Also shown is the absolute position (i.e. relative to the poolside, and not necessarily he point of view, which may change slightly between pictures ) of their hand at the catch, again in red. Hence it becomes possible to see how much their hands slip through the water during each arm stroke - in each case the actual distance that the hand moves is very approximately 40cm. Remember these are two of the best freestylers in the world, so how much water could you be wasting by not keeping hold of the water? But how can you improve this?

Ian Thorpe

'Hold of the water' is something that coaches often talk about to swimmers. It's normally a good thing and you can sometimes feel when you are doing it well, but how do you define it? More importantly what can you do to improve it?

the catch

In all strokes there comes a point where your hand stops moving forward and starts pulling back past your body and against the water. This stage of the stroke is known as the catch and it's at this point that getting a good hold of the water is most crucial. In an ideal world you would be able to anchor your hand stationary in the water, so that as you exert a force your hand doesn't move relative to the poolside, but instead stays still as your body moves past this point. Of course this being the real world it's not as easy as it sounds.

Even the best swimmers in the world can't achieve this perfectly as water is not solid, but they are as you'd imagine considerably better than the average swimmer. The pictures on this page show underwater shots of Ian Thorpe and Peter van den Hoogenband, taken from the Sydney Olympics. In the top picture of each set, the hand position at the catch is marked with a red line. In the second picture, the actual position of their hand when it leaves the water is shown in green.

Peter van den Hoogenband

drills

To promote a "feel" for the water, Swim with both of your hands clenched in a fist. Swimming like this gives a far better appreciation of how your hand and arm slip though the water. Swim like this for a couple of lengths then gradually unclench your hand, you should notice a difference in pressure on your hand until when your have finally flattened you hand out, the force becomes greatest.

Once you reach this stage, try to keep your hand holding water as you move through your pull pattern and don't let the water go towards the end of your stoke - imagine that your are swimming with a ladder underneath you, and each stroke you take you are not just holding the water but actually grasping a rung of the ladder which would give you something solid to pull and push against.

From this point on, in common with most other techniques, you need to apply this to every stroke you take - it can seem easier just to let the water go, particularly at the end of a stroke, but you need to make as much out of each one as you can. In the end you will end up taking fewer strokes per length and become a more efficient swimmer.

Below are five tips to get your starting going - these are aimed at a traditional grab start rather than a track start.

1. be prepared

When you start moving forward you should aim first to go out and up, as though you are trying to grab hold of the backstroke flags. Keep your hands and arms pointing downwards during this movement though - if you get your arms over your ears you will get to flat as you move towards the entry to the water. Once you have fully extended your body, push your head down and go for the entry in a good streamlined postion

Finally remember that whatever you may get from these tips, they will be of no use if you don't remember to dive properly every time you do a start - only perfect practice makes perfect!

1. go back to basics

Forget turning for a while, and go back to practicing forward rolls in the water. Its amazing how hard they can be! Practice getting our head down quickly and trying to roll all the way over without paddling too much with your hands. When you feel comfortable practice swimming front crawl into a forward roll. Aim to get your head down fast and rotate quickly.

Practice spending as little time as you can with your feet in contact with the wall. Once they are planted drive with your thighs as though you were jumping. Don't waste time turning onto your front before pushing off, push off on you back if necessary (Michael Klim did this very noticeably at the Olympics). Some people, such as Alex Popov in these photos, like to incorporate a quarter twist into their tumble so that they push off on their side. This is entirely a personal thing, but may work well for you. Many top swimmers have coaches specifically to train them to be better jumpers and hence get a faster push off from the wall. Practice doing Sergeant jumps to improve your speed off the wall.

Finally remember that whatever you may get from practocing yout turns in isolation, they will not become second nature if you don't remember to turn properly every time you do a tumble - only perfect practice makes perfect!

When considering swimming technique for any stroke, analysis should follow the format described below, in this order:

1. Leg kick
3. Timing
2. Arm cycle
4. Breathing

The leg kick will control the body position in the water, while the arm cycle will provide the propulsive force. The timing between the two is vital to the efficiency of the given stroke in order to provide a greater speed through the water with minimum wasted energy. Finally, breathing tech-nique should be analysed to ensure that when you breathe your overall technique is not disrupted in any way that would cause a breakdown in efficiency.

Recovery
Elbow leaves the water first, with a high elbow, hand relaxed directly under the elbow, trailing fingers on the water, then reach forwards to the entry position

Entry & Catch
Thumb first, hand slightly cupped, reach further forwards and out (laterally) to 'catch' the water to prepare for the out sweep - dropping the shoulder (upon the reach) slightly will help in the 'catch' and also in the recovery of the other arm

Out sweep
Press the water laterally to the body with only slight elbow flexion and begin to rotate the hand at the wrist medially

In sweep
Press the water towards the hips through further flexion of the elbow and wrist as you feel the body being pulled over the hand

Press
With the hand at the hip and palm facing towards the feet, press the water back by extending the arm to approximately 90% of full extension, keeping in line with the body to reduce drag. The arm is ready for the recovery, elbow first!

Heading into the wall, somersaulting, and pushing off that wall - the basic flip turn. Wow! Looks good. But is it necessary?

No, not really. It depends upon your goals - why you swim and what you want to do in the water. It's a quick way to turn around, but all swimmers can turn around without doing a flip turn, and some do it faster than when they try a flip turn. At first, it may be very slow for you, too. As you get better at the technique, you may find it easier to do a flip turn than turn some other way. The only way to find out is to try it!

Why is it called a flip turn if you are doing a somersault? I want you to think of it as rolling up in a ball, not something as acrobatic as a flip. Sounds easy - and it is for some swimmers; others get lost as they tumble around, losing sight of where they are going, and end up almost everywhere but heading back in the right direction.

The first thing to remember is turns are "blind". Don't try to look where you are going after you begin the turn, and don't look when you push off the wall and head back the other way. You have to trust other swimmers in your lane. Have faith in their ability to follow some the swimming rules of etiquette when sharing a lane:

• Stay on your side of the lane if you are splitting a lane.
• Don't swim on top of someone else's feet if you are behind someone - either back off or pass them on the straightaway.
• Swim in a circle (each side of the swimming lane goes in the opposite direction) when there are more than two sharing a lane.
• If you are not sure, you may want to talk with the others in your lane to get the rules straight.

You can learn the turn without a wall. Taking away one of the confusing parts until you learn how to comfortably somersault. The rolling over part is really a half-somersault. You start on your stomach, then end up on your back. You will roll over to your again stomach later, after you push off of the wall

Recovery
Thumb first, arm fully extended, rotate the arm laterally through the shoulder joint, keeping in line with the body, gradually turning the hand laterally at the wrist ready for the entry. Allowing the opposite shoulder to drop will lift the recovery shoulder to help balance the stroke and create a more powerful propulsive phase

Entry & Catch
Little finger first, drop the shoulder to allow a reach and 'catch' the water with the hand cupped. The arm should flex slightly at the elbow to assist in the catch

Down Sweep
Continue to flex the arm at the elbow as you press laterally, then downwards as you pull the hand towards the shoulder and chest, keeping that shoulder in the drop position

Press
With the arm close to the body, press the water towards the feet in line with the body, ensuring full arm extension is achieved

Recovery
Both arms break the water simultaneously, hand and forearms first, the arms swing outwards, elbows slightly flexed as they both continue to swing round and meet forward of the head, thumb and fingers first

Entry & Catch
Fingers first, the hands cup and catch the water simultaneously in preparation for the out sweep (the big kick finishes)

Out sweep
Together, the arms press laterally, and the arm begins to flex at the elbow (the small kick starts)

In sweep
As the arms continue to flex, the hands turn medially and press towards the body (in small kick finishes)

Press
As the hands come close to the body, they then press towards the feet, fully extending the arms at the elbow in preparation for the quick 'flick' out of the water and to recovery (the big kick starts)

Breaststroke
The final competitive swimming stroke to analyse is, like butterfly, controlled by the efficient timing of the leg kick and arm cycle in order to give the most effective end result - a faster swim! The arm cycle is as follows:

Reach & Glide
Both hands, thumbs together, reach forward, fully extending the arm at the elbow (the leg kick starts to push back to continue the forward movement) - the arms will stay in this position until the kick is completed by the feet touching

Out Sweep
The hands rotate laterally, cupped to catch the water, and press laterally with slight flexion of the arm at the elbow

In Sweep
The arms continue to flex at the elbow as the press on the water is now turned medially towards the chest (the legs flex at the knee and hips to prepare for the kick)

Recovery
Once at the chest, the hands meet in the centre, elbows flexed close to the chest to reduce drag, and recover together over the water at the beginning, but then dive in to the reach and glide