FREE STYLE

STROKE
(SWIMMING)
History of Free Style
The freestyle swimming stroke was thought to
have originated in Australia which is partially
true. The stroke used to be called the
“Australian Crawl” because competitive
swimmers from Australia were winning events
with this stroke. It is said the freestyle was
originally from the pacific islands possibly the
Solomon’s
The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 had only
four swimming events, three of them freestyle. Two
of these events were the 100 meters and 1500
meters freestyle races that were held in the open
water. In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller was the first
person to break the one minute mark in the 100
meter freestyle swimming it in 51 seconds, it was
called the Australian crawl back then.
Procedures on Free Style
1.Enter the water by kicking off a wall while
facing forward. While gliding away from the
wall, you can choose to use a dolphin kick by
bending your knees a bit and letting your legs
extend upward diagonally toward the surface
of the water to maintain speed underwater,
breaking into a flutter kick when reaching the
surface and restarting the freestyle stroke.
2. Enter the water by kicking off a wall while
facing backward. To start off a wall, or push off,
hold the wall with one hand and point one arm
out to where you're going to swim. When you go,
push off the wall with your legs and go into a
stream-line position with your arms straight out
over your head, your hands overlapping, and your
legs together with your toes pointed and your
knees and body straight. Start kicking. When you
reach the surface, go into normal free-style.
 3.Enter the water off a block.
• To start off a block, grab the end of the
block with both of your hands. Put one
leg back and one of the edge with your
arms. Move your behind up and use your
arms and legs to launch yourself from
the block. Go into a stream-lined position
and tuck your chin into your neck.
 4.SWIMMING FREESTYLES
• Position your body parallel to the bottom of the
pool. You should swim with your head centered
and your eyes focused ahead and on the bottom
of the pool, until you have to come up for air.
You'll be turning your arms and shoulders and
twisting your body as you move your arms, but
your head should remain centered until you have
to breathe. This position will give you the
balance you need to swim freestyle successfully
-Keep your hips floating to the top of the
water's surface to give yourself even more
balance and speed.
-Relax your neck and upper-back muscles.
-Cock your head about 45 degrees forward. If
you move it down too much toward your chest,
it will cause resistance that will make it harder
for you to do the freestyle.
5.Lift one arm out of the water with a bent
elbow. This will prepare you to reach the
arm forward as much as you can. The arm
that is not extended should hang at your
side at the water, about perpendicular to
the bottom of the pool, as you extend it
backward.
6.Reach forward with the same arm. Extend the arm as far as you
can to maximize your speed and the distance you cover in the
pool. Keep your fingers together to make a slight "cup" with your
hand. Your other hand should rotate backward until it is parallel
with your side.

Make sure to extend your arm to its maximum length. Place your
hand in the water as far ahead of you as it will go, and then try to
reach forward an additional 6 inches or so (15 cm) by extending
your arm from your shoulder.
When you're reaching forward with your right arm, the entire
right side of your body should be submerged and facing the
bottom of the pool, while the left side of your body should be
reaching toward the ceiling.
Use your shoulders to help you reach farther. As you extend your
right arm, roll your right shoulder forward and down as you put
your arm in the water.
7.Finish the stroke. To finish the stroke with the first arm, you'll need
to do the "catch," which means you should curve your hand back
inward toward your belly button, then out again by your hip as your
hand "pulls" on the water and exits it. This will help you maximize
your control over the water, which will help propel you forward. If
you just move your arm back in a straight line, you won't be able to
"catch" the water as well. Then, fully extend your arm behind you so
that your thumbs graze the side of your thighs below your suit-line.

As you finish the stroke with one arm, you'll move right into the
stroke with your other arm.
Lift the elbow of your other arm up as you prepare to do the
freestyle stroke on your second side, while the arm that was moving
back pushes straight out behind you, so that it's parallel to your side.
When you move your left arm forward, your entire body should twist
and pivot to the left -- about 120 degrees. Your head should remain
centered until it's time to breathe.
8. "Flutter kick" your feet just below the surface of
the water. Make a series of quick, fast kicks instead
of large, extended kicks, to give you the power and
balance you need for the free style stroke. You
should point your toes to extend their "flippers,"
which will help you keep your hips centered and
your body balanced.
ARMS AND LEGS
MOVEMENT
 LEGS MOVEMENT
- Your kick should lift your legs up to
give you a good body position.
- Your kick should be low drag.
- Your kick timing should drive your
rotation, not hinder it.
- Your kick should be low effort so
it minimize energy use.
 ARMS MOVEMENT
The different phases of the arm stroke one
can observe in elite freestyle swimmers are
the following:
Down sweep
Catch
In sweep
Upsweep
Release
Recovery
Entry and extension forward
 Down sweep
To start our discussion, we imagine that one of the arms is
extended forward underwater at the end of its recovery. The
other arm has begun its propulsive phase.
The wrist flexes slightly to start the down sweep. The elbow bends
but is kept high in the water. As a result, the forearm moves
downward and backward until the underside of the forearm and
the palm are facing backward. The upper arm moves a little bit
outward so that it is easier to keep the elbow high in the water.
The body rolls towards the side of the arm that sweeps down.
The down sweep should happen quickly. However, no excessive
amount of force must be applied on the arm during this phase, as
this will only push water down, wasting energy and creating drag.
 Catch
At the end of the down sweep, the shoulder,
elbow and hand are positioned on the same
vertical plane. The shoulder is at the top while
the hand is at the bottom, between 20 and 28
inches (50 - 70 cm) deep. The elbow is bent
about 90° and will keep this angle during the
subsequent propulsive phases of the arm
stroke. The underside of the arm and the palm
are now facing backward and slightly outward.
This is the so-called high elbow position.
 In sweep
The in sweep is the first propulsive phase of the arm
stroke. Basically, once the arm is in position at the
catch, the upper arm is adducted (moved in) toward
the rib cage while the elbow keeps its angle and no
rotation occurs in the forearm. The whole arm is in
fact used like a big paddle.
As a consequence, the forearm and palm move
inward, upward and backward only due to the
adduction of the upper arm. The in sweep ends
once the hand arrives under the midline of the
body.
 Upsweep
This is the second and most propulsive phase of the
arm stroke where the direction of the arm
movement changes. At the start of the upsweep,
rotation occurs in the forearm so that the
underside of the forearm and the palm are now
facing backward, upward and outward. The hand
then moves backward, upward and outward from
below the chest toward the hip.
The elbow is still bent so that the palm and forearm
can be kept facing backward for as long as possible.
The body rolls toward the stroking arm.
 Release
At the end of the upsweep no force should
be applied because the forearm and hand
are mostly moving upward. Otherwise
water would be pushed upward, increasing
drag and pushing the hips down. The
shoulder, upper arm and elbow exit the
water in that order, followed by the
forearm and hand with the palm turned
inward to minimize drag.
 Recovery
After this the arm is brought forward
above water, leading with the elbow and
with the lower arm relaxed and dangling.
The recovery should be compact, meaning
that the hand hovers above the water and
swipes close past the rib cage. While the
arm should be relaxed during the recovery,
the momentum built up during the
upsweep should be used to quickly recover
the arm forward.
 Entry and extension forward
Once the hand has passed the head,
it enters the water with the
fingertips first. The rest of the arm
moves through the hole opened by
the hand in the water and continues
to move forward underwater until it
is fully extended. The arm stroke
cycle can then start anew.