Basics OF BREASTROKE
Ø WHAT IS BREASTROKE?
Breastroke is the slowest stroke but on the other hand it is regarded as one of the most difficult stroke because it requires comparable endurance and leg strength. Therefore, glide is one of the major factors of breastroke besides kick, pull and timing.
SPEED VARIATION IN BREASTSTROKE
Explosive Strength =>Peak Speed=>Glide  |
| Movement pattern of Breast Stroke |
PACE: Breastroke is a power stroke. It gives us speed at the cost of our energy. Thus we need to glide after each stroke to sustain the whole length. We need to put maximum effort in the first stroke and try to reach our maximum speed and then glide till we reach our average (as shown in the above figure). This kind of pace is applicable for both kick and pull as well.
MAJOR FACTORS OF BREASTROKE:-
1. START
A good start does only consist of a good dive but a good underwater speed and a good changeover or breakout.
§ DIVE: Though breastroke is the slowest stroke but a strong dive gives same speed in every stroke. Thus, after the dive, we need to wait in order to carry the momentum speed that we gain from the start and then when are near our average speed we need to do a strong pullout.
CAUTION: Do not wait long as the momentum may get spoiled if you cross the average speed.
§ UNDERWATER SPEED: The source of underwater speed in breastroke is the pullout. After the dive, we need to wait for a while and then start the pullout. We have to do a full pullout and generate a butterfly kick. After the pullout, we need to hold a bit and glide till we again reach our average speed.
CAUTION: Do not wait more than the average speed because it will be hard to again generate a new speed.
§ CHANGEOVER OR BREAKOUT: After the pull out we have to wait and then to take our hands forward and start the first stroke with full effort. This changeover from underwater to water surface should be a speedboat lift rather than a cobra lift.
2. KICK
In breastroke, kick is used as one of the major factor that provides speed, unlike in other strokes where kick is only used as a tool to lift the body.
§ TOES SHOULD BE OUTWARD: When our toes are kept outward the surface area increases and as a result we can push more water.
§ PRESSURE VARIATION: When we do breastroke kick, our catch or the pull should be slower than when we squeeze the water or finish the kick.
§ KEEP THE KNEES CLOSE TO EACH OTHER: When we do breastroke kick, we should try to keep our knees together because if we open the knees wide, it will increase the drag.
§ KICK WITH THE STRONGEST PART: The strongest part of our leg is the this. Generally, the stronger is the source of kick the stronger will be the kick. Thus, we should always kick with the thi to get the highest speed and to kick with our this we need to lock our knees.
CAUTION: The thi is also the thickest part of our leg so if we move it too much, we end up getting what is called a drag.
§ SEND THE SPEED FORWARD: When we do the breastroke kick, the power tries to lift our body up, but we should try to overcome this mistake and send the speed forward by holding our core.
§ MAKE A CIRCLE: When we are going to the squeeze water, we have to make a circle with our lower leg in order to drive away more water.
CAUTION: While making a circle, if the knees are in disorder, there will be drag.
§ ANKLE TWIST: While we are making a circle with our lower leg in order to squeeze the water, we also need to twist the ankle at different points to feel their pressure points and push a large amount of water.
§ FINISH THE KICK: After the kick, our toes should touch each other with a clap.
§ KEEP TOES POINTED AFTER THE KICK AND THEN GLIDE...: As we are going to finish our kick we should start keeping our toes pointed and after the clap, we should keep our toes totally pointed and legs straight, stretched and glide as much as we can.
A VERY IMPORTANT CAUTION WHILE DOING BREASTROKE KICK: While doing the breastroke kick, we keep our ankles towards the water and very close to the surface which may result in kick above the surface of the water and so disqualification. To avoid such a fatal mistake we need to keep our body in a diagonal position to ensure that the kick can be done under the water surface. That is why we need to start our kick when we start the in sweep.
3. PULL
The pull is the trickiest part of breastroke.
§ SLOW OUTSWEEP: The out sweep should be the slowest and we need to PRESS OUR CHEST DOWN and also adjust our wrist in a position to get the E.V.F. (Early Vertical Form) posture.
CAUTION: Do not lift your head up.
§ FAST INSWEEP: The in sweep should be faster than the out sweep. We should lift our head up and our SHOULDER SHOULD BE ABOVE OUR HEAD.
§ MAKE A TRIANGLE: Earlier, while doing the in sweep a circle was made but now we do prefer a triangle because we can catch more water while making a triangle.
CAUTION: While making a triangle do not forget to keep your shoulders above your head.
§ FASTEST RECOVERY: The recovery should be the fastest of all. During the recovery, our aim should be to throw the body forward and gain an additional speed from it. Even while doing the recovery our SHOULDERS SHOULD BE ABOVE OUR HEAD and the direction of our head should be downwards.
CAUTION: The DIRECTION of our HEAD will be DOWN BUT the DIRECTION of our HAND will go FORWARD, THROUGH THE WATER LEVEL.
4. TIMING
The timing is very important in breastroke. If the timing gets disrupted then our whole stroke gets spoiled and it results in decrease of speed.
§ BREASTROKE TIMING DRILL: The timing drill depicts the timing of breastroke. In breastroke we need to start the kick when we start the in sweep and finish our kick with the recovery. We should lift our head up when we start the in sweep and not before it. Thus in this drill we pull our hands and legs towards our body and then push our hands forward and do a kick together and then glide to utilize the gained energy.
By: Meghna Bharadwaj
Remoshmita Poddar
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