I started to learn Rope Flow 12 months ago, I was keen to find a complimentary activity that would help my own mobility and fluidity, and one I could also use as a coaching tool.  The rope is a fantastic tool to help unlock spinal mobility and to uncover your own wave in the shape of a figure of 8 – the sign of infinity, meaning limitless and endless continuous cycles and infinite possibilities.  I am not a rope flow coach, just an enthusiast, but my dedication to practice has made me reflect on my swimming coaching and how the rope has expanded my understanding of movement and flow of energy.

Like the rope,  freestyle should be a continuous, elastic, whole-body flow—essentially freestyle is rope flow in water. Here’s how that translation looks.

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1. Core Principle: Flow Before Form

• Continuity over positions

• Wave transmission over isolated muscles

• Relaxation under load

So freestyle isn’t “pull, recover, breathe” — it’s a travelling wave moving from fingertips → shoulder → spine → hips → feet.

Key reframe:

You’re not doing strokes. You’re conducting a wave through water.

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2. The Rope Analogy

• Your arms are ropes

• Your spine is the handle

• Your hips are the engine

• The water is resistance, not something to fight

In water this becomes:

• Soft elbows

• Relaxed hands

• No sharp stops or dead points

• Every phase blends into the next

If the rope would kink or snap, the stroke is too tense, too forced.

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3. Teaching Body Rotation as a Pendulum

Instead of “rotate your torso,” rope flow teaches oscillation.

• The body rolls like a side-to-side pendulum sending momentum forwards

• Rotation is caused by arm entry and hip counter-rotation, not forced

• Breathing happens naturally at the top of the swing

Cue examples:

• “Let gravity/ the water tip you, don’t twist yourself.”

• “Fall, then flow through centre.”

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4. Arm Stroke: Circular, Not Linear

Traditional freestyle teaches a somewhat segmented pull. Rope flow reframes this as a looping circle.

Underwater:

• Hand enters → softly extend with the body → sweeps back in a crescent

• No hard “catch”

• Pressure increases gradually, then fades

Overwater:

• Arm recovery is weightless

• Elbow floats because the shoulder is relaxed

• Think “slinging the rope,” not lifting the arm

If done right: the arm almost swings itself forward.

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5. Spine as the Transmission Line

Rope flow has improved my  spinal articulation, my movements feel smoother, I have better body awareness, core strength and flexibility. My brain has greatly benefitted from the problem solving of all the new patterns I’ve learnt.  It’s  been playful and explorative.  It’s also reminded me how as humans we quickly forget, and that repetition is key, without repetition structure fades and that presence comes over performance. Other outcomes I’ve felt:

• Neck relaxed

• Ribcage mobile

• Hips more flexible

When I swim I am increasingly aware of The wave:

Fingertips → scapula → ribs → hips → legs

If the spine locks, propulsion dies.

Wave transfer instead of muscle effort.

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6. Kick as Echo, Not Driver

In rope flow terms, the kick is not a motor—it’s a reverberation.

• Small, loose, rhythmic

• Originates from the hips

• Knees and ankles stay passive

Cue:

“Let the legs flick like the tail of a rope after a snap.”

If the kick feels like work, it’s wrong.

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7. Breathing as Part of the Loop

Instead of “turn your head to breathe,” breathing is taught as a continuation of rotation.

• Head follows spine

• One goggle in, one out

• No pause, no lift

Breathing happens during the lightest moment of the stroke, not the strongest.

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8. Rope Flow Drills I’ve used with swimmers

Very different from classic swim drills:

On land

• Underarm/Overarm on one side of the body, learning to used the body rotation to create…

• Slow, continuous figure-8s

In water

• Freestyle with extreme softness

• gentle-kick freestyle focusing on rotation

• Closed-fist swimming (to feel forearm)

• Ultra-slow swimming with zero splash

Speed comes after continuity.

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9. Performance Goal

The rope reinforces not to chase:

• Stroke count

• Pull strength

• Aggressive catch

They’re inviting:

• Effortless forward glide

• Even rhythm

• No visible strain

If someone watching can see effort, something’s off.

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10. The Ultimate Cue

If freestyle were reduced to one rope-flow sentence, it would be:

“Rope flow builds coordination, rhythm and fluid movement, patterns that directly relate to freestyle by enhancing body awareness, timing, creating more space and freedom of movement.”

I learnt at home home through an app you can find out more Way of the Rope