Butterfly
The Butterfly started out as a type of Breaststroke with an over-the -water recovery, but it is now clearly recognised as a stroke in its own right and with its own set of rules. It is always considered to be a very strenuous stroke, and many swimmers do not like performing it in training. It’s amazing the number of one arm swimmers we have when it comes to swimming “Fly”!
However, everything becomes easier with practice and the only way to improve your Fly in races is to make sure you swim it in training (and swim it well). Here are a few hints to remind you how Fly should be swum.
Checklist
Arms
Hands enter water at a point between the centre of your head and your shoulders
Hands are turned out about 45 degrees with thumbs down and elbows slightly bent.
Following entry, hands begin to sweep out and down
Hands follow a keyhole shape pull
As hands pass shoulders, elbows bend and remain high
Hands begin to sweep in towards stomach
At tummy button, hands push the water backwards towards the thighs,
accelerating as they go
Hands are turned by thigh so that the palm faces legs and little finger leaves the water on top
Lift elbows out of water and recover hands over the water in a wide arc.
Kick
Both legs move together like a fishtail
Kick from the hips with a slight bend in the knees as you kick down
Toes should be pointed and feet turned towards each other slightly
s legs reach end of kick downwards, hips should rise and break the surface
Legs sweep upwards together with knees straight until top of kick where they flex to start the next down kick
Body position and breathing
Remember the “H’s” — Hands enter, Head is down Hips are High
Kick down as hands enter and kick again as hands sweep backwards before starting the recovery
Let your body dive into the water as your hands enter and rise up to breathe
To breathe, lift chin on top of water. This happens as the hands stretch backwards from your tummy button
With the changing body position, timing is crucial in Fly. It is important that you get maximum use out of your kick and pull which helps to conserve energy during a race. Practising with flippers can aid balance and momentum and also increase ankle flexibility.
At the end of the day, Butterfly is like telling a good joke — it requires excellent timing! So here are a few drills to help you practice, and practice, and . . .
Stroke Drill 1 — Kick on your back with your arms by your sides. Get the feel of the whole body movement as you kick from the hips.
Stroke Drill 2 — Kick on your front
with your arms by your side. Keep your
face in the water, and feel your body undulate
as you kick. This can also be done
underwater, which will give you a better idea of
the up kick as well as the down kick.
Stroke Drill 3 — Kick on
your side, one arm stretched out under your
head, and the other resting by your side.
This allows you to feel the depth of the kick
(and also let your coach see how deep you are
kicking).
Stroke Drill 4 — Kick in a
standing position in deep water. this is called
vertical kicking. Put your hands on your
head and try and kick yourself high out f the
water. This develops a powerful kick.
Stroke Drill 5 — This is
really for those of you who may be having
difficulty with the up and down (undulating)
action. Standing in shallow water, jump
forwards off the bottom. At the same time throw
your arms over and your head down in a butterfly
action and touch your toes on the bottom of the
pool. Repeat across the pool.
Stroke Drill 6 — Push off
the wall and do six kicks underwater, followed
by one complete arm pull. Dive back under
the water for another six kicks. This can
then be done with four kicks and two kicks.
This also helps to get the feel of the
undulation.
Stroke Drill 7 — Swim Fly
with one arm, with the opposite arm stretched
out in front. Breathe to the side.
This will help with the timing of the pull and
the kicks, as well as with the pattern of the
pull. This drill can then be done with the
resting arm by your side and breathing to the
front.
Stroke Drill 8 — As stroke
Drill 7, do three pulls with your left arm, then
three with your right, and then three full
strokes. This can be done in other
combinations e.g. two left, two right, two full:
one left, one right, one full: two left, two
right, one full. this is another good way
of practising the timing as well as being a good
co-ordination exercise.
Flippers can be used with any of these drills because they give extra propulsion while you are learning and forgive any weaknesses in your stroke. However, it is important to practice without the aid of flippers as this is how you must swim the stroke when it comes to a race.
