ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the author's experience of coaching breaststroke at Waseda University in a session that focused on developing feel for the water in the catch and out-sweep stage of the pull. Developing a feel for the water is an important aspect of learning to swim fast, but it is a vague concept that is difficult to quantify and, although important in other sports, it has been largely overlooked in the sport and physical education pedagogy literature. To develop feel of the water in the hands, fingers and forearms during breaststroke, coaches typically have their swimmers perform two types of ‘sculling’ the front scull, in which the swimmer propels him/herself by using only the first part of the stroke from the catch and out-sweep; and the inward scull. Sculling helps develop sensitivity to contact between the forearms, hands and especially fingers and the water in order to improve efficiency in getting hold of the water.
