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Swimming discipline

Butterfly

Butterfly is swum with a simultaneous over-water arm recovery and an undulating dolphin kick — the most physically demanding stroke, built on rhythm and core-driven body movement.

Part of Swimming

Overview

Both arms recover over the water together while the body undulates in a dolphin kick, driving from the chest and hips. It rewards rhythm and timing more than brute force: when the wave of the body and the two-beat kick line up, the stroke flows; when they do not, it feels exhausting.

Butterfly is usually the last stroke swimmers learn, because it asks for coordinated whole-body movement and a strong core, but it is one of the most satisfying to get right.

What defines it

  • Simultaneous over-water recovery of both arms.
  • Propelled by an undulating dolphin kick from the core.
  • Depends on rhythm and timing more than raw strength.
  • The most physically demanding of the four strokes.

Getting started

  1. 1Practise body undulation and the dolphin kick before adding the arms.
  2. 2Build the stroke in short bursts to keep the rhythm clean.
  3. 3Time your single breath forward without dropping the hips.

Other Swimming disciplines

The forms of Swimming sit alongside each other — explore the rest.

Freestyle

The fastest, most-swum stroke

Backstroke

The only stroke swum on your back

Breaststroke

The symmetric, glide-and-recover stroke

Individual medley

All four strokes in one race

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How this page is maintained

Content type
Discipline
Provenance
Tier A — evergreen educational
Verified external sources
0
Content updated
2026-07-09

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