ARM STROKE

POWER PHASE

The power phase consists of the CATCH, the MID-PULL and the FINISH.  Each individual arm motion is like that of the front crawl, except that now the arms move together and sweep out tracing a pattern like a ‘keyhole’.  The press back is very much like the front crawl.

The CATCH is an outward sculling motion that starts with the arms extended in front of the shoulders.  It ends with the hands spread slightly wider than the shoulders.  With the elbows high, flex the hands slightly down and pitch then to the outside in this phase.

In the MID-PULL, continue the sculling action and sweep inward and backward from the end of the catch to a point near the midline of the body.  Change the pitch of the hands from outward to inward.  Start to bend the arms after the catch to a maximum of about 90 degrees at the finish of the arm pull.  As the arm reaches this maximum bend, the hands are very close together under the torso.  As the hands sweep together, the elbows stay higher than the hands, as in the front crawl.

As the inward sweep of the hands ends and backward press starts, FINISH the power phase.  Continue to press the hands back, past the hips and exit the water past the hips.  As in the front crawl, speed up this motion from the start of the stroke to the finish, especially at the end. 

RECOVERY

The recovery starts as the hands finish their press toward the feet and the palms turn toward the hips.  Bring the elbows, slightly bent, out of the water first.  Then swing the arms wide to the sides with little or no bend in the elbows.  Move the arms just above the surface to enter in front of the shoulders.  Keep the wrists relaxed and the thumbs down through the recovery.

After the entry, extend the elbows to prepare for the next arm stroke.  Pitch the hands out and down for the CATCH of the next stroke.

DOLPHIN KICK

The leg action is the same as in the front and back crawl (FLUTTER KICK), but the legs stay together in the dolphin kick.  The kick starts as the hips and make the same whip like motion as the front crawl.  Most of the power comes from the quick extension of the legs.  Bend the knees slightly through most of the downbeat and straighten then on the upbeat.  Relax the ankles.  Let the heels break the surface at the end of the recovery. 

The hip muscles are used much more than in the front crawl.  Raising the hips at the right time in the stroke make the follow through of the legs a natural continuation of the motion.  Thus, the dolphin kick involves the whole body, not just the legs.

BREATHING AND TIMING

The butterfly uses two kicks at specific moments in each arm stroke.  As the hands move into the water to start the CATCH, raise the hips and start the downbeat of the first kick.  As the hands press through the finish of the power phase, start the downbeat of the second kick.  End the second kick just as the pull finishes.

Inhale at the end of the second kick, before the arms start their recovery.  Exhale fully during the underwater pull and raise the head as the hands press toward the hips.  Thrust the chin forward (not upward) as the face just clears the water.  Inhale and start the arm recovery, lowering the head to return the face under water. 

WAVELIKE MOVEMENT

In the downbeat of the first kick, the hips go up and the head does deeper.  As the head comes up during the mid-pull phase, the hips drop and the legs recover.  As the arm stroke finishes, the hips go up again and the head and shoulders go down to help the arms clear the water in recovery.

Taken from American Red Cross SWIMMING AND WATER SAFETY manual, 2004.