What it is
Swim breaststroke for one excellent stroke following the specific sequence of dance moves (11, Eat, 11). Do it three times to demonstrate mastery.
Essentials
- The sequence is strict: 11 (arms extended overhead), Eat (pull with head lift and breath), 11 (arms shoot forward to full extension)
- Breathing happens on the "eat" phase — when the arms pull and the head lifts
- Kick timing: snap feet together as the arms shoot forward back to 11, then hold the glide
- The 11 position (arms extended overhead) is the foundation for streamline and glide
- Avoid chicken wings — hands must not push water past shoulders down to belly
- Focus on the sequence (choreography) before worrying about speed or power
Progression
- Drill 1: 3 x SL + 2x(11, Eat, 11, Glide for 2 seconds). No kicking, no breathing. This is the MOTION of breaststroke arms. Streamline underwater, do the arms at the surface.
- Drill 2: 3 x SL + 1 BR. 1 x 11, Eat Breathe, 11 + 1 BR K and glide. Streamline with no kick. Do the arms first, with a breath. As the arms shoot forward back to 11, initiate the kick. Snap feet together, hold in 11 for a long glide. Move over, return, repeat.
- Drill 3: 3 x SL with 2 BR Kicks Underwater. Streamline underwater with nothing, then while still streamline and underwater, do 2 breaststroke kicks to torpedo yourself forward.
- Full: 3 x SL + 1 BR arm (11, Eat Breath, 11) + 2 BR K (long glide underwater). Streamline with no kick. At the surface do the arms with a breath. Get underwater again in position 11. Do 2 BR kicks one after another underwater. Feel how kick launches body forward.
What goes wrong
- Chicken wings: hands pushing water past shoulders down to belly. Correction: keep the 11, Eat, 11 path strict.
- Adding kick before arms are established. Correction: start with strict 11, Eat Breathe, 11 until the kick provides all propulsion, then refine the arms.
- Fast, sloppy motions. Correction: go slow and extend to a full reach; aim for controlled movements.
- Flutter kicking instead of a breaststroke kick. Correction: no flutter kick; the kick must be a legal breaststroke kick.
- Not holding the glide after the kick. Correction: snap feet together, then hold in 11 for a long glide.
How you know it worked
Long glide, legal kick, arms happen first, kick provides forward movement, arms follow the strict 11, Eat, 11 movement (no chicken wing elbows). Completed three times.
How you teach it
The priority at this level is choreography, not swimming. You are looking for swimmers to follow the sequence, not to "swim" yet — that comes with time and exposure. Start with a strict 11, Eat Breathe, 11 format until their kick provides all propulsion, then refine the arms. The drills build in order: arms only (no kick, no breath), then add kick, then combine underwater. This sequencing ensures the swimmer internalises the timing relationship — arms initiate, kick follows as arms shoot forward, then the body holds in 11 and glides. The 4 x 25 set (Position 11 with 11, Eat Breathe, 11, flutter kicks on belly) is a useful bridge: it lets the swimmer practise the arm-and-breath pattern at low intensity while staying in the 11 position, so the "eat" becomes a natural head-lift rather than a separate action. Challenges (swim BR on back underwater from T to the flags, float on back and change direction only using BR kicks, push off the wall using only feet and toes without bending the legs, get to half the pool with only 3 complete BR strokes and no underwater breaststroke pull) keep the work game-like while reinforcing the same mechanical cues. Bonus goals — breathing on eat, a kick that noticeably shoots the swimmer forward, relaxed posture with the understanding that to go fast you must glide — are the quality markers that separate "did the motion" from "did it well." Going slow and extending to a full reach is important; aim for controlled movements over fast sloppy ones.