Things I Don't "Get"

[jficke13]

Are they also doing this naked?

Really getting back to the Olympic roots I suppose.

[UWW2MU]

I think the more appropriate analogy would be races where you have to run backwards, or side shuffle, or some slower gait.  Which of course we have in the form of race walking, which how this is an Olympic sport is something I don't get.

I disagree with this.  Different strokes are completely different feats of athleticism.  That is like asking why there is both bobsledding and Luge, ice dancing and mixed skating, downhill/slalom/super G, greco-roman wrestling/Judo/freestyle wrestling, rowing with coxwains and without, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, etc etc.   The only thing the various strokes have in common is that they are a race in the water.

[Billy Hoyle]

Billy/Chico's, you missed a generation.  Maybe you'll catch up on the next Summit. So sad.

If not getting worshiping a CEO and is missing a generation I'm glad I missed it.

[CTWarrior]

I disagree with this.  Different strokes are completely different feats of athleticism.  That is like asking why there is both bobsledding and Luge, ice dancing and mixed skating, downhill/slalom/super G, greco-roman wrestling/Judo/freestyle wrestling, rowing with coxwains and without, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, etc etc.   The only thing the various strokes have in common is that they are a race in the water.

But what is the point?  Why backstroke and not side stroke?  Why not a dog paddle race?  What the hell is the butterfly for?  A race should be to get from point A to point B as fast as you can, not with artificial limitations on how you can get there.

The skiing stuff you mention is still get from point A to point B as fast as you can, you just have to negotiate different types of courses.  You have a point with wrestling.  Gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics are all different events (and aren't sports anyway since they are judged.  The Olympic motto is "higher farther faster", not "with more grace and aplomb in the eyes of a majority of judges".  Track and Field different races are just lengths and/or obstacles (hurdles, steeplechase).  Swimming is the same venue the same conditions.  Doesn't make sense to me.

[Galway Eagle]

Why have any Olympic events other than swimming, running, and wrestling?

Athletic ability in its purest form.  No teams, no equipment.

Bare knuckle boxing deserves its spot in this new olympics.

While on that topic, I do not understand bareknuckle boxing.

[warriorchick]

But what is the point?  Why backstroke and not side stroke?  Why not a dog paddle race?  What the hell is the butterfly for? A race should be to get from point A to point B as fast as you can, not with artificial limitations on how you can get there.

The skiing stuff you mention is still get from point A to point B as fast as you can, you just have to negotiate different types of courses.  You have a point with wrestling.  Gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics are all different events (and aren't sports anyway since they are judged.  The Olympic motto is "higher farther faster", not "with more grace and aplomb in the eyes of a majority of judges".  Track and Field different races are just lengths and/or obstacles (hurdles, steeplechase).  Swimming is the same venue the same conditions.  Doesn't make sense to me.

Butterfly evolved out of the breaststroke.  The original rules of breaststroke said that the arms had to move in unison, as well as the legs.  A guy in Australia invented the butterfly technique, which technically did not break the rules, but was way faster.  They decided to make it a separate stroke.

Also, if you want to do the sidestroke or dog paddle, you are welcome to do so in the freestyle events.  "Freestyle" literally means that you can do whatever stroke you want.  Most competitors choose to do what is otherwise known as the Front Crawl.

[jsglow]

You guys might not want to argue swimming with chick unless you can actually dunk a basketball.  She's literally swam against and was coached by some of the best in the world.  Just sayin'.

[CTWarrior]

Butterfly evolved out of the breaststroke.  The original rules of breaststroke said that the arms had to move in unison, as well as the legs.  A guy in Australia invented the butterfly technique, which technically did not break the rules, but was way faster.  They decided to make it a separate stroke.

Also, if you want to do the sidestroke or dog paddle, you are welcome to do so in the freestyle events.  "Freestyle" literally means that you can do whatever stroke you want.  Most competitors choose to do what is otherwise known as the Front Crawl.

That doesn't address any of my point.  The butterfly still doesn't make any sense.  If they fixed the rule so you can't use that stroke in the breast stroke, why did they need to create another event that forces you to use it?  Also, you can use the breast stroke or the back stroke or the butterfly in freestyle, too, so that is not an argument to not create separate races for the dog paddle or side stroke.

A race is a race.  You should use the best non-mechanical (like using a car in a running race) method to get from point A to point B.

The original Olympic swimming race they brought everybody out on a boat and the first guy to shore won.

[StillAWarrior]

That doesn't address any of my point.  The butterfly still doesn't make any sense.  If they fixed the rule so you can't use that stroke in the breast stroke, why did they need to create another event that forces you to use it?  Also, you can use the breast stroke or the back stroke or the butterfly in freestyle, too, so that is not an argument to not create separate races for the dog paddle or side stroke.

A race is a race.  You should use the best non-mechanical (like using a car in a running race) method to get from point A to point B.

The original Olympic swimming race they brought everybody out on a boat and the first guy to shore won.

I may be reading into it, but I'm beginning to think that you don't "get" why there are different swimming events other than freestyle.   

[CTWarrior]

I may be reading into it, but I'm beginning to think that you don't "get" why there are different swimming events other than freestyle.   

I'm still working it out in my head, but I am beginning to think you are right. 

[LloydsLegs]

We should add hopping, trotting and skipping to free style running events.

And running backwards.  We already have walking, which is just ridiculous.

[Billy Hoyle]

Butterfly evolved out of the breaststroke.  The original rules of breaststroke said that the arms had to move in unison, as well as the legs.  A guy in Australia invented the butterfly technique, which technically did not break the rules, but was way faster.  They decided to make it a separate stroke.

Also, if you want to do the sidestroke or dog paddle, you are welcome to do so in the freestyle events.  "Freestyle" literally means that you can do whatever stroke you want.  Most competitors choose to do what is otherwise known as the Front Crawl.

my wife was a high-level butterfly swimmer and was going to try for Rio 2016 for her homeland until circumstances ended that dream (and my dream of being in the Olympic Village for a week). It is a messed up stoke and takes a ridiculous amount of skill to do it.

[StillAWarrior]

my wife was a high-level butterfly swimmer and was going to try for Rio 2016 for her homeland until circumstances ended that dream (and my dream of being in the Olympic Village for a week). It is a messed up stoke and takes a ridiculous amount of skill to do it.

In my swimming days many years ago, there were precious few fleeting moments when my butterfly stroke "came together" and it felt sort of natural and fast.  The overwhelming majority of the time, it was akin to controlled (and extremely strenuous) drowning.

[warriorchick]

my wife was a high-level butterfly swimmer and was going to try for Rio 2016 for her homeland until circumstances ended that dream (and my dream of being in the Olympic Village for a week). It is a messed up stoke and takes a ridiculous amount of skill to do it.

I hate doing it, even though it has been my most competitive stroke.

Seeing how far you can go without losing your form is  a great measure of how in shape you are swimming-wise.

A few years ago when I was actively training in Master's, I could go 200+ yards. Today, I could probably eke out a 25.

If your wife still swims, she should consider competing in Masters.  It doesn't take much to be nationally ranked in butterfly because no one wants to do it.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I disagree with this.  Different strokes are completely different feats of athleticism.  That is like asking why there is both bobsledding and Luge, ice dancing and mixed skating, downhill/slalom/super G, greco-roman wrestling/Judo/freestyle wrestling, rowing with coxwains and without, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, etc etc.   The only thing the various strokes have in common is that they are a race in the water.

I was simply saying the analogy the previous poster was using was off.  It wasn't about different distances or having obstacles in the way, it was about using completely different strokes or gaits.

But I still don't get why race walking is even a thing much less an Olympic sport.  Next Up: Race Crawling

[Billy Hoyle]

I hate doing it, even though it has been my most competitive stroke.

Seeing how far you can go without losing your form is  a great measure of how in shape you are swimming-wise.

A few years ago when I was actively training in Master's, I could go 200+ yards. Today, I could probably eke out a 25.

If your wife still swims, she should consider competing in Masters.  It doesn't take much to be nationally ranked in butterfly because no one wants to do it.

She was swimming Masters for a number of years and racked up a lot of medals in regional competitions to the point where she was serious about the Trials (faster times than six 2012 Olympians) but we moved to a city without many pools available so she decided to move on from swimming. 

[Warrior Code]

I swam a bit, and butterfly does not feel like the same sport as freestyle. It's like the snatch vs. clean & jerk in Olympic lifting --> both will get the bar over your head but they're not the same event at all.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I swam a bit, and butterfly does not feel like the same sport as freestyle. It's like the snatch vs. clean & jerk in Olympic lifting --> both will get the bar over your head but they're not the same event at all.

big fan of both, tbh.  don't get all that powder though.

[Galway Eagle]

I don't get people who can't swim.

... I can't swim

[warriorchick]

I don't get people who can't swim.

... I can't swim

I can teach you. 

Don't want you drowning like Rodney King.

[4everwarriors]

big fan of both, tbh.  don't get all that powder though.

Just sew ewe no, eye'm partial ta snatch, hey?

[Hards Alumni]

Not trying to be rude but I genuinely don't know what you mean by this. You agree? I hit it on the nose?

Yes, basically.  In charades touching your nose means, "Yes, correct".  This is your nerd fact of the day.  To unsubscribe from nerd facts please send one dollar to 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield.

[Jay Bee]

I don't get "vegan meat"

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I don't get people who can't swim.

... I can't swim

Both my daughters are swim coaches and one plays water polo, but I struggle to do a 50m.  I blame Wisconsin springs, when my parents sent me to swim lessons in 62 degree weather.

[MUEng92]

When I was probably about 6 or 7, I would struggle to decide if I would prefer to go to swimming lessons at the Y or the dentist. And our childhood dentist would literally slap you if you didn't open your mouth far enough.