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Freestyle - Egyptian Crawl

Posted by Glenn Mills on Feb 03, 2009 11:24AM (11,693 views)

Developing a quick, productive kick is important for all swimmers, but especially for sprint freestylers. This drill forces the feet to move quickly, and constantly through the entire length.

Why Do It:
Egyptian Crawl requires the leg that's used to kick, to stay active or the entire body will sink into the water. It also requires a quick catch out front to keep you moving.

How to Do It:
1. Push off, and as you start swimming freestyle, bend one of your legs so that your foot is pointing directly to the ceiling.
2. Keep your legs as stable as possible, and try to keep your toe pointing straight up.
3. You'll have to keep your kicking foot moving much more quickly than you're used to, and keep the kick small.
4. Do this drill for short distances as you'll quickly realize just how tough it is.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Since this is such a tough drill, it may be just a bit TOO tough for some. If this is the case, here's a couple options that can help you. Put on a pair of paddles and a pull buoy. Do the drill as described above, only now you'll have more to catch with out front, and some help from the pull-buoy in keeping you somewhat balanced. You'll see that you'll still need to kick.

Another trick would be to put on a fin, just one, and work one side for a couple lengths, then put a fin on the other foot. This will require that you still keep a constant kick, but the increased surface area will give you just a bit more power to keep you moving.

freestyle, fins, kick, paddles

Responses

Tomás	Responded Feb 03, 2009 04:44PM It looks really nice. I'll try it today during my training.
GW	Responded Feb 03, 2009 05:58PM Would you use this on young age groupers at all? I'm looking for variations on kick drills to keep them interested but looks like it might need too much core strength for them to do it. I guess 10m or so may be ok so plenty of short distance work?
Coach Wobser	Responded Feb 03, 2009 06:17PM We call this Shark Fin Drill and use it in practice and for fun relays. It does work the leg hard. Young kids enjoy it just because it is different and fun to try.
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 03, 2009 06:36PM Coach W... but you can't call is Shark Fin anymore cause Shark Fin was a couple weeks ago with the board. Geez... get with the program would ya? ;) GW... I say give it a shot, and if they can't do it... try the fins or pull-buoys. If they're still too unbalanced, maybe it is a bit advanced. Lemme know how it goes.
James Stuart	Responded Feb 03, 2009 07:26PM wow that was cool drill - i try it soon
CoachX	Responded Feb 03, 2009 07:38PM I started using this a few years ago after one particularly tough little girl busted her toe wide open and couldnt put it in the water. She showed up for practice and just slid in the water and took off like that. After several minutes of laughter from me and her teammates, we all tried it and use it from time to time. We use this more as a change of pace drill, but it does really help with their single leg kick and you really have to be aware of how you are balancing in the water. I have used it for kids as young as 7.
fiZZLe	Responded Feb 03, 2009 11:25PM What is with one fin? U put on 2 fins when u use fins geez. Cool drill! Never seen this one before. I'll give it a go tonite. Wonder how it works for back fly and breast lolz.
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 03, 2009 11:28PM We were just thinking that the 2nd fin would be too heavy for some. Which is kinda funny since we were using the Alpha fins by Zura... which each weigh about 2 ounces. Lemme know how it goes.
sprinter	Responded Feb 04, 2009 06:34AM oh no, we used to do this one in the previous club. I hated it!!! Never managed to keep my left leg out of the water...
Juliette	Responded Feb 04, 2009 06:58AM Me being almost 9 am shurelly going to try it out!!!!!....I like these exircises very much!!!!
Halberhai	Responded Feb 04, 2009 05:06PM hey tomás, did you tryed it yet?
fiZZLe	Responded Feb 05, 2009 04:24PM Super hard! ah
Sean Murphy	Responded Feb 05, 2009 08:19PM I had my kids give it a try after warm-up. We started with one fin to get a feel for it. It took them a couple of 25's to get the balance down. When we took the fin off, they thought they were going to sink, but they did a good job. The best part was all of my assistant coaches were watching, and they thought it was a joke, until we went back to regular freestyle. The increased tempo of all of their kicks was awesome. Even the kids that have struggled with a 6-beat kick were doing great. Thanks for the great drill.
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 05, 2009 08:38PM Thanks Sean... that's great to hear. I really appreciate hearing some of the ideas being used in the real world, good and/or bad. Glad this one was positive.
alleycat	Responded Feb 06, 2009 03:03PM Just a comment - at about the 1 min 50 point of this clip I see what looks like a huge bruise over the Left side of this swimmer's torso - is it a bruise or a tattoo???? Love the way he gets his toes pointed! Hard for most guys to do....
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 06, 2009 04:03PM Tat
wonderboy	Responded Feb 06, 2009 08:34PM In addition to developing the kick, I found that it addresses those that crossover on their free pull. When they crossover, they tend to tip over while doing this drill. In order to stay upright, they need to keep their pull in line. I used to do this drill a couple of years ago so it was fun to use it again.
adrian	Responded Feb 06, 2009 09:26PM this was an advanced drill I could not do it :( but it was fun to try it :)
James Stuart	Responded Feb 07, 2009 11:48PM Its good fun I try it without problem - left leg was better than right leg which its weird cos my right leg is stronger than left leg mm maybe its more flexible mmm
mano	Responded Feb 09, 2009 12:06AM It's so good but it look so hard
Barbara Hummel	Responded Feb 09, 2009 01:09AM I was a train wreck with this one... you know... like when your dog starts kicking uncontrollably with its leg when you scratch its ears in the right place. I kept kicking with the leg that was in the air. Best I could do (and I'm glad there were no cameras rolling) was doing this with snorkel and pull buoy and kicking only, with arms extended out front. When I tried to add the arms, the whole effort fell apart. Good balance drill as well as a kicking drill.
musti	Responded Feb 09, 2009 03:02AM hardest thing i've ever had to do, my coach laughed at me xD
Tomás	Responded Feb 09, 2009 08:53PM OK Halberhai...I finally got the time to get back into the pool and here is what happened. As described by Glenn...I simply could not do the drill, but that was not going to stop me!!! So here is how I finally did it: First I grabbed a pull buoy and instead of pushing me off from the wall I simply went to "static balance". When I was balanced then I raised my foot and rebalancing was an acrobatic act. Then I started kicking until I got enough momentum to start stroking. At first I did single arm stroke very fluently and then full stroke. After I did several of those then it was time for the real thing.... Second, I took of my pull buoy and went into static balance, then came the hardest part.... to rebalance myself with the foot pointing to the ceiling and without the pull buoy...I SHOULD BE WORKING FOR THE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL...then I started kicking and when I got enough momentum I started stroking. Dominated drill!!!! It is definitely a hard drill. Take care.
GW	Responded Feb 13, 2009 09:07PM Thanks Glen and Coach X. Tried it with an older group but as kick ony. Boy did they work hard. Using it this weekend with my younger group and will feedback next week.
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 13, 2009 09:51PM Love the icon GW. Is that a Ford or F3?
GW	Responded Feb 14, 2009 10:15AM I wish! A day's single seater driving experience for one of my big round '0' birthdays. Discovered I was too tall (as well as too slow!) to have been a racing driver. Brilliant fun though
GW	Responded Feb 15, 2009 08:58PM Well, they did it. Some a lot better than others. Aged 9 - 13 and we split it into half lengths to start with, on kick only. Then gradually introduced the arms as catch up and finally full stroke. Those who have worked on their core found it easier than others but the best ones were two 10 year old ballet dancers who have great posture. I think our land work needs to be based in the dance studio from now on! Most importantly they enjoyed the challenge and we will now do it regularly in our kick sets. Thank you
Mecano	Responded Feb 16, 2009 01:16AM one question , what's egyptian in it ?
James Stuart	Responded Feb 16, 2009 02:43AM Cos its look like paintings of ancient egyptians on the wall at pyramid or other buildings... I am not so sure mmm
adrian	Responded Feb 16, 2009 10:08AM I think its geometric position and movement ,and its performed with attention,like egyptian art .
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 16, 2009 08:20PM Mecano... like adrian said... like Egyptian art, the right angles in the arms and legs.
Juliette	Responded Nov 15, 2010 08:16PM as nuts as she is....here's a variation... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5DR-CVovlA

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Freestyle - Egyptian Crawl

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