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Learning the Back Stroke (or Back Crawl)
Description
Swimming on your back, pulling with an alternate, overarm recovery and a pull-push arm stroke and with an alternating leg kick.
Basic Problems
- Body Position
- Arm Action
- Kicking
1. Body Position:
This is exactly how it should look. The hands, head, hips and feet should all
be on a horizontal line. What I tell my students is, "If you sit down, you go
down." I tell them to stretch from the tips of their fingers to the tips of
their toes. Instructors that tell their students to push their tummy up will
get an arched back and dropped head and feet which will not allow the student
to do a proper back crawl.
2. Arm Action:
The arms remain opposite each other at all times. When one enters the water,
the other is coming out of the water. This does not mean they have to go fast,
just that they remain opposite. The arms recover straight up from the hip and
enter pinky first straight ahead of the shoulder. That's the easy part. Once
the hand enters the water, the hand starts to pull and the elbow drops toward
the pool bottom. Once the elbow has dropped the whole arm is used to pull the
water. As the arm passes the shoulder, the elbow should still be pointing at
the pool bottom and be bent 90°, and then the whole arm (not just the hand)
pushes the water past the hips to a full arm extension. A slight shoulder roll
is encouraged to make the arm action a little easier.
The most common problem with the back crawl arm action is that the elbow drops
toward the feet and not the pool bottom. This allows the whole arm to 'slide'
through the water without pulling any water and there is no propulsion!
3. Kicking:
The back crawl kick is a very simple one. You point your toes and alternately
push the top of your feet toward the surface. No other action is required! The
slight roll of your body with the arm action will allow the feet to get into
place naturally, and then a small push up with the toes. Any more energy used
than that will create problems with your stroke that will take more energy to
correct. Keep it simple and natural.
Questions and Answers
Why am I having trouble learning to float on my back?
This is the most asked question in learning to back crawl. The reason is that
it is unnatural and therefore uncomfortable. The first thing we teach everyone
is how to do a front float. The best thing we could teach everyone is how to
do a back float. A back float is a self-rescue technique! If every child
learned how to back float there might be fewer drownings. Why? Because you can
breathe, and relax and call for help. The key to a back float is body
position. Relax, let the water support you and stretch out. Be as tall as you
can, and as flat as you can. I show the student a flutterboard. "See how the
board floats on it's front. Then I flip it over. See how the board floats on
it's back. Do you see the board trying to sit down?" Someone once said "Float
like a flutterboard, Sink like a stone."
I can float on my back, but why I can't stand up again?
There are two ways to stand up from a back float. The first is to roll onto
your stomach and stand up. The second is to swing your hands back behind you
to pull up a chair (there's no chair it's the action). Push your seat into the
chair, while bringing you knees up toward your chin and your heels to your
seat. Now your head should be moving forward and your feet should be
underneath you. Push your feet down and stand up.
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