Butterfly Swimming Technique

Butterfly swimming technique involves the movement of both hands simultaneously and also in a symmetrical manner. This technique is also known as 'fly'. The 'butterfly kick' associated with this technique is named 'dolphin kick'. The information about butterfly swimming training and details about how to master the technique are provided below.

Information on Butterfly Swimming Technique

To perform the butterfly swimming workouts and stroke properly, following instructions would prove to be helpful. The correct position and movement of head, arms, chest, shoulder, etc. are explained by means of the content presented below.

• Head: The position of head should be such that it is in-line with the length of spinal cord.
• Arms: Movement of arms need to be synchronous with each other. The arms should be moved in a steady rhythm.
• Chest and Shoulder: The movement of chest and shoulders involve upward and downward motion, alternately. As the arms enter water, chest is pressed downwards and forward on the surface.
• Eyes: The eyes need to be focused on the bottom of pool when the head is immersed in water. While breathing, i.e. when the head is raised above, one should set the gaze straight forward.
• Hips: The hips are maintained at a higher level in relation to the surface of water. Propelling the body forwards becomes easier with this position.
• Legs: The legs need to work in tandem with arms so as to move the body forward. Timing is thus, an important aspect of leg movement. It is not necessary to kick forcefully; such an action would only make the swimmer feel tired.
• Feet: During the entire kicking motion of legs, feet should remain in the same plane. Slight change in the plane is however, permitted at the upbeats and downbeats. In the upbeat motion, the feet are flexed a bit at the ankle joint, while they get relaxed at the time of downbeat motion.

How to Perform a Butterfly Stroke

To perform a butterfly stroke, initially the arms and legs need to be fully extended.

• The arms should be held above the level of head.
• First movement should be that of legs; the legs need to be whipped and the force required for whipping should originate right from the hips.
• Along with the whipping action of legs, arm movements should be performed simultaneously. The arms should be brought upwards from underneath the water in a symmetrical manner.
• Kicking action and arm movement together helps in propelling the body out of water. While the head is above the water surface, one should draw in maximum amount air for breathing.
• As the head is lifted above, arms are simultaneously drawn out of water. This completes a single cycle of the butterfly stroke.
• When the head once again enters the water, next cycle of butterfly stroke begins.

Butterfly Swimming Drills

The butterfly drills are used in improving breathing, getting the perfect timing and also in propelling the body with required amount of acceleration.

Breathing: The drills associated with breathing are performed to increase stamina. It is indirectly helpful in keeping the body flatter. This is because, greater the breathing capacity, longer is the time that one can spend inside water. To increase the breathing capacity, one should lift the head above, after every three kicks.

Acceleration: To get the maximum acceleration for a butterfly stroke, the body should be in a streamlined position and arms quickly recovered from water. There are two types of drills that can be performed for maximum acceleration. In the first drill, one should perform the butterfly stroke with fingers closed together in a fist. Hand movement happens more quickly in this manner. Another drill which can be tried is the use of flutter kick instead of the standard 'whipping movement'.

Timing: To achieve the proper timing while swimming, one should be looking to eliminate problems like the 'two-wiggle butterfly'. In the 'two-wiggle butterfly' problem, arm and hip movement occurs incorrectly. This is because the hips move up and down two times; first at the time when arms are sideways and second when they are in the forward position. Such an action can lead to injury in the long term. Thus, to correct the 'two-wiggle butterfly' action one should go for 'four kicks-one pull' drill.

Four Kicks-One Pull: In this drill, one has to kick four times and then pull the body upwards for the forward movement of arms. After the body is raised above, it should be propelled forward and downwards. This movement helps in bringing the hips in a correct position to carry out arm recovery.

The butterfly swimming technique can be perfected by following the instructions and swimming tips provided above. The key point to be remember is keeping the body as flat to the water surface as possible. It is helpful in reducing the pull of gravity and thereby saves energy.