3 research outputs found
Revisiting the Metaphorical Concept of âNo Strokes First - All Strokes Firstâ: Part One - Beginning Strokes
The aim of this article is to address the familiar question âWhich swimming stroke should be taught first?â The discussion is usually focused on breaststroke versus crawl. Provoked by these naĂŻve discussions of which stroke should be taught first (as if stroking equals swimming, which it emphatically does NOT), the question was answered metaphorically in an earlier article âNo Stroke First â All Strokes Firstâ (Stallman, 2008a). Here in Part I we identify and describe six strokes, all of which might be a candidate for any learners âvery firstâ stroke. We describe them as beginning strokes. Having identified and learned which one that a learner finds to be their easiest, the learner should then acquire the others. This strategy not only places the learnerâs easiest stroke first but adds the other âbeginning strokesâ and launches an all-around foundation upon which all other strokes can more easily be learned
Which Stroke Next? All Strokes Next! Part Two: Strokes for Intermediate and Advanced Swimmers
The primary goal of this two-part project is to answer the rhetorical question of which strokes should be taught first, and which later (Langendorfer, 2013, Stallman, 2014a). As you have seen in Part One, we emphasize (as have many others) the need for a firm foundation before any stroke is introduced. When the learner is ready for propulsive motor competencies, there is no stroke which suits all as their first. In Part One we explored the âbeginning strokesâ all of which are candidates for any given learnerâs first stroke. We also argued that after mastering their very first stroke the learner should learn the other, âfirst strokes.â This also broadens the base for the learning of other strokes as the learner advances to intermediate and advanced levels. Here in Part Two, we explore additional strokes, chosen as essential because of some unique quality which makes them the best solution in some specific, potential risk situation. They should, therefore, be included in any comprehensive, proactive aquatic educational program