[Bigwill]

On as flat and as straight of a line as you can get the back to the plane . . .

Right on, Bucket!



This essential alignment -- Right Shoulder back to the Plane -- is missed by those who would have you take your Left Shoulder down in the Backstroke. When the Left Shoulder goes down, the Right Shoulder goes up. And for now, forever and for always, the Plane is back, not up!

The Hands, of course, have been On Plane since Impact Fix (8-2) and remain so during their journey to the Top (8-6). As they reach Shoulder height, they ideally are joined by the Right Shoulder (10-21-0-1). But, when the Shoulder goes up (instead of back), the Hands lose a valuable ally and must forfeit Right Shoulder support during the Start Down.

The result is a compensated Stroke and a Machine that is less efficient than it could have been.

Could you describe (roughly) what the proper shoulder-to-hands alignment feels like at the top/end? Does it feel like there's a "connection" between the hands and the shoulder? Do you know what I mean?