How to Swim-Basic Butterfly

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Dan Kutler: Hi! My name is Dan Kutler and I am going to show you how to swim basic butterfly. We will start with the kicks and some the dolphin kick is such a signature part of the butterfly stroke. It's two feet together, and the kick you will want to start at the hips. Keep your knees and ankles loose and just kick downwards and upwards as just like the dolphin. I want you to practice the kick repeatedly before you start doing the drills I am going to show you. I really want you to get used to that dolphin like undulating motion so it's such in a central part of the butterfly stroke.

So I want you feel comfortable doing the kick. Let's now start you off with a drill, straight going right into the arms. We know what the butterfly looks like. I want to just have you begin the single arm butterfly drill and what this is designed to help you do is to begin to work arm movement into that undulating rhythm. There are basically two butterfly kicks per arm stroke, and so what you can focus on here is both of those kicks as they would fit into the cycle of an arm stroke. So you basically kick when your arm enters the water and you kick when you arm leaves the water. Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. I want you to see how in this shot that drill leads us right into a regular butterfly stroke kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick double stroke boom.

So I know that may make it look like a lot easier than it actually is but really that's what it comes down to rhythm kicking and just whipping those arms around. You just got to get in and do it, and that drill is probably the easiest way I have learned in my years of teaching. How to teach people to do it? So let's break down the butterfly into the three basic components. Here we have the catch; we are catching on to the water, followed by the pull and the recovery.

Now, I want to play this sequence for you a few times because it's really the key to the butterfly stroke, which is that really snappy fast pull right past your hips. That's what's going to help your arms pop out of the water and whip around. It's really all about that part right here. That's what whips your arms around, that power. Now watch my feet, boom. That kick right there was happening on the same part of the stroke.

So let's just focus on my feet. Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. Now at this time you are going to watch my arms while you hear me say kick, kick, so you can see when they come in. Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. So as you can see two kicks per stroke. So the breathing happens just like any other stroke. Basically, we are going to take air in through the mouth, hold it for your few strokes. Then we are going to exhale through our mouth and nose before we take another breath. Hold it for a few strokes. Then we take another breath into the mouth, hold it and then we are going to exhale through the nose and mouth before we take another breathe, and then hold it and continue pattern.

Alright, so let's think about how to pull all this together. We are going to start off with the kick, learn the dolphin kick. Get yourself comfortable with that kick. We are going to move right into the drill, single arm butterfly pull, go through your right through your left and then boom. Just go right into that double arm butterfly. You just got to go for it some point and then practice makes perfect. Just keep practicing, start with the kick, get into the rhythm and just move right into it. Remember to whip those hands underneath you and you will be good to get.

So there you have it. That's how to swim the butterfly and all four strokes. I wanted to thank you for watching and happy swimming.

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