The first step in learning, or perfecting the butterfly is to have a proper body position throughout the whole stroke. In all swimming strokes, the most efficient body position is streamlined. In butterfly, the body position remains in streamline, however, it changes between having the head position either above or below the hip as you do the stroke.
A simple way to practice this change in body positioning is by doing dolphin dives. Dolphin dives are best practiced in water no deeper than you are tall, but at least waist-deep. Starting at the surface, you dive down at an angle to the pool bottom, then push back up at an angle to the surface, while maintaining a streamlined position. This can be done so with the arms up in streamline, or as a more advanced drill, with arms relaxed on the side.
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By Colyn Ma
Colyn is a casual Lifeguard/Swim Instructor here at MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. He is one of the coaches for JLC, and has over 11 years of experience in competitive swimming and coaching.
