I recently bought an underwater video camera, and have recorded my first videos.
Here is a clip of my butterfly. (It's my worst stroke, but I'm a sucker for doing things in IM order. Plus fly videos seem to be the hot topic at the moment.)
YouTube- Butterfly 10-02-19
I knew that video would be great feedback: the few times I have seen an above-water clip of myself, I have been astonished to see things I was unaware that I was doing. But underwater video is even better.
Flaws I can see:
hands move too close in front?
too much glide/pause in front?
stroke not flat enough: too vertical during recovery
first kick (with hands extended) is too late?
first kick (with hands extended) is too hinged at the knee
I'm uncertain about my own diagnosis, though, and would welcome other opinions.
Also, since my timing & stroke actually feel fairly smooth to me while swimming (very different from how it looks), I'd love to hear about drills or key attention points that can help me focus on the changes I need to make.
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Former Member
I've been working on the same issue and found that simply pressing the hips earlier allowed me to reduce the pause/out-scull at the front of the stroke. So, I press the chest and start the pull and then quickly release the chest/press the hips which gets my torso oriented for the upward trajectory and breath and arm recovery. My "aha moment" was shifting from trying to lift the front end using my arms to pressing the back end. "Pressing" your hips also seems to help with recovering the legs from the hips rather than from the knees.
Some people think about it as starting an undulation at the head or shoulder, but still using core/torso muscles instead of with the arms. Solar describes it as looking where you will breath, i.e. leading with the head.
Anyway, if the above makes any sense to you, it might be worth experimenting with.
I've been working on the same issue and found that simply pressing the hips earlier allowed me to reduce the pause/out-scull at the front of the stroke. So, I press the chest and start the pull and then quickly release the chest/press the hips which gets my torso oriented for the upward trajectory and breath and arm recovery. My "aha moment" was shifting from trying to lift the front end using my arms to pressing the back end. "Pressing" your hips also seems to help with recovering the legs from the hips rather than from the knees.
Some people think about it as starting an undulation at the head or shoulder, but still using core/torso muscles instead of with the arms. Solar describes it as looking where you will breath, i.e. leading with the head.
Anyway, if the above makes any sense to you, it might be worth experimenting with.
