Too Late To Fly?
By Kim Tomkins
‘I can’t do fly very well’ I announced to Steven Shaw with a somewhat embarrassed but slightly defiant edge to my voice. ‘OK’ he said, ‘show me what you can do.’ Damn! What I actually meant to say was ‘I can’t do fly AT ALL!’
He’d asked me to swim each of the strokes at the beginning my first tuition session with him and I think I’d acquitted myself pretty well – that is up until now. Being an active and fairly accomplished swimmer for over 40 years it crossed my mind that I had no reason to be apologetic about my shortcoming. Let’s be fair, I’m nearly 51, suffer from a bad back and just don’t have the kind of stamina to cope with such a demanding stroke.
What followed was one of those Basil Fawlty moments where I had two options: a) carry on and demonstrate to all that I had just told a ridiculous fib in an effort to save face b) pretend to faint. Being up to my waist in water at the time I decided to take the first option and hoped that someone else in the pool would start to drown thereby distracting his attention.
No such luck. After I’d attempted a couple of strokes before sinking like a water-logged dog, he gave me an encouraging smile and said ‘don’t worry I can teach you to do butterfly’. More chance of getting Paris Hilton to backpack solo across the Alps I thought.
Steven maintains that unlike the other strokes, where a lack of skill can be made up for with brute force, it is virtually impossible to fly for more than a very short distance without good technique.
In 2006 together with the assistance of Vikki Harmer an inspirational flyer, and other senior Shaw Method teachers, he started exploring this stroke in depth. Over the period of a year, more than 100 hours of diligent work in the pool produced some remarkable results. Not only could Steven now fly for as long as he chose without feeling fatigued, he had also developed an easy-to–follow butterfly progression. In 2007 he swam 5km continuous butterfly for the Marie Curie Swimathon, completing the distance in less than 2 hours and raising almost £5,000 for charity.
By employing these newly-developed techniques with his clients he found that they needed only an average level of body awareness and normal range of motion to enable them to swim the stroke both for endurance and pleasure.
Now it was my turn. Within 2 sessions I was able complete an easy and relaxed 25m of fly with a certain amount of style. OK I wasn’t going to win any competitions but who cared - I felt like a euphoric mermaid! A complete revelation to find that a stoke I’d always considered beyond my ability was not only perfectly achievable but relaxing and extremely enjoyable.
‘For many of our clients butterfly is the easiest stroke to master as they have fewer habits to overcome, after learning a few basic movements they are often amazed how quickly the stroke comes together,’ says Steven.
So next time you see a middle-aged, slightly over-weight female enter the pool and butterfly gracefully across the water, just wave - it’s only me showing off.
Follow Steven’s 6 keys to butterfly and you’ll improve core stability, mobilize your spine, strengthen your back and be well on your way to flying freely.
1. Lead with your head
The most important element is knowing what to do with the head, Steven holds that in butterfly the head-neck-back relationship affects ones performance more than in any other stroke. In the Shaw Way to Fly the head is always in motion, the wave action which is at the heart of the stroke is initiated by the movement of the head.
By actively nodding as the legs perform a dolphin like action the torso is driven forward and down. Releasing the neck to look forward and up during the more gentle second leg beat brings the body comfortably up towards the surface. By integrating this movement with the below and above water arm action the stroke becomes much more fluid. If the head is held in a more fixed position the mobility of the shoulders is impeded which makes the arm action much more effortful.
2. Spreading your wings
Many butterfly swimmers experience strain and discomfort whilst trying to lift their arms out of the water. This is often a direct consequence of the way that most people move their arms under the water. Traditionally butterfly swimmers are instructed to make a keyhole action under the water which leaves the little finger uppermost during the over water recovery. Steven says that this action makes it very difficult for the arms to clear the water in a relaxed way.
Instead of actively pushing the hands back past the hips, release them and rotate outwards, with palms facing down at the widest point. This transforms the entire action and you will notice the arms feeling lighter as they smoothly wing over the surface.
3. Move your body as a whole
In an effective butterfly, the movement of the trunk has a profound effect on the quality of movement of the limbs. A common mistake is to separate the arm and leg action from the rest of the body. In Shaw Fly the importance of the movement of the hips and back is emphasized with the torso moving in a fluent wave-like motion or undulation. The pelvis thrusts forward and downwards as the arms drive the head and the upper torso forward and up, and gently rocks backwards as the arms travel through the air.
4. Keep your wheels turning
Shaw holds that another of the most common reasons why many find it hard to sustain butterfly is because they stop the arm action at the wrong point. If the arms pause at the transition between the air and the water it is extremely hard to get them going again. According to Shaw if they continue to move until they are outstretched in front of you the stroke will feel much easier.
5. Breathe with ease
In the Shaw Method the general advice in terms of breathing is to pay attention to the out breath and allow the in breath to do itself, this is of particular importance in butterfly. Most novice flyers make the mistake of focusing too much on the in-breath and as result often hyperventilate.
In the Shaw Way to Fly the advice to breathe out very gently has 2 important advantages.
Firstly by keeping more air in the lungs it is easier to float up to the surface before each recovery. Secondly a more relaxed exhalation makes for a calmer inhalation and with only a short window for breathing in, if you are feeling less desperate to breathe in you are more likely to get the timing right.
6. Enjoy the journey
The key to the Shaw Way to Fly is to have the correct repertoire of skills. The stroke is more about ease and flow than it is about power and endurance. By practicing the core elements of the stroke such as the undulation or integrating the body wave with the underwater arm action you are more likely to succeed than by trying hard to keep going in the full stroke. Simply increasing the level of effort is often a recipe more towards butter fight than butterfly.
Steven Shaw has written two books on the Shaw Method, an approach which applies the principles of Alexander Technique to swimming. He is also the founder of Art of Swimming a company providing adult swimming tuition across the UK. Over the past 20 years Steven has worked with all levels abilities from those nervous to put their faces in water to Olympic competitors. He has trained a team of skilled teachers who all shares his passion for swimming and offer Shaw Method lessons at health centres throughout the UK.
Kim Tomkins has been has been an ASA qualified swimming instructor for 8 years and recently qualified as a Shaw Method teacher.
Artofswimming.com
Tel: 0845 604 1910
