When I learned to swim, we were taught to use an S-pull. It took me quite awhile to retrain myself to use a straight pull. Straight, as in the pull is straight back, not having a straight arm. I have always swum with bent elbows during the pull. The hand should not cross your midline though; you want your thrust vector to be as straight as possible.

Seeing that you probably aren't going to be doing any sprint racing, and your goals are distance oriented, I'd say that whatever feels comfortable to you and helps you get there trumps trying to be technically sound.

The best way would be to get coaching by joining a Masters team near you, but for some good pointers, http://www.swimsmooth.com is pretty good.

Ok, this is coming from a several time DI all-american and a DII head coach (me):

The S pull is completely outdated. The reasoning to teach it that way was that as your hand travels in a certain direction, the water starts moving with your hand so you change the direction of your pull to get to "clean" water. FIRST, the problem with that theory is physics. Water is incompressible. (Think hydraulic systems on machinery) No matter if the water is moving or not, you're still going to be able to apply the same amount of force. So why waste time doing an s curve when you can pull straight through?? You save time and are able to get the hand to the next stroke more quickly. SECOND, by using the s stroke, you A) put your arm in a biomechanically unstable position and it makes your hand travel further away from your center line (the further from your center you go the weaker you are...again, biomechanics). THIRD, every time you change the direction of your hand, your hand slips through the water and you lose your force on the water. That all being said, don't "straight arm" your pull. You do have to bend at the wrist and elbow to ensure a strong catch on the water. Just pull straight back instead of doing loop-de-loops with your stroke pattern. Does that all make sense?

Also, and this is to help EVERYONE'S shoulders out there. I don't care how you recover, but if any part of your arm is behind your scapular plane (stand up straight and the natural imaginary plane that extends from your shoulder blade out past your body) you ARE going to give yourself shoulder problems on your recovery. I don't care if you're a straight arm'er like me or a high elbows swimmer, please, Please PLEASE do yourself a favor and keep your arm in front of your scapular plane. It's going to feel funky as heck and you'll have to roll more (hello abs!) but your shoulders will feel SO much better in the long run. You'll be able to train harder and faster without shoulder pain. I can't tell you how I often I cringe watching lap swimmers. It makes my shoulders hurt just watching.

*steps off soap box*

The best way would be to get coaching by joining a Masters team near you, but for some good pointers, http://www.swimsmooth.com is pretty good.

Thank you so much for posting this website!! So great!!

rmsturdy: Tried out the new technique on Saturday. I've also been working on my flip turns. Well, it was funny how much concentration it takes to change my arm movement. I couldn't do both. So, my arms won out. After watching the Mr. Smooth video once and playing around with that website for about 10 minutes, I can see how much technical work I need. Thanks for the pointers.