Hi Mick.
Swing rhythm is extremely common and important, especially in blues, rock and roll, jazz. I'm going to assume you just don't understand the term, because you will definitely be familiar with it. It's that rocking back and forth rhythm used most obviously in songs such as Little Red Rooster (Rolling Stones) and Cold Shot by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Technically it is playing in triplets but leaving the middle note out. So instead of 123 223 323 423, you get 1---3 2---3 3---3 4---3.
Basically you can have either a straight feel or a swing feel.
As for your first question, the answer is yes. Most definitley, depending on the song.
If a song is in "8ths" (ie 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and), then you'd strum down on every beat and up on the "ands." DUDUDUDU, or some variation on that, like D D DUD.
If a song is in 16ths (and most songs I strum are), the rhythm is 1-a-and-a-2-a-and-a-3-a-and-a-4-a-and-a. In that case, you'd strum down on the beats as well as the "ands." As a matter of fact, it's critical that you do. You've got to keep that right hand going up and down in time with the music, never stopping. You might miss strums out on purpose, but that hand keeps moving up and down in time. You always, always, have your right hand moving down on the beat. That's the key.
Have a look at the thread on country/ rock strumming. There are a couple of links in it well worth checking out. Hope that helps.
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