I was foolish not to bring a swimsuit. On a bleak, bone-chilling day, I could have immersed myself in a small, 90-degree pool, in an intimate "swim studio" setting, and learned how to swim like a fish instead of a clumsy, splashing human. I have always wanted to be a mermaid, and I lost my chance.
 Total Immersion founder and owner Terry Laughlin swims in an endless pool at the Total Immersion Swim Studio in New Paltz. |
Inside the studio, which is open year-round, there are two pools, one measuring 7 by 14 feet, the other a tad larger at 8 by 15. Each Endless Pool features a current that can be adjusted, from a gentle flow to a more powerful blast, to help simulate swimming. An underwater mirror in each pool gives swimmers instant feedback. Swimmers can also be videotaped by an instructor, then watch their tapes on a monitor facing the pool. Student and teacher can replay the tapes as often as necessary without stepping out of the water. Learning to swim in a warm and cozy studio is much nicer than being in a cavernous gym with an instructor shouting from the other end of a long, daunting pool.
Laughlin calls his method of teaching Total Immersion, or TI. Unlike traditional swim instruction, which teaches "human swimming," TI promotes "fishlike swimming," which encourages students to rediscover their aquatic instincts and be relaxed and "slippery" in the water. TI swimmers don't pull or kick. They don't muscle their way through an alien element. Instead, they flow through the water, minimizing drag and dramatically reducing splashing. Laughlin likens TI to yoga and dance. He refers to "mindful swimming" and "becoming one with the water." He often reminds his students: Never practice struggle.
Anyone can take swimming lessons at the TI Swim Studio. While Laughlin and his colleagues work with competitive swimmers, they also welcome people who have always wanted to swim but are hesitant for one reason or another. In the comfortable studio environment, instructors can help beginners and nonswimmers relax and overcome any fears they might have. Babies as young as five-and-a-half months can be signed up for swim lessons. Babies and toddlers learn water acclimation and basic skills, as well as safety skills. Older children enjoy the teaching "toys," especially the current. For a few minutes of fun, the instructor can crank up the current to max and let the kids pretend they are surfing. There is a junior team/pre-competitive program and stroke-efficiency/competitive program. More experienced swimmers can take classes in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. The top swimmers—workshop grads, triathletes, masters, and competitive swimmers—can attend speed school to learn what Laughlin calls the "smartest, most efficient way to swim faster." Swimmers in this group can be recorded, by both surface and underwater cameras, and order a DVD with frame-by-frame analysis and comparison to expert TI technique. In addition to taking classes offered by TI instructors, advanced swimmers can design their own programs to focus on particular skills. The swim studio is also open to people who want to swim on their own. The pools are open from 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday whenever they are not being used for classes. More information about the TI method can be found in Terry Laughlin's books. Laughlin and John Delves's Total Immersion: A Revolutionary Way to Swim Better and Faster is among the top five bestselling books on swim instruction on Amazon. And if you just can't make it out the door, the information-packed totalimmersion.net may inspire you with free book excerpts, an online magazine, event listings, and a discussion board. —AB |
Except for an unrewarding, 18-month stint in the corporate world, Laughlin has been a coach and instructor for more than 30 years. "I started swimming in high school and college," he says. "I worked very hard to be very mediocre. I was intrigued by the fact that others did better but didn't work as hard. After I graduated from college in the early seventies, I had the choice of getting paid $6,400 per year doing night maintenance at an elementary school or $1,200 per year as head swim coach at the US Merchant Marine Academy. I took the coaching job. Right from the beginning, whatever eluded me from my viewpoint in the pool didn't elude me while I was coaching."
In 1988, Laughlin quit age-group coaching when he became overcome with swim-parent fatigue. That same year, he met a coach named Bill Boomer. "He had a great understanding of kinesiology. He always said, 'It's not the engine, but the shape of the vessel.' When I met him, I realized that this was the organizing principle that I had felt intuitively." Laughlin started teaching adult workshops. The rate of improvement was "staggering," he says. As he continued to hone his method at swim camps and clinics, he found that he could teach anyone—from novices to gifted athletes—to swim more gracefully and efficiently. Every student begins by learning a series of simple, easily mastered moves in a logical progression. The goal is to cultivate body awareness, balance, and flow and to establish a "profound connection" with the water.
In 2001, Laughlin began teaching TI in Endless Pools instead of conventional pools. By teaching in EPs, Laughlin could easily convey important skills to a student who remained in place, inches away from him. Assistance or correction could be easily communicated. Laughlin found that students learned two to three times as fast as they would in a regular pool.
In the past five months, since the studio opened, Laughlin has continued to refine his method of teaching.
"The studio is our R&D center," he says. "Just by using the pools here, our learning curve has gotten really steep again. We can examine all aspects of swimming. Right now, we're focusing on breathing. Once people know that they can breathe underwater, they'll let you teach them all of the other stuff."
In addition to training his staff at the New Paltz headquarters, Laughlin has instructed over 150 TI associates around the world. His dream is to franchise and have swim studios in every major city.
It could happen. When I watched one of Laughlin's students practice swimming in the current, I was amazed to see how gracefully the man moved his arms and legs. He hardly splashed at all. He didn't quite look like a merman, but he did resemble a dolphin.
The Total Immersion Swim Studio is located in the Cherry Hill Plaza on Main Street in New Paltz. Terry Laughlin can be contacted at (800) 609-7946 or (800) 256-9776; www.totalimmersion.net.