What it is
A cue set for back crawl arm rotation performed on the surface. The swimmer rotates on the surface like a clock hand to use water to push hips and feet up.
Essentials
- "Thumb, Hi, Pinky, Push" — the four-beat cue sequence for the back-crawl arm.
- Thumb leads the recovery; hand rotates to "hi" at the top by twisting out so the palm faces away from the body.
- Pinky enters the water first at Position 11.
- Push down while bending the elbow to clap the palm on the same-side thigh.
- Arm traces a circular path on the water surface (clock hand); it does not lift out of the water.
- Hips and feet rise from the arm's water contact, not from kicking.
Progression
- Back Crawl Arms on Deck — standing on deck, start in soldier, INS leads with demonstration, one arm at a time.
- Challenge 4 — float on back and spin/rotate using one arm; float with or without support from INS; rotate on the surface like a clock hand to push hips and feet up.
- Activity 9 / Challenge 5 — kicking to move; use floating assists or lifejackets to go somewhere in the pool by kicking.
What goes wrong
- Arm lifts out of the water instead of tracing a circular path on the surface → cue the clock-hand rotation in the plane of the water.
- Hips and feet rise from kicking rather than from the arm's water contact → isolate the arm push; reduce or stop the kick.
- Arm pauses or remains at Position 11 instead of travelling through it → cue continuous movement through Position 11.
- Body rotates more than 45 degrees to the surface → cue spine straight and long, belly flat.
- Stomach sinks, hips drop → cue hips remain up, feet narrow and tight, pointed toes.
How you know it worked
Swimmer can back-crawl with body at the surface for 8 metres, showing strong kick, long reaching arms that go through "thumb," "hi," "pinky," push, head neutral with slight chin tuck, knees mostly underwater, belly flat, body rotating no more than 45 degrees.
How you teach it
Start on deck in soldier position. The instructor leads with demonstration before the swimmer attempts the movement. Practice slowly, one arm at a time. The key visual is the arm moving like a clock hand on the water surface — the rotation happens in the plane of the surface, not above it. The water contact is what pushes the hips and feet up; if the swimmer is kicking to stay up, the arm is not doing its job.
Once the body line is mastered, shift feedback focus to long reaching arms and hip rotation. The recovering-arm-side hip rotates up while the pushing-arm-side hip rotates down. On deck the sequence is: raise the hand directly in front of the arm to Position 11, lead with the thumb, twist out to "hi" (palm faces away), enter with the pinky, push down and bend the elbow to clap the palm on the same-side thigh.
In the water (Challenge 4) the swimmer floats on the back with or without instructor support and spins/rotates using one arm. The instructor provides movement and pull on the surface, guiding the swimmer to feel the water pushing the hips up. This stage is still choreography of the arm movement — full pushing and pulling of water comes later in the progression.
Where the cue can mislead: "Push" can invite the swimmer to think of a downward force in isolation. Reinforce that the push is the final beat of a continuous rotation; the thumb-lead and "hi" twist set up the pinky entry, and the push completes the arc. If a swimmer over-rotates past 45 degrees chasing the "clock hand" image, pull them back to the 45-degree limit and re-anchor on belly-flat, spine-long before re-introducing the rotation cue.