Backstroke for Every Body
Better Fly for Every Body
Breaststroke for Every Body
Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body
Outside the Box:
Triathlon Swimming: Made EasySteve, a 50+ novice has been taking lessons with me at 2-week intervals in the TI Swim Studio in New Paltz. After each I send him a summary and ‘homework’. After our most recent lesson he sent me this email query:
I watched most of “Perpetual Motion Freestyle in 10 Lessons” today. I am trying to relate what we are currently working on to the segments in the video. Would this be an accurate list of what I should be working on for the next few weeks?
Superman Glide(1.1)
Superman Glide to Skate (2.3)
Skate-stroke-Skate ? (2.4)
Spear Switch? Pre-switch (4.3). Interrupted Switch (4.4)
Rhythmic Weight Shift
Rehearse Swing
Swing Skate (6.2)
Elbow circles (7.2)
Marionette Arm (7.3)
Draw Line (7.4)
Weight Shift Focus (8.4)
Spear to Swing Switch to Swim (“ear hop”)
Have I missed anything?
To which I replied, in part,
“Good onya’ for being such a conscientious student. When viewing the video, are there particular things you notice or take away that you feel apply to you?”
Steve’s response: “When I look at the video, I feel like EVERYTHING applies to me.”
So I wrote back as follows:
“Steve, That’s a typical reaction. That’s why it’s critical to:
1) have a solid understanding of your ‘problems’ and the best solutions that that allows you to . . .
2) prioritize effectively, then . . .
3) practice with patient disciplined focus
Come to think about it, that formulation works for any of life’s important challenges. But how many non-swimming sports or fitness activities offer the potential to develop behavioral and thinking patterns that can be so broadly beneficial?”
As I never tire of saying “Swimming That Changes Your Life” isn’t just a slogan.
Terry, this post is so pertinent to me too and I just want to thank you. I stumbled on your self-coaching videos on Youtube a week after joining the local pool and floundering out breathless, difficult laps for five minutes at a time. That was two weeks ago. I am working very hard on applying what you say and I have to tell you that you have literally changed my life. Two weeks and a day ago I would never have guessed that I could find swimming so important in my life or that I would love it so much. I can’t wait to become more a part of what you are teaching here.
Dear Terry,
I am writing this from warm Manila where I have worked and lived for last 17 years. First of all, I would like to thank you for teaching me IT swimming on YouTube, which gave me invaluable value in my overcoming my life challenge. In fact, I got diagnosed as PD several years ago but had a long usual denial period until I got finally reconfirmed. At that moment, I promised my PD doctor that I would do my best to live 3 times happier than before. The promise I have been keeping all the time since then and this was supported by the TI that became my daily life.
Around two years ago my body became so weak that I could barely walk and everybody around me felt so sorry for me. Then, I started learning swimming (normal swimming) and never skipped a day basically and swam morning and evening. However, to my dismay, after more that a year of hard learning and working, my swimming could not impove much (I used to be an extremely versatile person who earned 3 black belts while young). Swimming 200 meters was so difficult and I got discouraged. Then, I saw my neighbor Kenneth was doing something I never seen before, so I asked him what it was. He told me “It is TI, go to YouTube.” I instantly look into your lessons on YouTube and got thrilled. After watching the lessons, I ordered your book and the three famous videos you produced. Reading your book on Kindle helped me understand the princples of TI.
After a few weeks, I had a chance to swim at sea in Laiya Beach, sounth of Manila. To my surprise, I could swim more than 1,000 meters without getting tired. Wow! It was sensational to me. Then, I hired a TI coach to learn it more systematically. I could swim 1,000 meters in the pool and 2 km at sea without much difficulty. Now, I have a better TI coach, Jan Michael Chiu, young and handsome Philippines national team swimmer every Saturday, while practicing myself every day. Now, we plan to make an islands hopping swim this year. I am so excited about this plan.
Through TI learning, my body became so fit and I have sixpack (from using my body core) at this age of 56! Nowadays, people who know of me and my two years ago got so pleasantly surprised and they even envy me for the nice body.
I am so happy about TI and my daily life with it and so I keep encouraging my friends to learn TI and they are listening to me. Someday, I hope I can help other DP patients to have the hope and courage to get it over as I did so happily because of TI.
I can talk about my experiences more later. I just wanted to say “Thank you so much, Terry!”, which I had in my mind for some time.
Cheolghee Kim, a happy TI swimmer in Manila