Precise rainbows (cue)
Definition: Arms exit near the hips, straighten and travel in a rainbow arch into Position 11. Underwater arms are initially straight elbow pushing and begin bending at the elbow as mastery increases.
Core cues:
- Thumb exits, twist palm out at apex, enter water with the pinky.
Coach interpretation:
- Thumb exits: the hand leaves the water leading with the thumb.
- Twist palm out at apex: at the top of the rainbow arch, rotate so the palm faces away from the body.
- Enter water with the pinky: the pinky finger leads the entry into the water.
- Underwater arms are initially straight elbow pushing and begin bending at the elbow as mastery increases.
Teaching strategy:
Practice on deck first. Go slow. Start in soldier: Under water push: anchor palm with elbow and push. From soldier position, raise the hand directly in front of the arm and raise to Position 11. Move 1 arm at a time. Hand should lead with the thumb, then rotate to “hi” by twisting out so palm faces away from the body. At Position 11 “enter” the water with the pinky finger and push down while bending the elbow to clap the palm on the same side thigh. Practice arms on deck: Bend elbow and clap the thighs with palm.
Common errors and corrections:
- Correcting or instructing what the hand does too early: Avoid correcting or instructing what the hand does for Front Crawl learners. Instead focus on large arm motions and slowly chip away at the form as their mastery and body control improves.
Progression:
Underwater arms are initially straight elbow pushing and begin bending at the elbow as mastery increases. Every arm stroke should travel through Position 11 but not pause or remain there. Focus feedback to learners on long reaching arms and hip rotation after the body line is mastered. Hips rotate with the arms: Recovering arm side hip rotates up; Pushing arm side rotates down.
⚠ Language below was not found in the source — do not publish as-is. Most often this means the original sits inside a table or a multi-column layout that extraction could not read cleanly:
- “Practice arms on deck: Bend elbow and
clap the thighs with palm”
Short verified cues (confirmed present; check by eye): “thumb, hi, pinky”, “Move 1 arm at a time.”