Constructing Butterfly

So I started coaching a Masters Group on Monday and Wednesday Mornings at the Simi Valley YMCA. It is not a big group, but it is a good group. I recently picked up a new swimmer who told me that he basically was trained by his dad who didn't really know a lot about swimming, but he enjoyed it swimming in high school when he was younger. He pretty much only knew freestyle, and it was a pretty decent freeestyle.

We did a butterfly workout the other week, and I only spent maybe about 20 minutes on the fly, and I taught it a little different. I've listened to Steve Haufler peak at about two or three clinics, and I've watched his videos, and I was always skeptical about his approach to teaching butterfly, but I decided to try it.

You begin by teaching the hand pattern desired, and the very relaxed and smooth recovery. No Kick, No Motion, No breathing while taking strokes (Snorkel is probably best, but my group didn't have snorkels). The main thing was to learn the hand pattern. Press down with the hands creating EVF (Early Vertical Forearm), then push the hands towards the belly button and then slice outward and back with pinkies first. With no motion they must rise their shoulders and bring their arms foreward very easy. They end up dragging some of the arm during the recovery, but that is ok. This is where I stopped. At a later time I explained that as the arms enter the chest is to press down keeping the arms near the surface. I watched as he lap swam and it looks like he can't swim butterfly, but if you watch carefully he has a very good pull pattern, and he had a revelation about what happens when you lean on the lungs and press the chest down. He still has no idea when to kick or when to breathe, but it will be a lot easier to get that timing down now that he understands the correct pull pattern, understands that press of the chest, and has realized how easy it is to get the hips to rise.

Butterfly is not to be swam with a big undulation, it becomes a small wave pattern. The hips rise just enough to allow the water to flow past the body.

From the regular spectator, they probably feel like he looks like a dying fish out there as he swims, but if you watch carefully he has learned very hard concepts. He was willing to do exactly as I said, and was willing to look silly and go slow, and because of that discipline he has been able to learn the beginnings of butterfly. He'll need to learn timing next, but at least he has the arm motion to allow the timing to become easier to work on, as now the butterfly he has has become effortless, and although he doesn't move fast, he'll be able to add the other aspects in very well because the normally forced parts of butterfly, he has figured out how to not make them so forceful.

Remember that relaxation is key to speed in swimming. If you can't swim relaxed, then the upside for your speed is very limited.