Of benefit to the experienced swimmer
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Whether you swim for exercise, relaxation or pleasure, this book is sure to help. While a good proportion of the text is devoted to explaining and justifying the principles behind the ideas it promotes (and I did tend to skip much of that, although I am sure it is interesting in itself), it does contain some really good advice.
I swim for an hour or more on an almost daily basis. Being a swimmer who at one time swam competitively I was finding it hard to do anything other than swim all out in the pool, but the suggestions here really helped me gain a new perspective, and derive much greater pleasure from my swimming.
Some sections are devoted to specific advice on individual strokes, highlighting both good and bad practices. Interestingly many of the suggestions contained in the book do not contradict typically taught methods, but rather they compliment or enhance them. However it does also warm against some practices which it considers physically harmful, especially some practices adopted by competitive swimmers. Overall its message is to encourage swimming techniques that are both relaxing and that make swimming a pleasure.
I found this a most useful book, every bit as beneficial for the experienced swimmer as much as the novice.
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a breakthrough book
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Since this appeared, there've been thoughtful and very worthwhile swimming books from Ian Cross, and from Terry Laughlin, but this was the first, and it's one I go back to. Quite simply, it reorientates your thoughts about what you're doing with yourself in the pool, and about how you can be in the water. Unlike Steven Shaw's more recent "Mastering the Art of Swimming", which is highly detailed, and chock-full of step-by-step drills, this book sets the mood for thinking how you can enjoy the benefits of Alexander Technique as you start to swim, or return to swimming. It's highly enabling, it has you believing you can do it, happily, and that's a great start. "Mastering the Art" is great too, but it's at times scary in the sheer amount of fine detail with which it analyses aspects of each stroke. This book gets you back to moving, as does Ian Cross, with core priorities in place, and not too much worry over wanting to be exactly right. Maybe it's simply the tone - whatever - it changed radically how I think about being in the water, and (I believe) for the better. The dvds (sold separately) are a great back-up, and also well worth acquiring. For me, Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion books proved very compatible with this approach, and an inspirational way to move forwards.
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excellent reading
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This book has helped me in overcoming my fear of water which was due to an incident that happened to me in my teens.I have wanted to swim for many years and now with the help of this book I am gradually getting there.
It covers aspects that are not covered by everyday swimming instruction. Very informative and practical a book that you will read more than once and refer to in the future.
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A new path to swimming for both the aquaphobe and swimmer
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This book has helped me discover the physical and psychological reasons for my long standing fear of swimming. It clearly sets out step by step the technique that Steven Shaw has developed using the Alexander Technique to overcome the reflex actions that create the panic and rigidity which inhibit freedom of movement in water. It is also very informative for those who are not terrified of water, but who have problems which they seek to overcome. Beautifully illustrated and full of sound advice.
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A useful angle on swimming
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Most books on swimming concentrate on the physical actions of arm, leg and body movement with a view to maximising propulsion. Some more modern, enlightened books concentrate on the essential skills of balancing and buoyancy. This book is at the other end of the scale, concentrating on your mind and body's relationship with the water and counteracting your learned and natural (land-based) tendencies when interacting with an essentially non-supporting medium (ie water). It all sounds a bit too new-age and some of it is for me. But the underlying concepts about true relaxation in the water and the methods of achieving this state are very sound indeed. I tried some of the ideas in this book and realised that although a fully confident swimmer, I was not as relaxed in the water as I believed or indeed needed to be. On achieving this relaxation my swimming has been transformed. I can swim a lot longer and faster easier than before. This improvement is not just a few lengths but more like an 800% improvement in distance ability with front crawl within weeks. This is no joke! I think you could probably sum up the useful stuff in a much smaller book but it is well worth buying if you want to swim better and stay injury free doing so.
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