This may be a repeat, sorry, but I think it deserves some more discussion. I was a "mediocre" (B team) high school swimmer. I swam the 200 I.M. and the 100 butterfly, pretty much because that was what was left for me to swim. In 1967 you could change your kick in the high school butterfly, at the begining of a pool length. So I swam the first 75 yards dolphin kick (one kick only) and did the last 25 yards with the frog kick (again, only frog, no small dolphin kick). Now I am 55 years old, returned to swimming in September 2004, after doing no swimming since 1968. I train three times a week with a group of masters with a coach (I do swim on my own a couple of days more. Our practices last about an hour with an average 2,000 meters total. I swim mostly freestyle and occasionaly will swim the 50 meter butterfly at a meet. Somehow I am now doing the double kick dolphin kick and gliding more at the end of each cycle, which my coach says is bad, but which I do because if I don't, I'll slip fast into a butterstruggle. One of these days I went back to my old one dolphin kick only and no glide at the end of the cycle and swam faster for 25 meters in practice. Then I figured I could do it at a meet and swam 50 meters long course using this method. I practically died at the flags doing the last 7 meters in weird shape and form. The guy with the stopwatch asked me if I was okay, and I said, yes and slowly got out of the pool and recuperated. I just went into extreme oxygen debt and/or fatigue, but 50 meters (?), nothing dangerous or harmful could or would happen. Okay, I know I should go to a pool with a stopwatch and do time trials of the different strokes I am able to perform. I will do that. Here is my question, for longer distances and in my case for the 50 yard or meter long or short course butterfly: give me input on three options please: 1- get into better shape and do the one dolphin kick all out butterfly with no gliding, 2- do the two kick dolphin kick with gliding but make it more efficient, and 3- practice and perform the butterfrog with gliding (as shown here in a video) and make that my only method of swimming the butterfly. Thanks for any input, especially tips on how to make the frog and glide more efficient, or make the two kick dolphin kick more efficient with less gliding, or how go get through a 50 meter butterfly without dying in the last 10 meters, billy fanstone
Former Member
bottom line is if you have to do this butter frog instead of real fly, just dont do fly at all.
I am tending to agree to that. Why all the suffering when I have a perfectly good freestyle? However, every now and then I like to do the 100 I.M. where I finish the first 25 butterfly okay, although winded as I come out of the back to the ***. But that is a question of training, not technique. As for switching to frog during the swim, it is legal, but a tad difficult when you begin to butterstruggle to switch as the momentum isn't there or the neurofacilitation (changing the style during the swim and not at the wall is harder). Thanks for the input. billy fanstone
