Most swimmers who have worked on their catch believe their elbow is high enough. What’s often overlooked is that a genuinely high elbow catch is far more extreme than most swimmers think, and the version most people are swimming is a compromise that captures very little of the benefit. The high elbow catch requires the elbow to be higher than the hand and higher than the wrist simultaneously, with the forearm pointing almost vertically downward toward the pool floor. From that position the forearm and hand face directly backward and can push water straight behind the swimmer. It is an unusual, almost uncomfortable position for most people because it demands significant shoulder flexibility and a specific movement pattern that does not exist in daily life. What most swimmers actually produce is a partially dropped elbow with a hand that is roughly level with or slightly below the elbow. This looks similar from the pool deck and feels similar from the inside, but the forearm angle is wrong. Instead of facing backward it faces partially downward, and the pull that follows pushes water down rather than back. The swimmer works hard and produces a fraction of the propulsion the position was designed to create. The fastest way to find the real position is to stand in the water at the pool wall, place one hand flat against the wall below the surface, and set the elbow high with the forearm vertical. That static feeling, elbow up, forearm down, hand facing the wall behind, is the position the stroke is trying to reach dynamically on every catch. Technical fact: Early vertical forearm mechanics require simultaneous elevation of the elbow above the wrist and hand, with the forearm approaching vertical relative to the pool floor. This orientation maximises the propulsive surface area facing the direction of travel. Partial elbow elevation without achieving forearm verticality redirects propulsive force downward, significantly reducing forward thrust per stroke. Most swimmers think they have it. Very few actually do. - @markus_marthaler