I've been swimming for quite a while now, but nobody ever bothered to teach me how to swim butterfly. I want to compete in the 200yd IM next season, so I really want to learn now though. What are some tips and things to remember when learning?
you kinda need rhythm to do good butterfy. it's about coordinating your kick, pull, and breathing. breathe when your arms are out of the water and towards the front. and kick when your arms are straight out in front and when they are at your side. your legs/kick kinda flow with the movement when you get the rhythm right.
Fly is one of the hardest strokes. It took me 2 years to learn it. It takes a lot of work and it is very tiring. Fly is mostly upper body. You need to do a keyhole stroke and dolphin kick. Different people time the stroke differently. So, you need to find the right timing for yourself. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/accuse_write?qid=20060928151351AASnE84&kid=TMYnWDXpAmL2PKU7TEei8blA2j4mbJaVJcMvycgR9j_wFD2dvPaM&s=comm&date=2006-10-02+17%3A01%3A37&.crumb=
The butterfly technique with the dolphin kick consists of synchronous arm movement with a synchronous leg kick. Good technique is crucial to swim this style effectively. The wave-like body movement is also very significant, as this is the key to easy synchronous over-water recovery and breathing.
In the initial position, the swimmer lies on the breast, the arms are stretched to the front, and the legs are extended to the back.
Arm movement
The butterfly stroke has three major parts, the pull, the push, and the recovery. These can also be further subdivided. From the initial position, the arm movement starts very similarly to the breast stroke. At the beginning the hands sink a little bit down with the palms facing outwards and slightly down at shoulder width, then the hands move out to create a Y. This is called catching the water. The pull movement follows a semicircle with the elbow higher than the hand and the hand pointing towards the body center and downward. The semicircle ends in front of the chin, with the hands close together so the swimmer can form a triangle with his fingers.
The push pushes the palm backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at the side of the body at the end of the push. The swimmer only pushes the arms 1/3 of the way to the hips, making it easier to enter into the recover and making the recovery shorter. The movement increases speed throughout the pull/push phase until the hand is the fastest at the end of the push. This step is called the release and is crucial for the recovery. The speed at the end of the push is used to help with the recovery.
The recovery swings the arms sideways across the water surface to the front, with the elbows slightly higher than the hands and shoulders. The arms have to be swung forward fast in order to bring them to the front over the water. It is important not to enter the water too early, because this would generate extra resistance as the arms moved forward in the water against the swimming direction. A high elbow recovery, as in front crawl, would save more energy, yet the movement restrictions in the shoulders do not allow this easily, and due to the synchronized movement it is not possible to roll around the shoulders as in front crawl.
The arms enter the water with the thumbs first at shoulder width. A wider entry loses movement in the next pull phase, and a smaller entry, where the hands touch, wastes energy. After a brief rest the cycle repeats with the pull phase.
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Leg movement
The leg movement is similar to the leg movement in the front crawl, except the legs are synchronized and the entire body moves in a wave-like motion to assist the legs. The swimmer does not really kick in the butterfly; the legs follow the undulation of the body. The leg movement consists of two pulses per cycle. The first pulse comes when the hands enter the water and the second, stronger pulse comes at the middle of the push phase. The second pulse assists in the recovery of the arms.
There is no actual stipulation in competitive butterfly rules that a swimmer make a fixed number of pulses in butterflyâ€"the swimmer may kick as little or as much as he or she may wish[3]. While competitive rules allow such a choice, the typical method of swimming butterfly is with two kicks.
As butterfly originated as a variant on breaststroke, it would be performed with a breaststroke or whip kick by some swimmers. While breaststroke was separated from butterfly in 1953, the breaststroke kick in butterfly was not officially outlawed until 2001. However a number of Masters swimmers were upset with the change since they came from a time when butterfly was usually swum with a breaststroke kick. FINA was then convinced to allow a breaststroke kick in Masters swimming. Given the option, most swimmers choose to use a dolphin kicking action, but there still is a small minority of swimmers who prefer the breaststroke kick, for recreational swimming and even for competition.
Breathing
There is only a short window for breathing in the butterfly. If this window is missed, swimming becomes very difficult. Optimally, a butterfly swimmer synchronizes the taking of breaths with the undulation of the body to simplify the breathing process; doing this well requires some attention to butterfly stroke technique. The breathing process begins during the underwater "press" portion of the stroke. As the hands and forearms move underneath the chest, the body will naturally rise toward the surface of the water. With a minimum of effort, the swimmer can lift the head to break the surface fully. The swimmer breathes in through the mouth. Experienced swimmers continue looking toward the bottom of the pool while they inhale. This keeps the body balanced and in a straight line. The head goes back in the water after the arms come out of the water as they are swinging forward over the surface of the water. If the head stays out too long, the recovery is hindered. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose till the next breath.
Normally, a breath is taken every other stroke. This can be sustained over long distances. Breathing every stroke slows the swimmer down. Other intervals of breathing practiced by elite swimmers include the "two up, one down" approach in which the swimmer breathes for two successive strokes and then keeps the head in the water on the next stroke. Swimmers with good lung capacity might also breathe every 3rd stroke during sprints or the finish.
Body movement
Swimming the arms or the legs separately is difficult, and correct body movement is crucial for the arms and legs to use their full potential. The body moves in a wave-like fashion, controlled by the arm movement. As the hands go in, the hips go up, and the posterior breaks the water surface. During the push phase the head goes up and the hips are at their lowest position. In this style, the second pulse in the cycle is stronger than the first pulse, as the second pulse is more in flow with the body movement.
Start
Regular swimming startButterfly uses the regular start for swimming. After the start a sliding phase follows under water, followed by dolphin kicks swum under water. Swimming under water reduces the drag from breaking the surface and is very economical. Rules allow for 15 m of underwater swimming, before the head must break the surface, and regular swimming begins.
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Turn and finish
During turns and during the finish, the hands must touch the wall at the same time on the breast. The swimmer touches the wall with both hands while bending the elbows slightly. The bent elbows allow the swimmer to push himself away from the wall and turning sideways. One hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front underwater. At the same time the legs are pulled closer and moved underneath of the body towards the wall. The second hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front over water. It is commonly referred to as an "over/under turn" or an "open turn." The legs touch the wall and the hands are at the front. The swimmer sinks under water and lays on the breast, or nearly so. Next the swimmer pushes himself off the wall, keeping a streamline position with the hands to the front. Similar to the start, the swimmer is allowed to swim 15m underwater before the head must break the surface. Most swimmers dolphin kick after an initial gliding phase.
The finish requires the swimmer to touch the wall with both hands at the same time.
Well, since you're competing I'm assuming you have some sort of coach. You could ask them to help you learn butterfly, and if they don't have time or can't, schedule some sort of private lesson. You can't learn how to swim a complicated stroke like butterfly off the internet.
