Tom, at a guess, Aahz is not talking about NOT spending time on the swing, nor about neglecting to teach dancers how to start/end one--just that the finer points of technique aren't a priority for the beginner's lesson. Of course any teacher worth their salt will teach that a swing always ends with the lady on the right. But I think all Aahz is saying is that, IF the dancers end the swing with the lady on the right, it doesn't really matter how they get there--fumbling through a swing happens, and it's easy to recover from, while moves that involve the rest of your hands-4 or the rest of the set have potential to cause way more disruption to the dance if botched. I agree that the buzz-step is not the be-all, end-all of contra swing! I've been dancing for going on 5 years and I pretty much exclusively walk-swing, because I find it more comfortable and easy to control, and don't actually like swinging extremely fast. John mentions the bad habits that even experienced dancers may have while swinging, such as: - grip, clamp, squeeze, hang, press - hold their partner in the wrong place so it is uncomfortable - use too much strength and try to do silly things like making their partners feet leave the floor - lean sideways or backwards - start twirls too late and when they are facing the wrong way so that they end up in the wrong place I find it pretty telling that this list of habits actually has nothing to do with footwork! In my opinion, the reason to teach walking swing instead of buzz-step to beginners is that there's SO MUCH ELSE to concentrate on. The more things we can abstract away, the easier a time beginners will have learning what's left. If you're focusing on strange new footwork (and I find that buzz-stepping beginners tend to think that the buzz-stepping is the most important part of the swing, and concentrate more on that than on their frame), it's harder to pick up things like giving weight, a proper hold, etc. But everyone already knows how to walk! I would also add that I would much rather dance with someone doing a funky/odd/strange/unpracticed walking swing than a funky/odd/strange/unpracticed buzz step. I find that there are fewer ways to mess up a walk, and that there's less potential for your partner to be uncomfortable or perhaps harmed than with one of those galloping, out-of-control excited-pony buzz step swings. Just my two cents! Cheers, Maia On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 1:38 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: