Can a poor swimmer or beginner attend a TI workshop? Can experienced swimmers improve with TI? Do we welcome children at workshops? How are Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body and Triathlon Swimming Made Easy different from “Total Immersion: the Revolutionary way to Swim Better, Faster and Easier? If you already have a TI book, how important is it to have one of the TI dvds? What can people learn on their own simply using the DVD vs. what they learn at a workshop? Which TI video/DVD is for me? Should I use Fistgloves? Should I use fins? QUESTIONS ABOUT TI WORKSHOPS: Can a poor swimmer or beginner attend a TI workshop? To attend the Freestyle Workshop, you should be able to swim at least a length or two. But if you are a poor or frustrated swimmer, our record of turning strugglers (even those who have been frustrated for years) into swimmers is unmatched. We can help you progress enormously in two days – far more than years of tedious laps would accomplish. You’ll leave the workshop with a specific plan for improvement and the tools to make it happen. If you are a non-swimmer, or unable/fearful to swim in deep water, we suggest you start with practicing the skills in the Happy Laps video or DVD. We also now offer "Learn to Swim" workshops in our New Paltz, NY swim studio, or you can look for a Total Immersion coach in your area for a private lesson. Can experienced swimmers improve with TI? Total Immersion can help ANY swimmer maximize their potential. If you have Human DNA, we can teach you to be more Fishlike and give you a much stronger foundation for continuing to improve. The best swimmers in the world are characterized by their graceful, economical movement more than by any other quality. There are only a few dozen swimmers in the world who can swim with impeccable efficiency at top speed – and all are recognized as having reached the elite level in swimming. Even if you have been swimming for years and have considerable success to show for it, you CAN still improve in subtle but still important ways...and Total Immersion has proven to be the most dependable method of creating that improvement. Do we welcome children at workshops? Our workshops are designed for adults but many age group swimmers, some as young as 10, have completed it successfully and with dramatic improvement. They should understand the workshop is more information-intensive than what they are used to. But if they are willing to learn and practice mindfully and attentively, they’ll learn priceless and enduring lessons about how to swim your best. For complete info about TI Weekend Workshops, read here. QUESTIONS ABOUT TI BOOKS: How are Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body and Triathlon Swimming Made Easy different from “Total Immersion: the Revolutionary way to Swim Better, Faster and Easier?" The original TI book (Simon & Schuster 1996, revised 2004) has helped thousands of swimmers understand and enjoy swimming more than ever. It is most useful as an “introduction for the uninitiated” to TI. However, if you already have some familiarity with TI or have set specific goals, you’ll find more comprehensive guidance in the books described below. And for learning TI skills and drills, our DVDs are the best way – other than working with a TI Coach – to master the fine points that help you reach your full potential. Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body (published December 2006) ES4EB is the TI book of choice for: (1) those who have made good progress on TI fundamentals and wish to advance their skills; (2) those interested in becoming “complete” swimmers; or (3) competitive swimmers of any age – especially Masters swimmers. It includes our most up-to-date guidance on how to develop and train all four strokes. This book would also be the best introduction to TI methods for swimming coaches. Read an excerpt. Triathlon Swimming Made Easy (published 2002) is the best TI book for those primarily interested in becoming a better freestyler, distance swimmer or open water swimmer. Though the title refers to Triathlon, I really wrote it to be a detailed guide to swim freestyle with ease and confidence for any distance in any body of water. Read Chapters 1-3. QUESTIONS ABOUT TI DVDs: If you already have a TI book, how important is it to have one of the TI dvds? The dvds are intended to complement the information in the books… and vice versa. The dvds show you graphically how to execute the drills properly in a way that illustrations and descriptions in the book cannot. The books explain everything we can’t fit into the voiceover on the dvd – what difficulties you may encounter and how to ease your way, how to practice each drill and lesson after learning the movements, how to apply the lessons of the drills in your whole stroke, and how to train yourself for fitness or speed using both drills and whole-stroke. What can people learn on their own simply using the dvds vs. what they learn at a workshop? Most workshop guests have practiced on their own with the video first. They had made significant improvement by self-coaching with the aid of the video and book. They improved even more dramatically – and did so literally overnight – at the workshop. The impact of being videotaped underwater, having your technique expertly evaluated and following a guided program of instruction under the direction of a coach who is highly experienced in teaching Fishlike Swimming skills will be greater than any other learning process. Which TI DVD is for me? If you’re a non-swimmer…are water-phobic…fearful of venturing out of shallow water…can’t breathe properly while swimming…or can only swim a few strokes before stopping…Happy Laps will teach you how to be completely at home in the water in just a few hours. Click here for complete details. If you’d like to swim a remarkably efficient, effortlessly powerful and always satisfying freestyle…if you’d like to swim any distance in any body of water…if you swim for health, relaxation, distance or speed…if you’d like swimming to be the best part of your next triathlon…Freestyle Made Easy (available in DVD only) presents the same complete and up-to-date skill improvement process taught in the renowned TI weekend workshops. Click here for complete details. New DVDs (released December 2006) Along with ES4EB, we released three companion DVDs (BetterFly for Every Body, Backstroke for Every Body, Breaststroke for Every Body). These exactly complement the chapters on each stroke in ES4EB and illustrate the TI methods for swimming Butterfly, Backstroke and Breaststroke with more skill, speed and enjoyment than ever. Unique features Each DVD has all of the following: 1) Live lesson with Terry Laughlin –Terry demonstrates and explains every step, what it contributes to the overall skill and how it relates to other skills in the sequence. It’s like having a personal lesson with Terry. 2) Beneath the Surface –These segments were shot in a current pool, with both camera and swimmer stationary, allowing for extended study of the movements. We also shot from up to six different underwater and surface angles, including directly underneath and overhead. No instructional video has ever examined the strokes so thoroughly. 3) TI Coaches Practice – Watch TI coaches practice the key drills and the whole stroke, also from multiple angles. Also shows examples of “imperfect” skills illustrating likely stroke and drill errors to watch out for. 4) For Boomers – This section, never before included in any instructional video shows how to adapt your swimming to be better than ever in middle age. Though you may not be as strong or as supple as you were at 25, you can still swim your best by following the tips in this section. If you’d like to develop all your swimming skills – or if you’re a swim coach or teacher – these DVDs will be an invaluable addition to your library of learning tools. Complete Details. QUESTIONS ABOUT TI TRAINING AIDS: Should I use Fistgloves? I had no knowledge of Fistgloves when I wrote the original TI book. But, as soon as I tried them, they became my favorite training tool and I wore them for 40 percent or more of all my swimming for several years. They also became my favorite teaching tool. When we have our students wear them at Total Immersion workshops and camps, the normal rate of transformation and improvement becomes markedly accelerated, because the gloves reinforce everything our drills teach. During our summer camps for kids, we typically have a large group of “average” swimmers and only a limited time to teach them true and lasting fluency in all four strokes. When we began using Fistgloves, we saw a dramatic increase in learning speed with swimmers in every age group, from 8 to 17. We now have the campers wear the gloves for over 80% of their water time at camp, usually removing the gloves for only the last 5 to 15 minutes of each 90-minute session. How to use them. The higher your ratio of drill-to-swim, the higher percentage of your overall yardage should be with Fistgloves. In an hour of mainly-drill practice, you might wear the gloves for the first 40 to 45 minutes, then finish the practice with bare hands. As you increase the amount of swimming, you might switch to a 60:40 ratio of gloves to bare hands. Competitive swimmers in training, might use Fistgloves as much as 70% of the time in early season, gradually reducing that ratio to 30% or less in mid-season, then increasing Fistglove use in taper to 50% or more. During taper, the gloves will reduce stress and fatigue and increase sensitivity and kinesthetic awareness. For developing swimmers, a novice could use Fistgloves 70% to 80% of the time, an intermediate swimmer 50% to 70% of the time and an advanced or elite swimmer 30% to 50%. For more detailed info on how to use your hands while swimming, read here. Should I use fins? A fair proportion of adult swimmers – and most of those who were runners first – are ineffective kickers because of inflexible ankles. If that’s you, fins can be a great aid in parts of the drill sequence, but it's best to try to get a bit of a sense of balance without fins first. If you find yourself looking up at the same ceiling tile for a long time while in Sweet Spot, just stand up, relax a moment, then push off the bottom to give yourself some momentum. It's much easier to maintain momentum while moving, than to generate it once you've lost it. And don't respond to a non-propulsive kick by kicking harder. Becoming a stronger kicker is not the point; learning to swim with an effortless – almost unconscious — kick is the REAL goal. Continued drill practice, combined with some vertical kicking and judicious use of fins will gradually make your uncooperative kick effective enough to sustain smooth, relaxed drilling. For more detailed info on how the kick relates to whole-stroke swimming, read here. For guidance on how to use fins while drilling, read here. All materials included in this website are Copyright © 2008 by Total Immersion, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission in writing from Total Immersion, Inc. For information, contact: Total Immersion, Inc., 246 Main Street, Suite 15A, New Paltz, NY 12561 Or e-mail us.