Writing The Book of Freestyle – Chapter One: The Ground Book

One of the promises I made when I started this blog was to share the process behind writing my book, not just the finished chapters, but the ideas, choices, and philosophy that shape each page. So, with the prologue behind us, it’s time to step into Chapter One.

And like Musashi, I had to begin with the ground.

Why Ground? Why Freestyle?

Musashi begins The Book of Five Rings with The Ground Book, the foundation from which all the other elements emerge. I’ve always loved that structure, that nothing flows without a foundation.

For swimming, at least here in the U.S., that base or foundation is freestyle.

Freestyle is where most of us begin, and once we begin to really train it’s the stroke that does most of the heavy lifting. It’s the first stroke taught, the one that gives new swimmers confidence, the stroke that bridges technique and endurance, art and effort. It teaches alignment, rhythm, pacing, balance, and it shows up everywhere. You can’t escape it. You shouldn’t escape it.

So, in my book, freestyle becomes the foundation, the “ground” from which all other chapters emerge.

The Chapter Behind the Chapter

When I started drafting The Ground Book, I wasn’t just thinking about stroke mechanics. I was thinking about what freestyle represents. How it shapes us. What it reveals.

I knew I didn’t want this chapter to just be about training,  drills or technique. I wanted it to be about feel, and flow, and philosophy. Freestyle, done at its best, done thoughtfully, teaches us not just how to move, but how to manage ourselves. The breath, the burn, the boredom. The push. The patience. The repeat.

The real opponent, especially in swimming, isn’t the swimmer in the next lane or the clock. It’s the voice in your head that says back off just when you need to lean in. The side of us that seeks comfort over growth.

This is something I echo again in the final chapter, that idea of mastery over the self through practice, through mindfulness, through faith, through philosophy.

Master of Movement: Ian Thorpe

Each chapter will feature what I call a “master of movement,” someone whose technique embodies the principles I’m trying to explain. For The Ground Book, it had to be Ian Thorpe.

Thorpe’s freestyle wasn’t just beautiful, it was anchored. His balance was unshakable. His kick, relentless. His catch, patient. He swam with the kind of precision that doesn’t come from brute force, it comes from deep foundations. From respect for the line, the rhythm, the timing.

He didn’t fight the water. He joined it.

That’s the kind of swimming I want this chapter to teach.

Not Just Technique, A Way of Thinking

There’s a line I keep coming back to as I write this chapter:

“Without stability, speed becomes chaos. Without rhythm, power is wasted.”

Freestyle, done well, gives us both. It offers a platform where everything connects: the catch, the core, the hips, the legs. The breath. The mind.

And that’s what The Ground Book is really about. It’s a technical foundation, yes. But also a mental one. A way of seeing your stroke not just as something you do, but something you understand. That idea will be a central theme of the book and seen in all the chapters as we examine the other strokes.

Writing Freestyle First

Writing this chapter felt like building the pool before you can fill it with water.

There’s so much I wanted to include, from stroke mechanics to mindset, from Thorpe’s line to the Stoic roots of self-control. I had to resist the urge to throw everything in at once. Instead, I tried to make it clean. Purposeful. Grounded.

There are moments in this chapter where I let the language slow down. Where I bring in a bit of poetry, a bit of space, the same way freestyle breathes between strokes. That was intentional. This book isn’t just about swimming; it’s about the way we move and think in the water.

So if this chapter feels like a foundation, it’s because that’s what it is, both for the swimmer, and for the book itself.

Up Next

Chapter Two will dive into The Water Book, and with it, backstroke, flow, and adaptability. But for now, I hope this gives you a glimpse into the process behind Chapter One.

As always, thanks for following along. This isn’t just a book, it’s a journey.

Let’s keep building.

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