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 ?
Former Member
Thanks too for all these great tips. I too am learning to swim fly myself so that it resembles the stroke and not the butterdie. I am getting better and may attempt the 200 fly in provincials. I would like to get one under my belt so next year when I flip to the next age group (50-54) I will be better.
I learnt to swim at masters at the age of 33, as I always wanted to be a swimmer as a child. So much to learn, but each year I am continuing to get better and swim greater distances as well.
I read the suggested articles and they were extremely helpful.
I am always learning and now returning my knowledge, enthusiasm and love for the sport as a coach.
I also tried the drills with my age groupers and they dubbed the body drill "the Mermaid drill" We have included this drill in our kick sets and they are getting very good. They can even do this on their sides and backs.
So many thanks for the great tips.
"To motivate, add water"
Let me second the recommendation to read those Emmett Hines articles. They are well-written and go right to the source of many problems. I think I improved considerably after reading them.
Originally posted by Matt S
I did not know you had joined us on the Tao of the butterfly. Welcome.
Thanks.
But I still laugh when I think about doing butterfly with closed fists. (Remember, it has to do with my signature...)
Shakey,
I did not know you had joined us on the Tao of the butterfly. Welcome.
Cynthia is precisely right about one-beat butterfly. That is exactly what Emmett is describing in his articles. I even stay with this style when I am sprinting a 50 fly; the key adjustment I make to sprint is to focus on kicking hard on the UP kick as well as the down. However, for most people not trying to sprint fly, the key is to SLOW DOWN, and let your body wave drive the stroke.
Matt
Shake-meister,
Put fins and fistgloves on at the same time (I'd recommend putting on the fins first). That will really get you to swim with your body, not your arms.
Matt
Originally posted by Shaky
But I still laugh when I think about doing butterfly with closed fists.
I remember a guy who was doing the 100 fly in his first masters meet. (He had swam in HS.) After the first 50, his wedding ring was starting to slip off. For his 2nd 50, he swam with a closed fist to keep the ring on. (He ended up negative splitting. :cool: )
Originally posted by Matt S
Put fins and fistgloves on at the same time (I'd recommend putting on the fins first). That will really get you to swim with your body, not your arms.
Yes, yes, I get it. But can I punch the other swimmers while doing it?
Shakester,
I'm not here to comment on felonious assaults between two consenting adults (besides where would water polo be if we outlawed aquatic mugging?)
Matt
That's true,where would water polo be then without a little mugging. I play in about 3 games that were official and the JR college I attended had it as a PE class. Unforunately back in the 1970's in high school you had to join the boys team. Their was no girls team. I'm surprise at your knowlege of water polo since almost most states except for California where its popular few other places play. Arizona just as a handful of USA water polo teams and no high school program.
Cynthia,
On my high school team we used to play it for a change of pace in our training program. That was real animal ball. Then in law school I joined the water polo club. Since Ann Arbor is one of the very few areas outside of CA that has varsity high school water polo (or at least they did in the 80's; who knows now), those guys were the real backbone of the team, and they used us duffers to fill in as bench scrubs.
Even at that time, the 2 or 3 women who wanted to play had to play with us guys. Same/same for some of the other teams we played. (I had my own gentleman's code of conduct about which dirty tricks I would not use if I was guarding a woman, or vice versa.) Now, of course women's water polo is a varsity sport at U of M, and I might add with alumni pride that they are currently the top ranked women's team in the country outside of CA or HI.
Times change, in some ways worse, in some ways better.
Matt
