Strokes - what should they be like?

BREASTSTROKE	BASIC	EFFICIENT	EFFECTIVE
BODY POSITION	STRETCHED, STREAMLINED ON THE FRONT FOLLOWING THE KICK, LIFTING OF THE HEAD AND SHOULDER TO BREATHE DURING THE PULL	FROM A STRETCHED STREAMLINED POSITION, WITH THE HEAD IN LINE, FACE IN THE WATER; THE HEAD AND UPPER BODY WILL RISE AND FALL IN RELATION TO THE KICK, PULL AND BREATHING PATTERN	AN UNDULATING WAVE LIKE FLOW DURING THE WHOLE STROKE CYCLE WITH A STRETCHED STREAMLINED POSITION AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE KICK
LEGS AND FEET	SIMULTANEOUS KICK, BRING FEET TOWARDS THE SEAT, FLATTEN AND TURN OUT, KICK ROUND AND BACK IN A CIRCULAR PATTERN, AND BRING THE FEET AND LEGS TOGETHER AGAIN AT FULL STRETCH	RECOVERY: FROM THE EXTENDED POSITION, THE KNEES BEND, DRAWING THE HEELS UP CLOSE TO THE SEAT AND STILL UNDER THE WATER; KNEES BEHIND THE SEAT AND ABOUT HIP WIDTH APART. CATCH: BOTH FEET FLATTEN AND TURN INTO THE CHARACTERISTIC 'FROG' POSTION. PROPULSION: THE FLAT FEET KICK BACK, ROUND AND SLIGHTLY DOWNWARD WITH THE SOLES AND INSTEP PRESSING ON THE WATER UNTIL THE LEGS ARE ALMOST STRAIGHT WHEN THE FEET POINT AND COME TOGETHER FULLY EXTENDED	A STRONG ACCELERATING DRIVE OF THE FEET BACKWARDS
ARMS AND HANDS	FROM STRETCH POSITION, BOTH HANDS PRESS OUT AND ROUND IN A SMALL CIRCULAR ACTION IN FRONT OF THE SHOULDERS	CATCH: FROM THE FULL STRETCH POSITION, THE HANDS, FACING SLIGHTLY OUTWARDS NAD DOWN, PRESS OUT SIDEWAYS TO A 'Y' POSITION JUST WIDE OF THE SHOULDERS. PROPULSION: THE HANDS LEAD THE FOREARMS IN A DOWNWARDS AND INWARDS CIRCLING ACTION, BRINGING THE HANDS CLOSE TOGETHER UNDER THE CHIN; THE HANDS FACE EACH OTHER WITH THE ELBOWS AND UPPER ARMS FOLLOWING THEM IN. RECOVERY: WITH NO HESITATION, THE HANDS AND FOREARMS MOVE SMOOTHLY AND CONTINUOUSLY UNDER THE CHIN AND STRETCH FORWARD TO THE STARTING POSITION	EMPHASIS ON THE STRONG INWARD SWEEP OF THE HANDS AND FOREARMS LEADING IMMEDIATELY INTO THE CONTROLLED DRIVE FORWARD TO THE FULL STRETCH POSITION; MAINTAIN A FAST RHYTHM
BREATHING	LIFTING THE HEAD TO THE FRONT DURING THE ARM ACTION AND BEFORE EACH KICK	ONCE IN EACH STROKE CYCLE, TO THE FRONT AS THE HANDS AND ARMS PULL AND BEOFRE THE KICK	CONTROLLED REGULAR BREATHING, INHALING DURING THE ARM PULLING ACTION AND EXHALING TOWARDS THE END OF THE STRETCH WILL PROVIDE THE BEST TIMING
TIMING	FROM THE FRONT EXTENDED POSITION, THE HANDS AND ARMS PULL DURING WHICH ACTION THE BREATHIS TAKEN FOLLOWED BY THE KICK AND A RETURN TO THE EXTENDED POSITION	FROM THE FULLY STRETCHED POSITION, THE ARMS PULL, THE BREATH IS TAKEN, THE ARMS BEGIN TO RECOVER, THEN THE LEGS RECOVER AND KICK BACK TO THE FULL STRETCH POSITION: PULL, BREATHE, KICK, STRETCH	THE RELATIONSHIP OF STROKE LENGTH AND STROKE RATE VARIES WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL AND WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SWIM, AND SHOULD BE DEVELOPED

BACK CRAWL	BASIC	EFFICIENT	EFFECTIVE
BODY POSITION	ALMOST HORIZONTAL, STRAIGHT, STREAMLINED, BACK OF THE HEAD IN THE WATER	AS BASIC AND: HEAD PERFECTLY STILL IN A CENTRAL POSITION, CHEST CLEAR OF THE SURFACE WITH HIP AND SEAT SLIGHTLY SUBMERGED, CONTROLLED ROLLING OF THE SHOULDERS, SHOULDER CLEAR OF THE SURFAACE, EYES LOOKING UP AND SLIGHTLY FORWARD	INCREASED SHOULDER AND UPPER BODY ROTATIONS, WHILE KEEPING THE HEAD STEADY, ENABLES MORE POWER TO BE APPLIED IN THE PULL
LEGS AND FEET	IN LINE WITH THE BODY, STEADY ALTERNATING KICK, WHOLE LEG MOVEMENT WITH FEET AND TOES POINTED MAKING A SMALL SPLASH, KNEES KEPT UNDER THE SURFACE	IN LINE WITH THE BODY, A POSITIVE ALTERNATING KICK ACTION, LEGS COMING CLOSE TO THE SURFACE BUT THE KNEES KEPT UNDER, WHOLE LEG MOVEMENT WITH KNEES BENDING SLIGHTLY AND LEGS PASSING CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, FEET POINTED AND SLIGHTLY IN-TES, WITH TOES MAKING A SLIGHT SPLASH AT THE SURFACE	A CONTINUOUS POWERFUL KICK PROVIDES STABILITY FOR THE LOWER BODY
ARMS AND HANDS	ALTERNATING CIRCULAR ACTION OVER AND UNDER THE WATER, CONTROLLED HAND ENTRY OVERHEAD AT FULL STRETCH IN LINE WITH THE SHOULDER, HAND AND ARM PULLS ROUND BY THE SIDE TO THE THIGH	ENTRY: CONTROLLED WITH A STRAIGHT ELBOW, HAND PLACE INTO THE WATER, PALM FACING OUT AND LITTLE FINGER FIRST, IN LINE WITH THE SHOULDER, CONTINUES DOWN AS THE SHOULDERS ROLL ON THAT SIDE. PROPULSION: AT DEEPEST POINT AFTER ENTRY, ELBOW BENDS NAD HAND PRESSES ROUND AND BACKWARDS TOWARDS THE THIGH: AS THE ARM STRAIGHTENS THE HAND PRESSES DOWNWARDS, FACING THE POOL FLOOR, BEFORE SWEEPING TOWARDS THE THIGH AND UP TO THE SURFACE. RECOVERY: THE SHOULDER LEADS, LIFTING UP AND ROUND AS THE HAND LEAVES THE WATER THUMB FIRST: THE ELBOW IS KEPT STRAIGHT AS THE ARM LIFTS STRAIGHT UP ABOVE THE SHOULDER TO THE ENTRY POINT.	A CONTROLLED ENTRY AND DEEP CATCH WITH SHOULDER ROLL FOLLOWED BY A STRONG BENT ELBOW PULL RIGHT THFOUGH TO THE THIGH INCREASES THE POWER AND DISTANCE OBTAINED FROM EACH STROKE
BREATHING	BREATH IS EXCHANGED REGULARLY AS REQUIRED	OCCURS NATURALLY BUT REGULARLY IN RELATION TO THE EFFORT PHASES OF THE ARMS	CONTROLLED REGULAR BREATHING RELATED TO THE EFFORT PHASES OF THE STROKE
TIMING	CO-ORDINATION OF KICKING A PULLING INTO A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT	CO-ORDINATION OF KICKING AND PULLING INTO A CONTINUOUS CONSISTENT MOVEMENT PATTERN; SMOOTH CONTROLLED STROKE	THE RELATIONSHIP OF STROKE LENGTH AND STROKE RATE SHOULD BE DEVELOPED AND VARIES WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL AND WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SWIM

FRONT CRAWL	BASIC	EFFICIENT	EFFECTIVE
BODY POSITION	HORIZONTAL, STRAIGHT, STREAMLINED, FACE IN WATER	AS FOR BASIC AND: HIPS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN SHOULDER, EYES LOOKING SLIGHTLY FORWARD AND DOWNWARD, ROTATION OF SHOULDER AND UPPER BODY, HEAD STEADY AND CENTRAL EXCEPT FOR SMOOTH TURNING TO THE SIDE TO BREATH	INCREASED SHOULDER AND UPPER BODY ROTATION ENABLES MORE POWER TO BE APPLIED IN THE PULL
LEGS AND FEET	IN LINE WITH BODY, CLOSE TO SURFACE, STEADY ALTERNATE KICK, WHOLE LEG MOVEMENT WITH FEET AND TOES POINTED, SMALL SPLASH	AS FOR BASIC AND: KNEES SLIGHTLY BENT, LEGS AND FEET PASS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, ACTION ORIGINATING AT HIPS AND FINISHING WITH FEET PUSHING AGAINST WATER	CONTROLLED AND STEADY FOR LONGER SWIMS AND LOWER SPEEDS: FASTER AND POWERFUL FOR SHORTER SWIMS AND FASTER SPEEDS
ARMS AND HANDS	ALTERNATING ACTION WITH CONTROLLED ENTRY IN FRONT, FINGERS FIRST, HANDS PULL CLOSE TO THE BODY AND TOWARDS THE THIGHS, OVER THE WATER RECOVERY ACTION	ENTRY: HAND SLIDES INTO WATER, ELBOW IS BENT, ENTRY BETWEEN SHOULDER AND HEAD, FINGER/WRIST/ELBOW ENTRY. PROPULSION: AFTER ENTRY THE HAND MOVES SLIGHTLY OUT AND DOWN TO THE CATCH POSITION, PRESSES UNDER THE BODY, THEN PUSHES BACKWARDS AND OUTWARDS TOWARDS THE THIGHS. RECOVERY: ELBOW LEAVES THE WATER FIRST FOLLOWED BY WRIST AND HAND, ARM MOVES OVER THE WATER, CLOSE TO THE BODY AND HEAD TO A CONTROLLED ENTRY	SLIGHT LENGTHENING OF THE ACTION AT BOTH THE START AND FINISH OF THE PULL INCREASES THE DISTANCE OBTAINED FROM EACH STROKE
BREATHING	CONTROLLED TURN OF HEAD TO THE SIDE, REGULAR PATTERN, ENSURE EXCHANGE OF AIR	AS BASIC AND: AIR BLOWN STRONGLY INTO WATER JUST BEOFRE MOUTH CLEARS, INHALATION TAKEN QUICKLY, HEAD RETURN TO CENTRAL POSITION	THE ABILITY TO BREATHE WITH EASE TO EITHER SIDE BALANCES THE STROKE
TIMING	CO-ORDINATION OF KICKING, PULLING AND BREATHING INTO A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT	AS BASIC AND: SMOOTH CONTROLLED STROKE	THE RELATIONSHIP OF STROKE LENGTH AND STROKE RATE SHOULD BE DEVELOPED AND VARIES WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL AND WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SWIM