I first heard the term "Aquatic Violence" from Total Immersion coach Brian Vande Krol in his ebook Six Week Beginner Freestyle Stroke Efficiency Program

This morning I was teaching a private lesson to an Ironman Triathlete, multiple Kona finisher who is nearly 70 years old. As I watched his warm-up laps I saw an exuberant effort to reach and extend his hands as far forward as he could, a dramatic rotation of his core to each side, and lopsided scissor kick that caused his body to move in an "S" like slithering fashion down the pool. He had no trouble getting from one side of the pool to the other, but much energy was wasted twisting side to side, his body distorted out of shape and a lot of lost opportunities to create a streamlined body with energy for propulsion being directed to the sides, rather than straight forward.

We broke down his stroke by starting with fundamental Total Immersion lessons such as superman glide, laser lead rotation and skating. To my slight surprise, my student, although nearly 70, had quite a bit of flexibility in his neck and his shoulders. He responded to gentle nudges of my hands with relaxed neck and shoulders almost instantly. His mindful processing of the instructions contributed to how quickly he picked up the new subtle movements we practiced.

But when we began practicing the spear switch…a movement in which you move from one balanced streamlined position to the other by spearing the underwater arm forward with your core…he suddenly became a twisted, tense collection of muscles and joints. He began the movement gracefully and with his spearing action, he immediately took on the appearance of the swimmer in his warmup laps, ungraceful, tilted head,hips sinking and an almost panicked look on his face as he stood up for air quickly.

I tried to coach him several times to stay relaxed as he made the switch from one side to the other, but every time, no matter how relaxed and graceful he started, he always ended up like a wind up toy soldier with stiff arms and leg and an arched back.

Finally I told him of the term "aquatic violence". I explained how rapid, forceful actions against a medium like water which is soft and yielding usually did not result in the desired actions…improved streamlining and forward propulsion.

The very next spear switch he tried was near perfection. As he gently transitioned from right side to left, using his hips to drive his arm forward, his body remained relaxed, aligned and supple.

I realized that for him, adn probably for many swimmers, the efforts to stroke hard and fast, practicing "aquatic violence" contributed mostly to building tension. In a swimmer with awareness of the need for relaxation, the next few gliding moments in the water would need to be spent taking inventory of each body part and releasing the tension.

However as soon as I made my student aware that he was practicing aquatic violence, he performed the action with grace and ease, with a resultant beautiful relaxed streamlined position from which he could mentally rehearse, and then perform, his next switch.

So next time you are swimming, ask yourself if you are practicing aquatic violence. If so…try practicing aquatic peace instead and see what happens with your swimming.