Combat side stroke or CSS is a variation of the side stroke that was developed and taught to the United States Navy SEALs

United States Navy SEALs

The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...

. It uses a mixture of techniques used in breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

, side stroke and front crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...

. The combat side stroke allows the swimmer to swim more efficiently and reduce the body's profile in the water in order to be less likely to be seen during combat operations if surface swimming is required. The concept of CSS has been that it can be used with or without wearing swim fins (flippers)

Swimfin

Swimfins, swim fins, fins or flippers are worn on the foot or leg and made from finlike rubber or plastic, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities such as swimming, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, kneeboarding, riverboarding, and various types of underwater diving.Scuba divers use...

, the only difference being that when wearing swim fins the swimmer's legs will always be kicking in the regular flutter kick

Flutter kick

The flutter kick is a kicking movement used in both swimming and calisthenics.-Swimming:When swimming either front crawl or backstroke, the legs are extended straight backwards in line with the body. They are moved up and down, one leg kicking downwards as the other leg moves up...

 motion without the scissor kick. This stroke is one of the strokes that can be used for prospective SEAL candidates in the SEAL Physical Screening Test (PST), which includes a 500 yard swim in 12 minutes 30 seconds to determine if the candidate is suitable to go to the Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL school.

Basics

The combat side stroke utilizes the three main fundamentals of swimming:

• Balance: There are two things that affect your balance in the water - the head and lungs. Most people when swimming, especially when using breaststroke, will swim with their head up which forces their hips to sink down which is like they are swimming uphill and is a sign of being less comfortable. However, if the body is flat/horizontal or more parallel to the water-line it is far more effective and will allow the swimmer to feel more comfortable in the water.
• Length: The taller the person is, the faster the speed through the water. As a result it is important that the swimmer is fully stretched horizontal in the water, as this will reduce the body's drag through the water and allow a higher speed.
• Rotation: In most sports, such as baseball, when the batter swings the baseball bat they will rotate the hips to increase the power of the swing. The same principle is applied to swimming. If the swimmer engages the hips and uses the body's core muscles it will increase power.

Side stroke variants

There are two forms to the combat side stroke: the full combat side stroke and the combat sprinter side stroke. The sprinter side stroke allows the swimmer to move faster in the water compared to the full side stroke.

Full side stroke

The swimmer will start with the body flat and arms in a fully extended position in the water, head pointing down, legs flutter kicking. One arm will then pull down in the water to the side of the body at the same time rotating the body and the head taking a breath to its side. The second arm will then pull down with the arm to the side of the body, and the head will move back facing the bottom of the pool, enabling the body to stay horizontal in the water. The hands will move forward fully extended in front of the head while simultaneously performing a scissor kicking motion cork-screwing the body back to being flat in the water.

Sprinter side stroke

The only difference between the full side stroke and sprinter side stroke is instead of bringing the second lead arm fully down to the side of the body the arm will only half stroke; the arm moves halfway towards the body and is then brought back to the fully extended position.

External links

• Combat Side Stroke (educational video)