The fifth stroke. Phelps’ secret weapon. The equalizer. These are just some of the things the underwater dolphin kick has been known as over the years.

Here is here your guide to improving your underwater fly kick.

It’s hard to forget the first time you see a really powerful underwater dolphin kick. When done at top speed, it brings us a step closer to our ocean-bound kin, a seemingly perfect symbiosis of power and grace.

For a few moments, as we snap through the water, we leave land and become something utterly different.

As a scrawny 8-year old in the summer of 1988 I spent every morning and late afternoon cross-legged in front of my parents television as swimmers from across the world swam for glory at the Seoul Olympics. Names like Matt Biondi, Michael Gross, Janet Evans, and Kristina Egerzegyi became firmly implanted in my mind.

In the following years I would always try to emulate my heroes of ‘88. Biondi’s powerful and effortless distance per stroke. Gross’ stoicness behind the blocks. Evans’ never-ending battery life in the pool.

But it was a 5’8” backstroker that left the greatest impression.

In the final of the 100m backstroke the USA’s David Berkoff and Japan’s Daichi Suzuki would swim nearly half of the final underwater, with Berkoff in particular, doing something that became widely known as the Berkoff Blastoff, staying under for the first 35 metres of the race.

It was like nothing I had ever seen.

The underwater footage provided a tantalizing glimpse into the undulating raw power.

It was graceful, it was potent, and it was fast.

At practice I would try my hardest to replicate the feats I had seen on TV. And while my Berkoff impersonation probably looked more like a thrashing salmon in its death throes than the animal for which the kick is named, I was hooked.

The Dolphin Kick Goes Mainstream

In the 1990’s it was the butterfly that became the stroke de jour for the underwater dolphin kick, with Russia’s Denis Pankratov and the United States’ Misty Hyman mastering it in differing styles.

Pankratov would soar underwater like Superman, hands separated in what was almost a sculling motion, defying the logic of the time (and present) of maintaining a perfect streamline.

Hyman, on the other hand, dominated the women’s butterfly events doing fish kicks–underwater fly kick on her side–with both swimmers using their unconventional styles to not only break world numerous world records in the butterfly events, but also bring submarine dolphin kicking back to the forefront of the swimming consciousness.

After all, until then, the dolphin kick was largely a fringe thing.

Something you had or you didn’t.

Something reserved for the outliers in the sport, who were assumed to have freakish flexibility and iron lungs that allowed them to perform the extended feats of sub-surface piloting.

But then the 2000’s, with Ian Thorpe and his smooth, pulsating breakouts, and more notably, Michael Phelps and his insane walls, happened, and something very quickly became apparent…

If you wanted to be elite at any level that you’d have to attain some level of competency in the underwater dolphin arts.

Now, having a solid underwater dolphin kick is a prerequisite for swimmers of every stroke.

It’s become as essential as having a good dive, solid flip turns, and good swimming technique. The importance of it becomes especially apparent with swimmers who compete primarily in short course meters and yards.

During the late 80’s and 90’s, because it was such a fringe aspect to swimming and because it was fairly difficult to teach, it wasn’t widely taught. As a young age grouper I knew having an underwater dolphin kick would be not only like, super awesome, but it would make me look like a total superstar in the water.

But where to start?

Imitation is one thing, but understanding the mechanics and physical traits necessary to power the kick efficiently and quickly are altogether another.

So that’s where this little guide is going to come in handy for you.

This guide is meaty; it comes in weighing at a solid 3,718 words, but it is action packed with things you can start doing today to improve your kick and is fairly comprehensive.

Everything in this guide is designed to be actionable and immediately implementable.

The guide covers published research on underwater fly kick (science!), as well as tips from biomechanists, high performance consultants, Olympic gold medalists, strength and conditioning specialists, and one of the most successful coaches on the planet.

Sounds good?

Alright, let’s dive right on in…

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