Basic Skills in Swimming

Water Comfort
 The most basic and essential swimming skill is simply becoming
comfortable in the water.
 When unintentional submersion occurs, panicking gets in the
way of logical thinking and increases the likelihood of drowning.
 Breath Control
 Learning to control your breathing is a key
component in learning to swim.
 This begins with simple exercises such as
drawing a breath, submerging, blowing bubbles
and then resurfacing for another breath.
 As your swimming skills improve, you will learn
specific breathing techniques for different
strokes.
 Floating
 Floating, or keeping your body in a horizontal position in the water,
is a basic water skill.
 If you accidentally fall in the water, you may be able to float until
you are rescued, even if you are not strong enough to swim to
safety.
 Humans are naturally buoyant, and floating is not difficult.
Kicking
 Kicking provides propulsion through the water.
 Kicking is also used in treading water, which is the process
of remaining in one place while keeping your head above
the water line.
 Many coaches use kickboards, or flat flotation devices
made of foam or plastic, to support the swimmer’s body. A
kickboard allows you to focus solely on your kicking
technique without worrying about staying afloat.
 Strokes
 Strokes are the arm movements used to pull the body through the
water.
 The front crawl, sidestroke, breast stroke, backstroke and butterfly
are the five most common swimming strokes.
 Each stoke uses different body positioning, breathing techniques
and arm movements.
THE FOUR SWIMMING
STROKES
 Backstroke

 When swimming the backstroke, your face is to the sky because

you’re on your back. Think of this as the stroke you learn after
you learn how to float.
 To get moving doing the backstroke, lay on your back, extend
your arms straight in front of you, and then, in an alternating
fashion, pull your arm (thumbs out) behind your head before
landing pinky first into the water.
 The stroke doesn’t stop when you
hit the water. Keep on pulling that
arm through until you’ve reached a
360-degree turn. Then repeat with
the other arm.
 While performing this cyclical
pattern, your feet will remain in a
constant flutter kick, working with
your upper body to propel you
swiftly through the water.
 Butterfly
 For this stroke, you are on your stomach in the
water. Start by placing both of your arms straight in
front of you at the 12 o’clock position, palms
slightly tilted outward at about a shoulder’s width
apart.
 For the arm motion, move your arms through the
surface of the water downward to perform a
semicircular pattern until your arms resurface.
 While performing this arm movement, your legs should be
scurrying through the water in a dolphin-like fashion.
 Freestyle
 Freestyle is performed face down, with alternating movement of the
arms. Each stroke is performed by driving an arm forward and pushing
the water below the surface to propel you forward. Your body (hips
and shoulders) should tilt with each arm stroke.
 As you move your arms, turn your face to the side to breathe. You
should always be looking at the bottom of the pool, or to the side,
never lifting your head out of the water to look straight ahead. While
your arms are rotating, your legs should be in a constant flutter kick.
 Breaststroke
 The breaststroke is the fourth and final competitive swim stroke.
 Start face down in the water with your arms at your side.
 For the arm motion, push your hands forward (about shoulder-
width apart) all the way before settling into a curvature motion,
each arm pressing away from your body, through the water and
then back to it to complete the circle.
 Each time your hands meet in front of you, bring your chest out of
the water to take a breath.
 After your arms complete the
circle, your legs will alternate the
movement, starting with your
legs bent and pulled up near
your waist, and then propelling
outward and backward in a
snapping motion as they
complete the full circle, pushing
your body forward.