he holds a long straight line from fingertips to elbow. Through the entire pull he has no collapsed elbow and no collapsed wrist. He pulls with forearm, wrist, and hand – all the way through from catch to exit. Let’s watch that again with Kaitlin. She generates incredible power by pulling with as much surface area as possible – all the way through the stroke. Here’s Erik’s pull from another angle. One last focus point is the kick. Erik is unusual in that he can use a 6-beat kick for an entire 1500. Let’s slow it down to see how he fits the six kicks into each stroke cycle. Notice the pointed toes, the narrow kick, and the steady rhythm. Kaitlin has an exceptional 6-beat finishing kick. Again, let’s slow it down to see how she fits the kick into the rhythm of her stroke. The answer: pointed toes, narrow kick, steady rhythm. Kaitlin and Erik share dozens of the same freestyle skills. We’ve focused on only four, but if you look closely, and if you study them in slow motion, you’ll discover many more. Look for things such as high-elbow recovery, front-quadrant swimming, pointed toes, an early breath, hand acceleration through the pull, stunning balance and rotation, and notice how they keep the lead arm extended during the breath. Let’s take a final look at Kaitlin and Erik’s freestyle. They share the same head and eye position… They both reach full extension and have a clean catch… They keep the elbow high and the wrist straight through the entire pull. And they share a narrow, rhythmic kick. When you watch Kaitlin and Erik…or when you watch any great swimmer, try to look past their signatures to see the common threads – the essential technique points that you can add to your own stroke. Get an image in your head of how these world-class swimmers look in the water… …and then take that image to the pool with you. Swim with focus, and keep searching for the techniques that will make you faster.