Level: beginners
The stroke gets its name from its sweeping arm action reminiscent of a butterfly’s wings. It is the most spectacular to watch and also the hardest to swim: this striking but also intimidating stroke seems to be beyond the capabilities of “beginners”, but with enough practice and the right amount of power and coordination you will soon be swimming the butterfly.
Historical Overview
The butterfly is the most recently developed of all competitive strokes and was swum for the first time in a race in 1933, when Henry Mayers used an arms-out-of-the-water recovery stroke during a breaststroke race.
Body
Keep your body in line with the surface of the water in a facedown position. This stroke involves a more vertical movement than other swim strokes due to the undulation resulting from the arms pressing downwards, the action of the legs as they push your hips upwards, and the inertia deriving from the arm recovery as it pushes the head and shoulders downwards again.
Arms
At the beginning of the stroke your hands are extended forwards with your thumbs pointing downwards due to a slight rotation of the wrists. At the same time you push downwards and outwards with both arms until your hands are much wider apart than your shoulders at a…
