How to Swim Breaststroke: Kicking Technique

Series Summary

Competitive swimming began in Europe around 1800 and first became an Olympic Event in 1896. Recreational swimming has been around since man first walked the earth. Whether it is in a pool in the backyard or a pool in the Olympics, a river in the woods or the endless oceans, swimming is one of the world's favorite past times. Not only is swimming a great recreational hobby, it is one of the most efficient ways to exercise, both cardiovascular and muscle strengthening. Needless to say, with all of the benefits of swimming, it is a good idea to learn how to swim and the breaststroke is a great way to begin. Learn how to swim the breaststroke in this free online video series of swimming lessons featuring swim instructor Peter Elizondo. Elizondo teaches how to swim the breaststroke with proper kicking technique, hand technique, foot position, breathing technique, kick preparation and continuous strokes. He demonstrates how to do a half-circle kick and how to push-off the wall.

Video Transcript

"In this section, I'm going to explain to you how to start off on the breast stroke. So, what you'll want to do is imagine my hands being your feet. You'll bring them up, you know. Imagine my chest being your buttocks. You'll bring your hand; legs up to your buttocks like this, and then you'll end up doing a complete full-circle close with the breast stroke. Let me show you how to do that, as well, and on your feet. It's called the frog kick, but; so, for example, you'll bring your heel straight up to your butt, right and your leg is straight down. So, let me show you on the side like this; and then what you're going to end up doing is pointing it out forty-five degrees and then closing in on a full circle, but the first thing you want to do on the frog kick, is just bring your heel straight up to your butt, like that. And that's how you would start off on the frog kick for that section. I'm going to show you with my feet, and that's the full, full breast stroke kick right there. And then I'll show you step by step, here in a bit."