FLIP TURN

Question
I am intermediate in freestyle . I have good stroke and breathing .However, I don't know much about flip turn. I want to know the exact distance to initate turn , I am 5 feet 9 inch.Also, when too put the hands down during the flip. Should the legs be seperated or kept at together.
Thank you

Answer
The old style of flips were to do them far away from the wall with the theory that you'd save time and energy by swimming less. However, it's much faster to swim in close to the wall.

You should start your turn about two arms lengths away. Stand next to the wall and touch it with both arms extended. Take a step back so that you've doubled the distance. That's about where to start. It's probably about four feet from the wall and about a foot past the T on the bottom of the pool. Of course, this is not where you would actually turn. You would start it here.

As you approach the wall your arms will pull you forward and around. This will get you to the position you want to be. Also, keep kicking to bring you in closer.

Here's a good test to see if you're at the right distance. Swim into the wall and do a flip. Continue spinning so that you can stand up (don't push off the wall. Just stand on the bottom). If when you stand you can touch the wall with your hands you're at the right distance. This is a good drill to do to just for practice.

The second part of this drill is to do the turn and end up on your back in a tuck with your feet on the wall. You don't push off. Again you're just practicing to get the distance right. If you land in a tucked position and your feet are ready to push you've got it!

As to the second part of your question, it doesn't make much of a difference and there are a lot of other things you could work on. However, separated a little will help you tuck tighter (spin faster) and give you a better push off when your feet hit the wall.

Here's some other tips.
1. Turn in a tuck...not a pike. Chin in, knees tucked to chest tight.
2. Sight the turn under water by the T. Looking forward will ruin a tight tuck.
3. The streamline after the turn is critical. So make sure you push off with both arms in a streamline position.
4. When you push off underwater, glide, kick and stroke try to get to the flags.