What swimming stroke do you find the most difficult? When it comes to difficulty, many people often mention backstroke. It cannot be solved with strength alone, and mastering the technique takes the longest time. Among those who swim well, there are quite a few who struggle with backstroke compared to other strokes. Even after learning all the strokes, many still really dislike doing backstroke. So today, I will share eight common mistakes people make when learning backstroke, along with how to address them.

The first point is sinking hips. Among men, about five out of ten have their lower bodies sinking, and many rely on arm strength to perform backstroke. It is often said that men have more muscle in their lower bodies, which causes them to sink more. However, in most cases, it is due to the relaxation of the glutes and core muscles that leads to sinking. It is important to engage the core and glutes just enough to provide support.

If you have it, you can prevent your lower body from sinking. First, you need to create a streamlined position so that your core can naturally engage. If you do this well, you can lift your lower body most of the time. If this still doesn't work for some people, it may be necessary to change the kicking method. 

Secondly, many people use strength to perform the flutter kick or breaststroke, which can somewhat cover the technique with power. However, with the butterfly stroke, no matter how much strength you use with the wrong method, it will not be efficient at all. In fact, swimming with less force can be more comfortable and effective. The same goes for kicking; you need to kick with less force to push better. 

For the butterfly kick, think of it as kicking like a whip, which will help you understand how to use your legs. In the case of the flutter kick or breaststroke, since you are kicking while lying face down, your ankles will naturally press the water backward.

However, if your ankle is not flexible, the water will flow upwards, making it impossible to generate propulsion. In that case, you won't move forward, and your lower body will gradually sink. When you relax your legs and move smoothly, the backstroke kick can create propulsion. One practice method is to relax one leg at a time while moving back and forth, pushing against the resistance. Stretching to improve ankle flexibility is also very helpful. 

The third point is adjusting the width of the kick. When performing the backstroke kick, if your legs are spread too wide, you will encounter a lot of resistance, which is one of the factors that makes it very difficult. You can kick with a narrower width than you might think and still move forward adequately. Of course, you need to practice kicking enough to move your legs like a whip. One difference between beginners and those who are skilled is the width of the kick.

Please pay close attention to your movements. One of the common characteristics of those who do not move forward when responding is that their knees come out of the water during the kick. When the knees come out of the water, it means that you are not pushing water effectively, so if you cannot correct this, I believe it will be impossible to generate propulsion with a large kick. A practice method to correct this, as mentioned earlier, is to relax and practice moving your legs like a whip while staying in place. Additionally, when practicing the backstroke kick, place a kickboard on your knees and be careful not to let it touch the water while you practice your kicks. If you can perform the backstroke kick well, you will generate propulsion and find it much easier to swim backstroke. 

The fifth point is about gaze management. In backstroke, your face is the only one above the water surface, and you are looking up at the ceiling. For those who are learning to swim for the first time, your mouth and nose are...

Being out of the water makes breathing comfortable, but it also has a critical drawback: visibility is severely limited. To overcome this issue, many people try to fix their gaze on the ceiling and make an effort to move forward steadily, but I believe this is a very poor choice. It might be acceptable in a pool with a low ceiling, but in outdoor pools or Olympic-sized pools where the ceiling height is several meters or more, adjusting your direction based on the ceiling is impossible. So, how should we manage our gaze? First, slightly tuck your chin to prevent water from entering your nose, and keep your gaze generally directed 45 degrees downward, looking at the necessary spots. My technique is to check if I'm going straight by glancing sideways at the lane and the distance. One thing to be cautious about is that changing your gaze too frequently can cause your body to wobble, so try not to check too many places at once.

Please do not. The sixth recovery movement is performed while lying down, so your arms pass by your line of sight. However, many people struggle to extend their arms straight and instead let them drift outward or bend their elbows inward. When the arms drift outward, the range of pulling water decreases, and if the elbows bend inward, the hands tend to push outward during the process of catching water, causing the body to sway side to side. A practice method to correct this is to maintain the arms passing by the ears during recovery and ensure they enter the water fully extended. It is recommended to practice one arm at a time for form correction rather than using both arms. The seventh point is about trying to rotate the arms before the stroke is finished. Among those who are anxious to respond, some start to rotate their arms before the stroke is complete.

There are people who try to rotate their arms. After the recovery phase, when the arms enter the water, they need to perform the entry motion and gliding. However, they can't hold back and end up pulling too early. In this case, the number of strokes may be high, but they often end up not moving forward, resulting in wasted energy. It's perfectly fine to start the stroke after confirming that the recovery is completely finished when swimming backstroke. In fact, the timing can align perfectly, allowing for better movement, so I recommend not rushing and trying to go a bit slower.

The eighth underwater motion in backstroke is a technique that is more challenging to master than other strokes. Often, swimmers cannot see their own arms and are unsure of how to catch the water. As a result, many people simply let their arms float, and there are also many who try to rotate their arms widely. In backstroke, catching the water involves utilizing the water that is on the arms and legs.

Knowing that you need to push towards the wall is enough to do it effectively. It's similar to what I mentioned before about the freestyle high elbow, where you push the water as if you're pressing against the wall to rise. After finishing the large gliding, when you try to push up against the wall, you should create a posture and push the water towards your legs. This way, you can use your strength efficiently. The key point is to adopt the posture of pressing against the wall only after finishing the ride. If you rush and take the posture too early, it will diminish your propulsion, so please keep this in mind. 

So far, we have looked at eight common mistakes made during the training. To summarize: 
First, the sinking hips. 
Second, kicking with force. 
Third, adjusting the width of the kick. 
Fourth, the knees coming out of the water during the kick. 
Fifth, handling the line of sight. 
Sixth, the recovery movement. 
Seventh, before the stroke ends.

I am trying to rotate my arms. The eighth movement in the water. Many people find the breaststroke difficult, but please remember the eight techniques I shared today, and since I also explained how to correct them, you should practice them a lot. Swimming improves with practice, so if you are not confident in your breaststroke, try going to free swim this week and start by mastering the streamlined position and core stability one step at a time. You will be able to perform the breaststroke confidently. That's all for today's video. If you found it helpful, please subscribe and like, and share it with others who swim so you can practice together. I will see you in the next video. Thank you.

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