The dolphin kick is used when swimming the butterfly stroke and is the hardest part of the stroke to learn. It resembles the tail action of a dolphin as it swims through the water. The kick involves synchronizing the legs and developing a smooth, wave-like movement of the body from head to toe. As a teacher, know that time and more than one technique or drill might be necessary for students to learn the dolphin kick.
Step 1
Ask your student to stand in chest high water with her arms extended over her head and her feet flat on the bottom of the pool. Instruct her to keep her legs and feet together. Have her push off from the bottom of the pool and thrust her hips forward and backward several times with an undulating motion. This gives her the feel of how the hips move and the wave-like movement of the body during the kick.
Step 2
Tell her to concentrate on her lower body from her hips to her toes. Have her imitate the way a dolphin's tail fin moves as it propels itself through the water.
Step 3
Ask her to lie on her back in the water once she gets comfortable with this movement. With this technique, have her positioned perpendicular and close to the wall of the pool. Instruct her to keep her arms by her side. Allow her to use her hands in a sculling motion just enough to help keep her body stable.
Step 4
Have her push away from the wall with her feet. As soon as she pushes off, have her lift her head and look back at her feet while she practices the kick. Check to see that she keeps her head up and her legs and feet together.
Step 5
Ask your student to concentrate on the upward movement of her feet as she kicks and pushes the water up with a splash. Check to see that her toes break the surface of the water and the splash is higher than her toes. This can be hard on the abdominal muscles, so have the student only do a few pool lengths in this position.
Step 6
Have her start close to the pool's wall for the next drill. Tell her she is going to practice the same wave-like kick. Ask her to take a deep breath, push off, keep her face down in the water and extend her arms out in front of her head.
Step 7
Check to see that her legs and feet are kept together and her toes are pointing back toward the end of the pool. Watch to see that her legs simply follow her hip action. As her hips move down in the water her knees are slightly bent. As she pushes her chest down, check to see that her hips go back up, her knees extend and she quickly kicks her feet downward in a whip-like fashion. Instruct her to do several kicks and lift her head when necessary for another breath.
Step 8
Introduce the arm movement to the stroke once your student has developed a fluid kick with little breathing difficulties.
Tips and Warnings
- Wearing flippers might make it easier for students to learn the dolphin kick.
Member Comments