


Why Learning the Shaw Way to Crawl is All About Brain, Not Braun
When it comes to mastering the crawl stroke in swimming, many people might assume that brute strength is the key to success. However, as the founder of The Shaw Method, I firmly believe that learning the crawl is more about brain function than muscle power. Here’s why...
Try This #7 – centre sided swimming in front crawl
Centre side centre swimming with underwater recovery

We travelled 18.000 miles to become Shaw Method Instructors
A recent Art of Swimming Level 1 course attracted pupils from across the globe. We asked why they had travelled such long distances to learn from Steven….

Try This #6 – Enjoy the benefits of swimming on your back
First, launch off on your back with your hands by your sides and then relax and lengthen the back of your neck so that the head rests gently on the water.

Try This #5 – More on front crawl and the breath
Breathe in from the mouth never the nose so as not get chlorinated water up your nose which can be very unpleasant.

Try This #4 – Turn to breathe before you need to take a breath
Many novice crawl swimmers as they are uncomfortable with breathing in during the crawl swim too many strokes and as a result are desperate to breathe in by and therefore can’t help gasping. This often leads to swallowing water or getting it up the nose.

Try This #3 – Smart swimming the breaststroke
Experiment with softly RELEASING the feet into the frog position and turning the feet out.

Try This #2 – Smart Swimming the front crawl
After placing the arm in the water and extending it, release your forearm, bend your wrist and elbow gently, then apply effort.

Try This #1 – The First Principle
Explore what Steven Shaw calls the first principle – which is that your alignment affects your performance more than any other factor.

The Shaw way to fly across an African Creek aged 70
Swimming the butterfly across an African creek wouldn’t feature highly on many ‘to do’ lists.
But for Abdul Jamal, a chartered accountant from Leytonstone, East London, ‘flying’ across the Kilifi Creek in Kenya, was the perfect way to celebrate his 70th Birthday, in April this year.
“Swimming has been really good for me,” he explains. “My health and wellbeing – both physical and mental – have greatly improved since taking it up eight years ago. And a lot of that is to do with the butterfly stroke. Its grace and beauty make it my favourite.”

Why it’s easy to keep up in breaststroke, but not in crawl
This summer, while teaching swimming on a magical Greek Island, I had an extraordinary encounter with Monachus Monachus, the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal. Only a few hundred survive and most people on the island had never seen one.