During a recent front crawl workshop a swimmer asked Art of Swimming teacher Huseyin Dermis whether bilateral breathing was really necessary. He explained that while most swimmers have one favourite side they breath to, it would be useful to learn to breathe to either side. Here’s Huseyin’s top five reasons to adopt bilateral breathing …First of all is helps equal rotation and the stroke has a better chance of being more balanced. Another good reason that applies to open water is that when ...

David Wright’s early memories of swimming are of standing around on a poolside shivering whilst his school PE teacher barked “encouragement”. He also remembers a near-drowning incident as a toddler, so it was no surprise that as an adult he experienced a profound fear of water. He could swim, with his head up, but in a constant state of tension and worry that he might get water on his face. All that changed, however, when he discovered Shaw Method at his local pool.So why did you decide to seek ...

Angela Alexander loves Iceland. She loves it so much that she has been going every year for the past 15 years. Here she tells us why …There are two things I love about Iceland: the swimming and the bookshops. People think this strange, but Iceland has some great places to swim, and fantastic bookshops.Swimming is perhaps not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Iceland, but I can assure you that it is a wonderful place to take the plunge. Everyone in Iceland swims, it seems to ...

1996 was a big year for swimming. In that year Terry Laughlin published Total Immersion and Steven Shaw The Art of Swimming. Both men were former competitive swimmers who had come to the conclusion that there must be a better, more efficient way to swim and to teach swimming. Both Terry and Steven were influenced by inspirational swimming coach Bill Boomer. Bill Boomer had a great record in working with competitive swimmers since the 1960s, becoming coach to the US Olympic team in 2000. He looke...

Jane Watkinson didn’t enjoy her swimming lessons at school: having to be in the pool without her glasses was very disorientating and the teacher was unsympathetic. Consequently she did everything to avoid lessons, didn’t learn to swim, and felt very embarrassed about it as an adult. Then she discovered Shaw Method …Why swimming? As part of my role at work, I facilitate performance mindset programmes where we help people to understand how their mind works and how that affects the way they behave ...

There’s nothing controversial about the phrase, “exercise is good for you”. Most people would agree, but at what age do you think you should stop taking exercise? There are some who play sport in their youth and give it up in middle age, then those who go to the gym in their 30s and 40s but lapse in their 50s and 60s. The reason is often that their chosen regime is no longer appropriate or no longer inspiring. The fact is it is all to easy to lose the exercise habit in your later years and succu...

Art of Swimming runs holidays at Champneys resorts all year round. They are a great way to get intensive swimming tuition from the architect of Shaw Method Steven Shaw, but there are many other benefits  too …1 ) It’s a holiday in the UK that cannot be spoilt by the weatherYou’ll spend much of your time in the heat controlled environment of the spa, maintained at all times at a comfortable temperature. If it throws it down with rain, it’s no problem as all you have to do is relax, enjoy the faci...

Gerry McCabe learned to swim at 3 or 4. He remembers a lot of splashing about in the pool as a child, and even as an adult maintained a splashy style until he discovered Shaw Method …Why swimming? Whilst I would consider myself to be a capable swimmer, I never felt that I was an efficient or stylish swimmer, and always struggled to get my breathing right. I first learned of the Shaw Method when I saw it advertised in my local health club when I lived in North London ten years ago, but it’s taken...

We really believe that Shaw Method is for everyone, whatever your level of fitness or ability. On this very website we say that the Method is particularly good for: confidence building, the learning of new strokes, swimmers with disabilities, improving performance, enhancing the enjoyment of water, and if you are suffering or recovering from neck and back pain. Just recently though, we’ve found another group of pupils who have been using it for a different purpose: to help them recover from seri...

I once described breaststroke as the Cinderella stroke: it’s a bit everyday dowdy, and never quite gets to scrub up and go to the ball. Breaststroke tends to get a bit forgotten when we pick up other more seemingly stylish and status-enhancing strokes like front crawl and butterfly. I think it’s a shame, because when done well it is every bit as graceful and front crawl and every bit as dynamic as butterfly. In fact, although it is the slowest competitive stroke, breaststroke is actually one of ...

Jeanne Dodd has loved swimming almost as long as she can remember. 14 years ago she began having lessons in Shaw Method and soon had transformed the way she swam. Now at 84, she still swims regularly and is currently learning butterfly with Steven Shaw.Why swimming? Before I had lessons in Shaw Method I had started swimming regularly. I just thought it was an extremely sensible thing to be doing to keep fit. I was going to have some swimming lessons with a traditional swimming teacher when a fri...

We asked you, our lovely readers, to tell us about your swimming achievements from the past year, and what an inspirational mailbag we received. Without further ado here are our favourites. Prepared to be inspired …Rescue fly …“As a water rescue technician with the London fire brigade I am trained to enter moving and static water to rescue and assist casualties. For this I wear a dry suit and a PFD (similar to a life jacket). I am also tethered to another rescuer on the river bank, by means of a...

Cherry Cridge’s memories of childhood swimming lessons are typical of those who learned in large classes at school: eventually picking up some breaststroke technique, swimming with the head up, and worrying about big boys pushing her head under.How often did you swim after you left school?I swam on holidays but not much in between, until my late 20s when, as a primary school teacher, I accompanied children to the baths where the instructor always left me with a group to try to teach them. How ir...

Rebecca Gaster remembers splashing about in swimming pools from a very early age, and she could swim by the age of 5. Swimming was always fun and she was a keen member of a swimming club. She remembers being very proud to earn her 1,500m distance badge at about 9 years old. But as an adult, Rebecca got out of the swimming habit and had lost confidence in her front crawl until she discovered Shaw Method …How did you hear about Shaw Method?I discovered it through my Alexander Technique teacher a f...

Why swimming? I used to run to keep fit and enjoyed just doing a few lengths for pleasure after a session on the treadmill. I never took swimming seriously though until I felt the pain of running. I then swapped my fitness sessions to the pool and started to build up my swimming.What attracted you to Shaw Method? One day I saw Steven Shaw ‘flying up and down the Laboratory pool at Hendon for many lengths. The stamina and elegance was impressive. I thought, this is amazing, impossible: who is thi...

Ed Hamilton sustained a brain injury in 1996. One of the effects of the injury is dystonia in his left limbs. This is a movement disorder that results in his brain sending abnormal messages to his muscles, making them contract.  For Ed, this means that walking is quite an effort. His mobility in the water, however, is a different matter, and since 2007 he has been improving his technique with lessons in Shaw Method …Why swimming? Because it is uncomfortable for me to walk on hard ground I though...

Ann Hubble grew up in Dudley, England in the 1930s and 40s. There were no swimming lessons at school and only one (very cold and unwelcoming) public swimming pool in the area. Eventually at age 13 her father booked her into lessons every day whilst on holiday and she began to swim…Did you swim as an adult? In my 20s I would go once a week with a friend. We did the “duchess breaststroke” – the head up variety – which was good because we could have a chat! Then later on I took all of my many child...

Andy Kemp grew up in the Solomon Islands. With easy access to the sea he was very at home in the water from an early age, but never had any swimming tuition.  In 2005 he began to take part in triathlons, but found the swimming to be his biggest challenge. In 2006 he won a voucher for Champneys and spent it wisely on an Art of Swimming / Art of Running weekend. He has never looked back …Why swimming? I really couldn’t swim front crawl properly and knew that I would have to learn if I wanted to pr...

Karen Goodman was a self-confessed couch potato when she took up regular Shaw Method swimming in 2008. Since then, she has lost eight stone and her back problems have all but disappeared.Why swimming?I knew I had to exercise, but I was scared of going into a gym. The only exercise I had ever enjoyed was swimming.What attracted you to Shaw Method?I came across an article about the method and it struck a chord. I had had serious back problems in the past and because of that I was nervous about any...