Hey Guys!
So I've been trying to work on my technique this summer and I've made a lot of progress in my freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke mainly because I've been working with an instructor. However, we didn't have a chance to get to butterfly, and I'm really considering joining a local club team in the fall, but I don't want to embarrass myself by being unable to swim this stroke at all.
Anyway, I was hoping that you guys may be able to tell me how I should go about teaching myself and what things to really be careful about. If you guys have any videos that you think are really good, I'd love to see those too.
Thanks!
I love this one-arm fly drill. Here's a vid. You can also search YouTube for "one arm butterfly drill" to see other examples.
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I do this drill all the time. It's good for rhythm. I do it either "3+3" (3 strokes on the right arm, then 3 on the left) per length in a 25 yard pool, or "4+4" for a little more speed (not that I'm fast). It's much easier than full stroke fly.
I also like "1+1+1" drill, which is one stroke right arm, one stroke left arm, one full stroke. For a beginner I'd suggest doing both drills with fins.
On fins -- For beginners, a big obstacle to learning fly is that you can only do maybe one or two strokes at a time. It's hard to learn something that way. Fins allow beginners to do more strokes, and so allow more rapid progress. The danger is of course becoming dependent on the fins. Eventually you have to take them off!
Be patient! It takes a long time to learn fly! Be persistent!
I love this one-arm fly drill. Here's a vid. You can also search YouTube for "one arm butterfly drill" to see other examples.
bgFmhk3TTKk
I do this drill all the time. It's good for rhythm. I do it either "3+3" (3 strokes on the right arm, then 3 on the left) per length in a 25 yard pool, or "4+4" for a little more speed (not that I'm fast). It's much easier than full stroke fly.
I also like "1+1+1" drill, which is one stroke right arm, one stroke left arm, one full stroke. For a beginner I'd suggest doing both drills with fins.
On fins -- For beginners, a big obstacle to learning fly is that you can only do maybe one or two strokes at a time. It's hard to learn something that way. Fins allow beginners to do more strokes, and so allow more rapid progress. The danger is of course becoming dependent on the fins. Eventually you have to take them off!
Be patient! It takes a long time to learn fly! Be persistent!