Different Types of Swimming Strokes

For those who have taken swimming lessons before, swimming strokes is not a new thing but for those who have never been interested with swimming, the various types of strokes or even the definition of strokes might be a puzzle. In this article, we are going to look at various types of swimming strokes that you can employ during your swimming and rescue operation at sea.

The front crawl stroke

Just as the name suggests, this is a swimming stroke that normally happens when your face is facing down as if you are tossing your face into the pool. The arms should move in a clockwise manner and in a continuous and alternate manner. When one of the arms comes out of the water, the other one resurfaces above the water. That means that the arms and the legs act as the propellers that propel you forward. On the other hand, the legs needs to do a quick up and down movements and should produce a flutter kick at all time.

The Breaststroke

This is one of the strokes that is considered easy to learn and that has made it popular among swimmers and rescuers. With this particular style, the body goes up from the horizontal position to an inclined position. Most of the energy is gathered during arms recovery so as to produce the horizontal thrust during the glide phase. Also, during recovery, you need to move your hands in such a way that they stretch away from your chest and the forwards. This makes the body straight just like a frog thrusting its horizontal body forward. In order to promote recovery, your legs should move towards the buttocks before preparing your thighs for the next kick.

Butterfly stroke

The experts of swimming lessons have come to a conclusion that this is the second fastest swimming stroke after the free style strokes. However, it should be noted that it is also the most exhaustive stroke above all. This is a stroke that utilizes the undulating movement where the head, the chest, the legs as well as the hips move in an undulating manner just like the waves. The arms move from an extended position and down towards the chest hence acting as the canoe paddles. On the other hand, the legs produces a continuous remain in an attention position but beats up and down hence producing a symmetrical movement.