About The FreestyleStroke
關於自由泳
Freestyle is afantastic stroke. When you are competent at the stroke it's easy, fluid, smoothand fast. If you only swim breast stroke at the moment you'll find it feelscompletely different - freestyle is much more flowing. You know how awkward itis if you try and walk really quickly? Freestyle is like breaking into a run –it's a great feeling!
自由泳是一個非常好的泳姿。當你能夠掌握它的時候，它輕鬆，連貫，流暢並且速度快。如果現在只會蛙泳，你會發現自由泳的感覺完全不同——它更加平滑。你知道如果你試着快步走，它會有多麼尷尬嗎？自由泳就像是跑步——它的感覺非常好！
Learning freestylepresents some challenges, the most obvious of which is how to adapt tobreathing in a face down position. Many novice freestylers have some anxietyabout putting their faces in the water whilst swimming. Don't worry, that'sentirely normal. Every year we work with hundreds of swimmers who want to learnthe freestyle stroke and meet these challenges.
學習自由泳面臨一些挑戰，最明顯的是如何適應臉朝下的呼吸。在游泳時，把臉放入水中會讓很多新手感到焦慮不安。不要擔心，這完全正常。每年同我們一起，成千上萬想學自由泳的泳手都會遇到這些挑戰。
Here are our top 5tips to help you learn freestyle:
這是我們頭五點建議幫助你去學習自由泳
Tip 1. Get help froma Swimming ‘Buddy'
第一條，得到會游泳朋友的幫助
If you know acompetent swimmer you trust, it will help a lot to have them in the water withyou. We call them a swimming ‘buddy'.
如果你認識一個掌握自由泳的人，這會讓他們同你一起游泳。我們稱他們爲“泳伴”。
Having a buddy inthe water with you is reassuring. They can remind you of what you need to bedoing and they can point out where you are making good progress with yourstroke technique. They can also hold you in specific positions whilstyou get a feel for them.
有一個泳伴在你身邊是非常讓人安心的。他們會提醒你需要做什麼，同時他們也會指出哪些動作有了提高。當你對他們有所感覺，他們會讓你處於一個很特殊的位置。
We have written anarticle for freestyle swimmers who want to be a buddy and help their friends orrelatives learn to swim the stroke. See Help Someone Learn Freestyle.
我們寫了一篇想成爲泳伴並且幫助他們的朋友或者親戚去學習自由泳的文章。
Tip 2. Develop AFeel For The Water
第二條，找到對水的感覺
Water is an alienenvironment to us; something we're not used to. Start off by simplylearning how your body moves and feels in the water – it's so important. Atfirst you don't even need to try and float.
Stand in the shallowend with your hands in the water and start to move your hands and arms aroundgently. Think about using your hands like paddles. Push against the water andfeel the pressure on your palms - this is the beginning of something called'feel for the water' that is very important to swimming technique.
水對於我們來說是一種陌生的環境，很多事情我們不習慣。從簡單的練習開始，比如你如何在水中移動身體並熟悉水性——這很重要。最開始你甚至不需要去嘗試漂在水中的感覺。站在淺池一段，保持你的手始終在水中，慢慢的開始移動你的手和胳膊。把你的手想象成船槳。推水然後感覺水給你手掌的壓力——這是熟悉水性的過程，對游泳技巧來說非常重要。
As you get used tothis, try crouching down in the water and let it take some of your weight, allthe time continuing to move your hands and arms. Do this for about 5 minutes.Even when you are moving on to learning the freestyle action we recommend youstart every session with this exercise.
當你習慣這些後，試着去蹲在水中並且感知浮力，並保持始終移動着手和胳膊。做個動作持續5分鐘。甚至當你開始去學習自由泳動作的時候，我們也建議你每節課都以此爲開始。
We much prefer usinga pool that is nice and warm for novice swimmers, a cold pool can add tofeelings of anxiety.
我們非常喜歡新手們在一個好泳池並且水溫比較暖和，冷水池會增加你的焦慮不安。
Tip 3. Blow Bubbles
第三條，吹泡泡
Practise yourexhalation technique when standing in the deep end.
站在深泳池的一端練習吐氣技巧
Let the water takeyour weight - if you sink that's a good thing!
感覺浮力
Not many people knowthis, but the most important skill in freestyle is to be able to exhale freelyinto the water. Most people instinctively hold their breath when their face isin the water. This will make the stroke much tougher. When you are swimmingfreestyle all exhalation should be into the water, so when you turn your headto breathe you only need to inhale. This is the secret of breathing infreestyle.
很多人都不知道這條，但是自由泳中最重要的技巧是能夠在水中呼氣。大多數人，當他們把臉放入水中的時候，就會憋氣。這會讓游泳更加疲憊。當你自由泳時，所有的呼氣都應該在水中，所以當你轉頭去呼吸的時候，你只需吸氣就夠了。這是自由泳呼吸的祕訣。
Holding your breathadds to feelings of anxiety and makes you more stressed. Instead, develop a newhabit of exhaling into the water – this will relax you, just like breathingtechniques in yoga.
憋氣會增加你的焦慮感並讓你的壓力加大。取而代之，學會新的在水中呼氣的習慣——這回讓你很放鬆，就像瑜伽的呼吸技巧。
Start in the shallowend and practise putting your face in the water and simply hum through yourmouth or nose to create a long steady stream of bubbles. Feel like you aresighing.
站在淺池一段，練習把臉放在水中用嘴簡單的發出聲音或者用鼻子去吐泡泡，感覺就像你在嘆氣。
As you get used tothis you can develop things by crouching or sitting down to sink lower into thewater. A buddy can be useful here to give you some support.
當你習慣以後，你可以蹲或者坐在水中更低的位置。這時泳伴會給你一些幫助。
If you become sorelaxed that you start to feel yourself sinking this is great thing – it showsthat you are building a good degree of confidence in the water.
如果你變得非常放鬆以至於你開始感覺在水中是一件很好的事情——這就說明對於水，你有了很好程度的自信。
Keep working on thisskill – the habit and technique of exhaling into the water is very important.
堅持這個練習——在水中呼氣的習慣和技巧是非常重要的。
Tip 4. Break ThingsDown Into Manageable Chunks
第四條，將過程細化
Kick on your frontand just focus on exhalation.
向前踢水，只要注意呼氣即可
Practise armrecovery on dry land.
岸上移臂練習
Progress to kickingon your side with one arm out in front for support.
但手臂前伸，練習側踢水
Attempting toperform the full freestyle stroke without any preparation isa recipe for failure. The key to learning the stroke is to break things downinto small manageable chunks.
沒有任何準備就嘗試去做全部的自由泳動作是肯定要失敗的。學習的關鍵是將它分割成幾個可控的子過程。
In swimming coachingwe do something called 'drills'. A drill is an exercise that allows you topractise one part of swimming technique without the difficulty of doing it allat once. Drills sometimes exaggerate a movement so that you can get a feel forit. Here are some drills we recommend you practise to develop your stroketechnique:
在游泳訓練中，我們所做的稱爲“xxx動作練習”。一組練習是讓你立刻在沒有困難情況下掌握一部分的游泳技術的方法。有時候練習會誇大一些動作，目的是讓你體會到這個動作的感覺。這裏有些練習讓你提高游泳技術。
- Kicking on yourfront. With your arms stretched out in front of you and hands placed one on topof the other, kick down the pool. Start with your head out of the water thewhole time. When you can do this, move on to putting your face down in to thewater between breaths – make sure you are blowing bubbles into the water! Ifyou have fins (see tip 5) perform this exercise with them on.
向前方踢水，手臂伸展向前，同時一隻手放在另一隻手的上面，向下踢水。開始時，你的頭要保持露出水面。當你能做到上一步的時候，繼續下一個動作，在呼吸間隔，將你的臉浸入水中——確保臉浸入水中時你開始吐泡泡！如果你有腳蹼（參見第五條），可以帶上腳蹼練習這個動作。
- On dry landpractise your arm recovery technique. Lie on your side with the lower arm outin front of you. Practise moving your top arm over and placing it into the‘water' in front of you. Keep your forearm and hand totally relaxed and leadthe movement from your elbow.
陸上練習回臂。身體一側着地並且保持着地一側的手臂前伸。移動你高處的手臂然後把它放入你前方的水中。保持前臂和手放鬆，用肘部引導這個動作。
- Kicking on yourside. Back in the water, kick down the length again, this time on your sidewith the lower arm out in front and the top arm resting by your side. Startwith your face out of the water all the time. As you get used to this, tryputting your face in the water between breaths – look at the bottom and blowout continuously into the water. If you have fins (see tip 5) perform thisexercise with them on.
Use these drills towork on different aspects of your technique before attempting the full stroke.
側踢水。回到水中，向下踢水，這次下面的手臂伸展向前，上面的手臂保持在體側。開始你的臉一直保持露出水面。當你習慣此動作，試着將你的臉在呼吸間隔中放入水中——目視水池底部並且呼氣。如果你有腳蹼（參見第五條），可以穿上它們練習。在嘗試正常自由泳前，請使用這些分解動作去加強游泳技術的不同部分。
Even Olympicswimmers work on drills to improve and maintain their stroke technique. Drillscan be fun and they break up the monotony of swimming lengths. Include them inevery swimming session you do!
每個奧運會選手都會練習這些動作去提高和維持他們的游泳技術。這些練習可以讓游泳變得很有趣，他們打破了光長遊的單調和乏味。請保持每次游泳時都練習他們。
Tip 5. Use Fins
第五條，腳蹼的使用
Using fins to workon your stroke isn't cheating.
練習時使用腳蹼並不是投機取巧
We recommend youinvest in some swimming flippers (called 'fins' in swimming). These are smallerand more flexible than scuba diving flippers. If you are buying fins, werecommend you get something mid-length and floppy, like these FinisFloating Fins.
我們推薦你買些腳蹼，他們比潛水腳蹼更小更柔軟。如果你正打算買腳蹼，我們推薦你買中等長度並且軟一些的，就像FinisFloating Fins（腳蹼牌子）。
Many of thefundamentals of freestyle swimming can be learnt more effectively with a littlebit of extra propulsion from wearing fins. Use the fins to perform some of thedrills and techniques we outlined in tip 4.
在學習許多自由泳的基本練習，穿戴腳蹼會讓學習變得更有效果，因爲它會給你一點點額外的動力。使用腳蹼去練習我們在第四條中提到的動作吧。
Wear the fins forspecific exercises, not all the time. Warm up at the beginning of a session andwarm down at the end of a session without them.
穿腳蹼做特殊練習，但不是一直都穿着。在熱身時和整理活動時不要穿腳蹼。
Some people believethat using fins in your swim training is cheating, we don't. Used in the rightway for the right things they are a powerful tool to help you learn to swim.
有些人認爲穿腳蹼練習是一種騙人的把戲，我們不這麼看。用正確的方法做正確的事情，會起到事半功倍的效果。
scuba divingflippers 潛水腳蹼