Hello, I'm a UK swimmer (41) who took up swimming following a running injury 4 years ago. A familiar scenario to many. My freestyle and breaststroke is OK and infact I do fairly well in a breaststroke set at the club.
My butterfly is like a stone in the water however. I have chatted to other members , the coach, and watched the good guys, but it does not seem to happen. I get no real leg power on a kick in, kick out rhythym for each arm pull. I know the power comes from the stomach as well as the legs and I know rhythym is important. Has anybody had any great moments of enlightenment. No amount of drill work seems to make a huge difference. Any ideas ?
I'm working on my fly also. (An age group coach "fixed" my stroke long ago, and I've been trying to break bad habits ever since.)
One day I had pulled my hamstring (softball), and tried swimming with minimal kicking. My fly felt very smooth that day. Maybe you should try that extreme (almost no kicking), and see if it makes a difference. (I'm sure real flyers will have better suggestions shortly.)
Try doing drills.
3 strokes right arm, 3 left arm,3 both arms. Do not rush the drill,stretch it out and think about the undualting movement like a dolphin makes.
Instead of using a board to kick butterfly, kick on your back. Also power is generated more from the hips than the legs. If your trying to kick with your legs and not the hips you will be out of sequence some in your stroke.
Another good kicking drill is to go in deep end and do verticle dolphin kicks with arms crossed against your chest.
Best of luck,
greg
One of the most important tools to teach butterfly (my humble opinion) is a good set of FINS! It makes the rhythm easier to teach. Butterfly is about rhythm and strength.
Start off just kicking with fins under water to get your hips used to the motion.
I actually encourage people to use full fins when learning. It makes the kick stronger for beginner swimmers as they are learning to get up out of the water with both arms. It also allows them to do more distance at each practice until they are comfortable doing the stroke. Again, most of this is personal preference. But I do use this on the age group kids I coach. Works really well with them.
Alastair,
Emmett Hines has written two fabulous articles on butterfly. Go to this web site http://www.h2oustonswims.org/
Click on the Articles tab.
Read the articles "Slip Slid'n' Away" and "Vive Le Papillon" (in that order).
Get yourself a pair of fins, and follow his advice. Some essential points to remember:
- Swim fly with your body, not your arms.
- I actually think of initiating my kick at my shoulders (versus the knees or the hips).
- Keep your head in a neutral position (i.e. don't tilt your head up to breath), and breath as early in your arm recovery as possible, then get your head back down. If you have really good body udulation and head position, you can breath every stroke without messing up your stroke.
- Try putting a little glide in your stroke after your recover your arms. Pause a split second before initiating the next arm pull.
When you are ready to try a little whole body swimming, try this drill. Swim two strokes of breaststroke, then two strokes of fly, and keep alternating by 2's. I use this to make my breaststroke somewhat...less offensive than it would be otherwise. This drill helps but a body wave/udulation in your breaststroke, and a glide in your fly.
If you want some more ideas, or inspiration, try this article about the crazed individual who swims a 5K open water swim butterfly the whole way www.thomasboettcher.org/.../default.htm
Finally, Gareth are you out there? He is a regular contributor to this discussion board, a UK subject, and a coach who teaches a swimming style consistent with this method of fly. If he lives near you, he may be able to give you some pointers.
Good luck, let us know how you do.
Matt
i remember someone replying to this subject before,maybe it was gareth.The reply was to not rush and overtrain fly,rather to incorporate it gradually into your workout,maybe only 25 m each session to start,with a few kicking drills.then gradually increase very slowly.I find i'm better keeping fly towards the end of the workout as it seems to really zap up my energy..also i can give it all ive got without slacking
Matt, you said it much better then I did!!!!
"Swim with your body, not your arms."!!!!
That is the essence of Butterfly. It is a whole body movement!
And thanks Matt, I am going to use some of the info from those articles as well!
Well, break your fly into short distances of 25 yards. That way you don't have to breath every stroke. Instead of a two beat kick try one beat kick. Most masters and age group teams will not encourage a one beat kick but its easier and since you are a beginner its easier. Also, I'm a one beat kicker and as a kid I had a fast fly by masters standards not today though. Third point, fly is conditioning and the better shape you are in the easier you are able to swim fly. But its hard, when I sprint a 50 yard fly, the last 20 yards falls apart on me. So, its going to take you time since you come from a non-swimming background. Also, some breaststrokers are good flyers while others are not.
