hand paddles for swim stroke question

they can be useful to really help you focus on exactly how your hand should be entering the water. am i correct in thinking you haven't been swimming long? if so i wouldn't worry about it.

You only get shoulder injuries if you do lots of long, hard yardage with them. Paddles are an *excellent* tool for self-learning correct technique. Like bettylou said, they quickly make very evident any imperfections.

And, if you remove the wrst straps, you get even better feedback. If you aren't doing things correctly, the paddles will just slip off of your hands.

This is only the case if you use them improperly...that is, as a strength training tool.  Hand paddles are best used to work on hand entry and proper form under the water.  You should only use a single finger loop rather than all the straps to hold the paddle to your hand.  The single loop holds the paddle to your hand but doesn't keep in it place should you orient your hand incorrectly...it will flip off.  At some point swimmers decided to use paddles as a way to increase stroke resistance which can be ad on the shoulders if you're not careful.

I use them.  I use them for both strength and technique training.  When I do use them for strength training, it's like twice a month during my speed sets, and it's maybe 500 to 1000 yards total out of a 2500 yard workout.

I agree with what others have said.  Don't worry about them until you get general balance, rotation and stroke down.  Once you understand how you are supposed to swim, they really help you fine tune your whole arm motion.  They show you exactly where your stroke is inneficient as they amplify your grip on the water.  They also force you to continue your stroke to the hips, which is a very usefull habit to pick up early on.  A neat trick is to use the hard paddles and leave off the wrist strap.  Make a game of trying to keep the paddle flat against your hand.  If you have a good stroke, it will be easy.