Butterfly Stroke

zardette

Hi All,

After trying for weeks, i just can't seem to master this stroke at all, and I'm still finding it very difficult
I've looked for some previous postings on this topic, but to no avail.
Does anybody here have any tips to share on how to develop and improve my stroke ?

Thanks,
Z

The Machine

Hi Zardette,

Firstly I think it is fair to say butterfly is the hardest of the four strokes to master. Even competitive swimmers will not swim large distances of butterfly (200m max at one go, and usaully a lot less in training). So don't get too wrried if you are finding it tough!

So firstly you should be very comfortable swimming front-crawl and back-crawl, if not, I'd concentrate on these before spending much time on butterfly.

You should try to break down the stroke with various drills. Start off getting comfortable with butterfly kick - if your able it is more natural to this without a kickboard.

Then start introducing the arms. You could try widths/lengths doing one arm butterfly, or build up-butterfly (3 strokes on left, 3 on the right, 3 full strokes, repeat). These will help you focus on the technique and build your strength.

As you progress you can start doing 1 length buttterfly/1 length drills and take it from there.

Hope this helps

Cheers

zardette

Hi The Machine,


that sound great to me taking it one step at a time .....

I will try out the drills first light

thanks for you Help

Z

Da Bounca

Once you get into the motion of it, it will get easier. I would think that everyones stroke is marginally different because of varying body sizes and swim styles.
I personally found it easier to propel using my arms more so than my legs. Just making sure my upper body got out of the water enough so that I could cleanly throw my arms forward and get some propulsion that way. That's the same for all my swimming though. My arms seem to provide more power than my legs. It could be I've picked up bad swimming habits though. Try different methods anyway.

zardette

well the drills helped today ...thanks

I have stronger legs than arms as I was a runner and turn to swimming cause of my knees .... but I do agree with Da Bounca in that the arm seems to be a big part of this stroke maybe I do a few weight training on the arms as well..

thanks all for the help
Z

PTG

Its a common misconception that Butterfly is a case of having really strong legs or really strong arms, yes they help, but the most important thing is timing, unfortunately its not really something you can teach, especially to a non-competitive swimmer. Its something that can be developed over time but needs a coach around and cant be done by reading a message board.

Oh and the machine, breastroke is actually the most difficult stroke to master, fly may be more difficult for beginners, but you did say to master, in fact the argument among actual swimmers as to what the most difficult events are is a toss up between the 200 back and 200 breast

The Machine

Zardette, I'd wouldn't get too carried away with hitting the weights just yet, stick with the drills and as your timing improves things will get easier. PTG is correct in saying that getting a coach to look at your stoke would be a good help. Plus keep in mind picking up a new stroke isn't going to be something that happens over night - so stick with it!

PTG:

...the argument among actual swimmers ...

Why do you presume there are no actual swimmers here? Having swam competitively for nearly 15 years and won national medals from age-group to senior level I'd like to think of myself as an actual swimmer.

PTG

I never said there were no actual swimmers on here, i presumed you werent given that you thought Butterfly was the most difficult to master