Core Muscles For Swimming

by Coach Mat | 20 Jul, 2013

Here is an essay my wife, Gail, elected to write for this blog. She is a licensed occupational therapist (OT) who has helped me develop an appreciation for the therapeutic advantages of TI (therapeutic as in both ‘rehabilitation’ and in ‘performance...

Magic Moment

by Coach Mat | 10 Jul, 2013

Here is a message I received recently from a swimmer I have been corresponding with. He describes something I am eager to disclose to my new-to-open water swimmers: swim on mindfully until you come to the magic moment! Here is his comment: Another thing I want to...

A Tricky Bosphorus Race

by Coach Mat | 8 Jul, 2013

I was pleased to participate in the 25th Annual Bosphorus Continental Crossing Race (Boğaziçi Kıtalararası Yarış) yesterday in Istanbul, Turkey. There were 1600 swimmers with 600+ of us from other countries. From the survey of the course on the tour boat (provided for...

How Do You Hydrate?

by Coach Mat | 30 Jun, 2013

We just finished one of our open-water camps in Çıralı, Antalya Province, Turkey (more in September!) – the water was a bit cool for some (25 C / 78 F) but the weather was hot. It created a situation where one could lose a lot of fluid during the heat of the...

Slide And Glide Example

by Coach Mat | 10 Jun, 2013

A recent comment I received on my post Long Live ‘Slide-And-Glide’ (drill) asked for a video example of this. I think Shinji’s 9-stroke video gets the idea across. Notice how there is no pause in the stroke. One arm is always moving, and moving...

Problem Solving In Open Water

by Coach Mat | 7 Jun, 2013

We can divide the teaching we give in our private lessons, camps, and workshops in two categories: 1) Stroke and Swimming Skills 2) Problem-Solving Skills “Problem-Solving?” you might ask. (The sunset view from the veranda of our hotel here in Kaş where we...

Feel For Feedback

by Coach Mat | 2 Jun, 2013

Have you ever asked your coach, “Hey, look at me. Am I doing this right?” What are you trying to get with that question? Feedback. You need feedback to tell whether you are doing the right thing or not so you can make some improvement. There’s no way...

Imprinting A Quality Catch

by Coach Mat | 23 May, 2013

Here are some great questions from a comment on Opportunity Cost. He is asking about Early Vertical Forearm (EVF) and what to expect in establishing this skill:   I’ve been musing on this very thing [opportunity costs] in my TI practice. I’ve recently...

Opportunity Cost

by Coach Mat | 15 May, 2013

Here is a snippet of a comment I received on the the recent post No Bubbles To Eat: I have only been doing the TI method for two months and I am a competitive swimmer which messes me up…when i have to go fast. Here was my response to that part of it (and I’ve...

Got Talent?

by Coach Mat | 13 May, 2013

Here is my two-cents to add to those who’ve been doing a great job busting the myths behind talent (Like Daniel Coyle in The Talent Code): Talent is just the gift of a head-start. It isn’t what gets you through a practice, across the finish line or onto...