Technique the Second Most Important Thing to Win in Triathlon

We spoke about the least important things to win in triathlon:  The physical or genetics and the technology used in triathlon. Technique is the second most important thing to win in triathlon, the most important thing is epistêmê of technê as Aristotle refers to; meaning, applying the knowledge through technique with rigor so the “map becomes the territory; or the thing becomes the name.”  That is only possible through team work, which maximizes our potential and our rigor.  The quality of our team limits performance. Fortunately or unfortunately, our team could be formed by our country, by our city and by our family and friends.  Let´s see the description as it is mentioned in this Stanford web page regarding technique http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/episteme-techne/ :

…Yet even Aristotle refers to technê or craft as itself also epistêmê or knowledge because it is a practice grounded in an ‘account’ — something involving theoretical understanding…The relation, then, between epistêmê and technê in ancient philosophy offers an interesting contrast with our own notions about theory (pure knowledge) and (experience-based) practice. There is an intimate positive relationship between epistêmê and technê, as well as a fundamental contrast.

I spoke about technique in previous posts in this blog.  March 12, 2012.  TRIATHLON PHYSIOLOGY FOR DUMMIES AND THE TENDENCY TOWARD THE MEAN.

...Interestingly, Paul Bergen, a former American and Canadian Olympic swimming head coach who we invited to help us with our team, told me: “the Mexican female who has the record for 800 meters cannot do a single chin up,” he was intrigued by it because Inge de Bruijn trained doing chin ups when she was trained by him.  I wasn't surprised, because I knew that you need more speed than force to move your arms rapidly.  There are two main forces in swimming: the propulsive and the resistance.  They opposed each other.  The resistance should decrease and the propulsive should increase to improve your length per stroke and speed.  That is why we need technique so much when swimming.  Although, it is like cycling, the faster one goes the higher the resistance; except that water is even worse compared to air regarding resistance by friction.  The more strokes one takes; the more resistance one produces. That is why the best swimmer do not produce much propulsive force and/or strokes. The resistance in cycling is done by air and the resistance swimming is done mainly by increasing the number of strokes, due to the viscosity and turbulence of the fluid when stroking.  At the end, you have to swim like Phelps, but with a higher rpm if you are not 6 feet 5 inches, without losing your length-per-stroke. “Whites can jump,” it is a matter of practice and intelligence.  Watch Nate Robinson.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUgNhzqaoAw&feature=player_embedded

 

Nate is practically what technique is about. I do not have any idea about his epistêmê.  He learned it, most likely, practicing in his “neighborhood.”  Unfortunately, what we learn in “our neighborhoods” are not too useful anymore.  That is why we need a lot more epistêmê nowadays; we are misinformed with so much information.   The Brownlees have applied their epistêmê as no one in triathlon, that is why they are in another league.  Armstrong did the same thing cycling.  The Brownlees and Armstrong do things which are doable as long as “the map is the territory.”  We need rigor to apply technique in order to reach the physical limit.