butterfly swimming technique
Butterfly Swimming Technique
Here is information about the butterfly swimming technique, which has been explained by the means of drills and description of the right body position. Have a look...
- Head: The position of the head should be such that it is in-line with the length of the spinal cord.
- Arms: Movement of the arms need to be synchronous with each other. The arms should be moved in a steady rhythm.
- Chest and Shoulders: The movement of the chest and shoulders involve an upward and downward motion, alternately. As the arms enter the water, the chest is pressed downward and forward on the surface.
- Eyes: The eyes need to be focused on the bottom of the pool when the head is immersed in the water. While breathing, i.e., when the head is raised above, one should set the gaze straight forward.
- Hips: The hips are maintained at a higher level in relation to the surface of the water. Propelling the body forward becomes easier with this position.
- Legs: The legs need to work in tandem with the arms, so as to move the body forward. Timing is thus, an important aspect of leg movement. It is not necessary to kick forcefully; such an action would only make one feel tired.
- Feet: During the entire kicking motion of the legs, the feet should remain in the same plane. Slight change in the plane is however, permitted at the upbeats and downbeats. In the upbeat motion, the feet are flexed a bit at the ankle joints, while they get relaxed at the time of downbeat motion.
- The arms should be held above the level of the head.
- First movement should be that of the legs; the legs need to be whipped, and the force required for whipping should originate right from the hips.
- Along with the whipping action of the legs, arm movements should be performed simultaneously. The arms should be brought upwards from underneath the water in a symmetrical manner.
- Kicking action and arm movement together helps in propelling the body out of water. While the head is above the water surface, one should draw in maximum amount of air for breathing.
- As the head is lifted above, the arms are simultaneously drawn out of the water. This completes a single cycle of the butterfly stroke.
- When the head once again enters the water, the next cycle begins.