Butterfly! (dun dun dunnn....)
Many people are terrified of the butterfly. It seems so hard. But, honestly, it comes down to a few small elements...
The Kick
The most important aspect of the butterfly stroke is the kick. Think about a shark or a dolphin... their fin does so much to generate speed and power. You should be pressing with your chest and letting the kick travel like a wave all the way down to your toes. Keep your knees and ankles together and your toes pointed straight back behind you.
The butterfly kick, or often called the dolphin kick, is also used underwater in backstroke and freestyle, and even can be used as a component of the breaststroke pullout.
The butterfly kick, or often called the dolphin kick, is also used underwater in backstroke and freestyle, and even can be used as a component of the breaststroke pullout.
The Stroke
This stroke is called butterfly because the swimmer's arms look like giant butterfly wings! So think about having long, strong arms coming over the water.
The thing people complain about the most with butterfly is how tired they get when swimming it. There are a few reasons for this...
- The swimmer is keeping the head up and eyes facing forwards instead of straight down to the bottom of the pool. Relax the head and look straight down, even when breathing, to relax your shoulders and get your arms over the water easier.
- Swimmers tend to breathe too much! Unlike in breaststroke where we have to breathe every stroke, there is no reason why we breathe after every stroke in the butterfly. Keep your head down and try breathing every other stroke or every three strokes. Again, it relaxes your shoulders and makes bringing the arms around over the water even easier.
- Lastly, swimmers who don't get the timing for butterfly have a hard time getting their arms around. Be sure to start your breath as your arms pull back and finish as your arms are ready to move over the water. The butterfly also has a steady, rhythmic kick (one kick when the hands are in front and one when the hands are exiting the water behind you).
Try fixing these three things and your butterfly will begin to feel more relaxed.
P.S. Did I mention rhythm... It's important!!
The Turn/Finish
The breaststroke requires a two-hand touch on every wall, both for turns and for finishes. The breaststroke and the butterfly both utilize an open turn (not a flip turn!). Remember the phrase "elbow your brother, phone your mother" as you think about the open turn.
Putting it all together...
One of the coolest butterfly races from recent history is from Rio 2016. Joseph Schooling (who idolized Michael Phelps as a younger swimmer) wins Singapore's first gold medal in swimming. Michael Phelps, Chad Guy Bertrand Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh (three of the greatest butterfliers in recent history) all tie to win silver!! (A three-way tie with touchpads... not stopwatches... is incredible!) This is one of my favorite butterfly races to watch.
