You are definitely correct!

How someone catches and pulls on the water will effect head, hips, leg (body position) so you cannot separate the “process”. The same can be said, don’t work on fitness before technique is established. Because we know fitness effects technique. Establish the biggest limiters in someone’s swimming and start there.

I don't think this is the correct way, hips/legs should initiate the rotation first.

If you focus only on the recovering arm, then it does happen after the hip rotation. However, as I said above, the shoulder rotation starts with the pulling arm, which gets to about 20 to 25 degrees, and then the foot on the same side does the down kick. This is easier to see with some one doing a 2 beat freestyle kick.

Sorry Rob, hips/hip rotation are a critical part of the pull phase. The goal is to move the body forward over the pull arm. Once the catch position is set, you connect hips core shoulders to move over your now pull phase. This movement/acceleration will power the pull phase backwards

@@StevenBrandesWI Not clear on your point here. Without exception, for every swimmer whose kick is correctly timed with the arm pull. the pulling arm initiates the body rotation. As I said above, it is mechanically/physically impossible for the lower body to generate the rotation. It is true that with land based sports that use rotational energy, the rotation starts with the feet, either shoulder width or a bit more apart like with a golf swing or karate punch, or by stepping into the rotation like a baseball pitcher. The coiling of the body HAS to be anchored on the ground or you have nothing to push off of to generate that power. In the water, there is NOTHING for the feet to anchor on. Also, with swimming, there is a small bit of throwing the recover arm forward, but the primary and most powerful action is the pull. Watch any video of any swimmer, easier to see with freestyle, and the pulling/low side arm initiates the pull first, then the hips rotate, and then the recover arm finishes the shoulder rotation. As I said above, the shoulders rotate independently of each other, not as a single unit like the hips. The pulling arm gets to about 1/4 of the way through the pull, and then the same side leg kicks down. The pulling arm is the 'anchor' point for the lower body rotation. I mentioned this to Gary Hall Sr. over at Race Club, and he commented that even with the 50 meter sprinters, the pulling arm starts to pull just slightly before the recover arm follows through. Watch it in slow motion. It is obvious.