Butterfly - Lower-Back Dolphin Kick

Posted by Glenn Mills on Apr 06, 2007 09:17AM (28,064 views)

One of the most important actions to learn for competitive swimming is the underwater dolphin kick. Its usefulness was apparent at the recent World Championships, especially as we watched Michael Phelps shoot off all his turns.

- Witness a GREAT dolphin kick in Misty Hyman's DVD!

The underwater dolphin, like any other action in swimming, is not so simple as the great ones make it look. The real question is: What muscles do I need to use to move through the water in that fashion? This drill will help you focus on the right muscles -- the ones in your lower back.

Why Do It:
Underwater dolphin COULD potentially be your fastest way of moving through the water. That's reason enough to spend time learning it. By connecting your lower back to the kick, rather than kicking from just the thighs (or knees) down, you'll be connecting more of your body to the entire action.

How To Do iIt:
1. Push off in streamline, and begin your underwater dolphin kicks. In reality, that's pretty much it, but now it's time to really use your mind. The power -- or result -- of your thought process will be almost imperceptible to ANYONE else watching you, so you're going to have to feel this on the INSIDE.

2. On the UPKICK, allow your feet to travel up JUST a bit higher than you think would be normal, and feel the lower back compress or contract.

3. Allow the body to snap back into position, leading from the thighs, and snapping the lower legs and feet through the finish of each kick.

4. Put on fins, and try this at speed. Ss you increase the rate, the amplitude, or height, of each kick will reduce, but the focus should still be on connecting the lower back. Don't think ONLY about speed and rate, think about speed with connection.

How To Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Especially when you put fins on and try to go REALLY fast, you'll probably want to kick more from the knees down to go as fast as possible. Fight this tendency. If you reduce the rate just a bit, and increase the amplitude of each kick while connecting the lower back, you may find that you go just as fast without as much effort. A good way to find this out is by timing yourself on each lap, or doing your underwater kick while someone is swimming fast freestyle above or next to you. The goal is to take fewer kicks, but maintain your speed. Get MORE out of each kick.

Responses

fiZZLe	Responded Apr 07, 2007 01:33AM Not too sure if its my computer or what but that was some crazy audio? Anyhow great focus point/drill. Of course every drill is a focus point! But not every focus point is a drill.. The only bad thing about that is drills are fun... BUT LUCKILY DOLPHIN KICKING IS VERY FUN!!! AND USING FINS!!! Anyhow great drill. Another way to think about not using ur knees and feeling everything connect and ripple through your hips and legs to create power and efficiency. Focusing on the lower back really allows you to play with kick amplitude and speed to from my experience. That way the swimmer is not losing the upkick at a price of smaller kicks which happens alot to me when I focus incorrectly. If I had to pick one line out of the entire description that tells why you should do this drill it is "Get MORE out of each kick."
Mecano	Responded Apr 07, 2007 04:18AM a great vid and a great description ,, but there is one thing the girl in the vid , why her leg is so open ,, ? it got to be the 2 legs sticked to each other ? like the boy in the vid ,, but its great
neuromancer	Responded Apr 07, 2007 05:43AM This is just a focus-on-kick drill. Why are the girl's legs so open ? I was told to "glue the knees toghether" on a dolphin kick, isn't it like this?
jignasapmehta	Responded Apr 07, 2007 10:21AM hi! i tried but i little bit confused and want 2 know that which depth is to be considered as underwater depth.
sprinter	Responded Apr 07, 2007 02:48PM I don't know how fast do these swimmers go but the knees of both swimmers are too far apart for my understanding for fly kick.
fiZZLe	Responded Apr 07, 2007 09:42PM Ah I want to complain but knees together isnt the focus of this drill. The focus is LOWER BACK! Which she is doing incredibly! This is a part MANY swimmers forget like I was saying. I like how even though her knees come apart she is still moving fast and continuously because shes focusing on the lower back that is REALLY GOING TO MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE. This girl demonstrating really proves that by focusing on the lower back she is able to produce a constant/continuous powerful kick undulation. oh yeah did i mention the SNAP it causes!!! SNAP!
goldenarms	Responded Apr 08, 2007 06:55PM brilliant
Ian	Responded Apr 09, 2007 08:30AM My fly kicks off the start and the turn were until recently quite strong and then for some reason I lost the plot. I could not work why I was working hard underwater and I was not feeling the benefit. Then I read this post and I realised I was driving too much from the upper legs, the frequency was high and I was getting tired. Now it's been corrected. Nice drill. Thanks
fiZZLe	Responded Apr 09, 2007 12:45PM the upper legs are powerful snap after this focus giving r.o.m. for the snap also this focus is same durring snap of breast kick try it , i did....zooooom
lana_1	Responded Oct 29, 2007 08:38PM Hi guys, l just started learning the butterfly and l pretty much got it but after couple of kicks my legs start to sink and it seems like l cant pul them up again. What is the pb?
Shaniko	Responded Nov 11, 2007 07:00PM The following is an email to my friend Bill who sent me this site. WOW! All of these years I have been trying to describe to people what I have instinctively been doing. Most of the divers just pooh poohed me as an unconventional diver. Just look at all the diver photos that you see in all the diver magazines: arms along the sides, or folded, never arms straight out in front. Anyway, Bill, I want you to look at the video again. Notice, especially, the male swimmer, the sine wave form starts at the tips of his fingers and goes all the way to his feet. The head is down, to decrease drag, the hand pushes down in the water to start the sine wave that ripples through his body to the tip of his foot/fin. If you feel the push/pressure on your fins from the knees down then you are not doing it right. You should be feeling the push/pressure from waist/hips down to your fins. That is the secret in getting it to work for you. Yes it is hard because you have to rethink how you have been swimming all these years. Thanks a lot for sending me this. Your dive buddy, Shaniko p.s. Obviously this is harder to do with tanks and bulky dry suit on.
Idgie13	Responded Nov 19, 2007 11:44AM My concern about the dolphin kick is what it does to the lower back over the long term; specifically, the compression it causes. Since this is a fairly "new" kick, perhaps the long term consequences aren't being seen yet. Anybody have any problems with their lower back due to this?
alleycat	Responded Mar 28, 2008 03:58PM Definitely - I have to stop after a couple of 50m lengths due to discomfort in my lower back. I wonder if doing it shorter distances, maybe slower initially maybe the way to build up strength and flexibility before going to faster and longer?

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Butterfly - Lower-Back Dolphin Kick

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