I've heard a lot of stories about how if you don't know how to do fly properly you could seriously wreck your shoulders.
One story one of my friends told me that a friend of hers dislocated her shoulder in the middle of a race.
I do want to try it but I'm a bit intimidated to tell the truth. Plus, I'll look ridiculous the first time I try :blush:. Total embarrassment I'd predict.
Any tips to get over the fear?
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The timing also seems very difficult to get down as I haven't developed that good of a dolphin kick so it feels like I go nowhere with a lot of effort. Getting the perfect pulling action on a badly timed dolphin kick wont do any good.
When I swim the butterfly, energy gets put to body undulation, which translates into adding some punch to the kick as well as to the whole stroke in general. Energy entry point is body action first. The pulling action I try to keep it relatively easy. Because too much strength put in this would later be detrimental on arm recovery.
But that's a little complicated at first I find. The starting point is really to get the body undulation.
Because you have to learn when to breathe in the process. In fact, what 'em I saying..
You have to learn to get the head movement (ups and downs) to lead the whole undulation. And it's simple. Look up, look down, look up, look down. Just before breathing, you look up for the little whole in the surface where you will exit to breath. Just looking up like this will bring you to the surface naturally.
In order to get there, you will have to learn when, during the undulation, when to breathe. You'll notice that there's one kick that occurs just after look down (creates some sort of a dive, like a seal would do to dive to get a fish not far under the surface). And you need a second kick in the same time you look up to breathe.
If one can do that smoothly, one can basically pull the way he likes. I personally violate a rule with my arms, I can afford bringing them together (both hands touch themselves) in the front during the recovery (having done hundreds of them this way on my bed before sleep). Every coach is telling me not to do that, I don't care. I use the extra sculling in the front to control how deep I dive. And besides, I reduce the drag caused by arms entering in the water. Some recover straight arms, some bent arms. You have to find a way that your shoulders will like.
As to underwater arm action. Think of it as half breaststroke half free style. Or freestyle but much wider. Give me a week maybe and I'll reply back with my own favorite drill. It's magic. Body undulation with kick no arm whatsoever no board with full breathing pattern.
Tried to find it on the internet I couldn't find good executions.
The timing also seems very difficult to get down as I haven't developed that good of a dolphin kick so it feels like I go nowhere with a lot of effort. Getting the perfect pulling action on a badly timed dolphin kick wont do any good.
When I swim the butterfly, energy gets put to body undulation, which translates into adding some punch to the kick as well as to the whole stroke in general. Energy entry point is body action first. The pulling action I try to keep it relatively easy. Because too much strength put in this would later be detrimental on arm recovery.
But that's a little complicated at first I find. The starting point is really to get the body undulation.
Because you have to learn when to breathe in the process. In fact, what 'em I saying..
You have to learn to get the head movement (ups and downs) to lead the whole undulation. And it's simple. Look up, look down, look up, look down. Just before breathing, you look up for the little whole in the surface where you will exit to breath. Just looking up like this will bring you to the surface naturally.
In order to get there, you will have to learn when, during the undulation, when to breathe. You'll notice that there's one kick that occurs just after look down (creates some sort of a dive, like a seal would do to dive to get a fish not far under the surface). And you need a second kick in the same time you look up to breathe.
If one can do that smoothly, one can basically pull the way he likes. I personally violate a rule with my arms, I can afford bringing them together (both hands touch themselves) in the front during the recovery (having done hundreds of them this way on my bed before sleep). Every coach is telling me not to do that, I don't care. I use the extra sculling in the front to control how deep I dive. And besides, I reduce the drag caused by arms entering in the water. Some recover straight arms, some bent arms. You have to find a way that your shoulders will like.
As to underwater arm action. Think of it as half breaststroke half free style. Or freestyle but much wider. Give me a week maybe and I'll reply back with my own favorite drill. It's magic. Body undulation with kick no arm whatsoever no board with full breathing pattern.
Tried to find it on the internet I couldn't find good executions.
