Enriched Experience

The TI way of practicing swimming, as outlined in chapters 6 through 8 and in the sample TI practices (see page 271) is radically different from conventional grind-it-out workouts. TI coaches prefer the term “practice” over “workout” because it implies a very different awareness. For many TI swimmers, the word practice is not just something you do, but anything you immerse yourself in as an integral part of your life. You practice skilled swimming, not just to swim faster, but for the intrinsic enjoyment it brings.

While some swimmers may exhibit an impatience to move from simple drills to advanced drills to swimming to swimming fast, true TI Masters, like Don Walsh, who have been practicing the drills for years, have learned to appreciate the subtleties and endless possibilities contained within even the most rudimentary movements.

On occasion, Don may repeat a single drill—one that he long ago learned to do with what appears to be impeccable form—for thirty minutes or more. Such uninterrupted, meditative repetition expands his awareness significantly. What start out as barely noticeable variations in execution become significant and revealing and can be tweaked with great subtlety. Practice like Don’s offers an incredible richness of experience. This newness—new insights, new awareness in “old” skills and movements—banishes boredom and impatience forever.