Learning the best pull means understanding the importance of your forearm.

EVF, or, Early Vertical Forearm, is the definition of a good catch.  With the elbow high, the fingers down, and the forearm vertical, or perpendicular to the surface of the water.  This gives the arm a better chance of pulling you forward in the water.

One of the easiest ways to understand EVF is with Front Scull.

To move forward using the front scull, the fingers should be pointed down and the fingers and forearm should be BELOW the elbows.

This creates a ledge or the surface area to reflect the water backward as the arms sweep in and out.

Keeping the elbows close to the surface and in front of the shoulders also starts to better simulate the freestyle catch or the beginning of the pull.  Moving the elbows back to the side of the shoulders will also help you understand how to keep the elbows high through the entire pull.


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EVF Drills