THE FLIP TURN

The flip turn is, by far, the fastest way to do a freestyle turn. In my experience, almost everyone loves doing it. I have taught the turn to hundreds of people—from children as young as five to adults as old as eighty-six. It seems that as soon as people learn the crawl stroke, they want to learn how to flip.

What you are trying to accomplish with the flip turn is reversing the direction of your body in the shortest time, without losing speed and while using the least amount of energy possible. The sequence of drawings in Figure 7.7 illustrates the phases of the flip turn.

As you approach the wall, stop the recovery of one arm and hold it at your thigh. Take the final stroke with the other arm. Then hold both arms at your sides, palms facing down.

Begin the somersault by ducking your head and shoulders. At the same time, press down with your palms. Add a dolphin kick to help raise your hips and rotate your body. (The dolphin kick is described in detail in Chapter 10.)

With your body in a pike position and your hands still pushing down, complete the somersault by bringing your legs over the water. Move your hands toward your head to reduce resistance and prepare for a streamlined push off the wall.

Whip your legs directly overhead. Then plant your feet on the wall. Now, as you bring your arms forward, push off the wall with your legs. With the thrust off the wall, extend your arms, keeping your head squeezed between your upper arms, and streamline your body. Finally, as you push off, twist your body so that you “corkscrew” through the water and end up on your stomach before taking your first stroke. The time you spend on the wall should be very little—half a second or less.

 As soon as you feel yourself slowing down, begin flutter-kicking with a small, fast kick. Then let your head break the surface and begin stroking. When you practice your turns, remember to explode off the wall, assume a streamlined position, and kick hard. You should be able to glide four or five yards, or even farther, before you begin stroking.