Aloha, and thanks for joining me.  My name is Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen, and in this video I want to share with you the things I think about when I swim.  

These are focus points that I’ve learned through many years of teaching, training, and competing in pools and in open water.

You may be surprised to find that I think about a few big things rather than a lot of small details.  I try to use just six simple ideas to guide all of my swimming.  These 6 things are:

1.  Enter the hand slightly outside the shoulder.

2.  Keep the head neutral.  Keep the eyes down, and the hips high.

3.  Use a high-elbow catch.

4.  Know where and how to apply power.

5.  Keep the kick small and quick.

6.  Practice relaxed breathing.

These are simple ideas that apply to every stroke.  I use them to un-complicate my swimming, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

As you work through the video, remember to focus on just one thing at a time.    I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do this.

If you focus on one thing at a time, and focus on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, you’ll become more self aware as a swimmer, and that’s the key to getting faster.

When you work on these techniques, always be willing to experiment with your stroke, and to compare efficient technique with inefficient technique.   

When you swim with poor technique on purpose...

... and then swim with good technique, it’s easy to feel why good technique makes you swim faster and with less effort.  

Remember that changing old habits takes time, and sometimes your stroke will feel weird for a while until new habits and new patterns become second nature.  

When you go to the pool, don’t just go through the motions.  As you try some of the things on this video, really think about what you’re doing.  Become aware of how things feel.  And if something works for you, make it your own.

Mahalo -- thanks for joining me... and for sharing my love for the water.   I hope this video will help simplify your swimming and make you more aware of what you do in the water.  If it makes you faster...or more efficient...or makes you better at coaching yourself, that's what makes me happy.    So if you’re ready to go fast, let’s go swim.


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The Six Principles