# Inventing a new swimming stroke
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 20, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847 "2007-09-20T05:53:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/1 "2007-09-20T05:53:27Z")
What if I invented a brand new swimming stroke, totally unlike backstroke, crawl, breaststroke or butterfly. Are there any swim competitions I could use it in?
Also, are there any strokes that go feet first instead of head first?
thanks
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/2 "2007-09-20T07:36:19Z")
I expect you could make an argument for using such a stroke in a freestyle race - depending on what the governing body really meant by ‘freestyle’.
I can swim feet first (on my back, keeping my legs fairly straight and doing breaststroke actions with my arms) - it’s not fast, but it could still make for an interesting race.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/3 "2007-09-20T08:01:12Z")
Freestyle really does mean freestyle, but the front crawl stroke appears to be the fastest method of human swimming yet devised, so everyone uses that in freestyle races.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/4 "2007-09-20T15:00:22Z")
The Ministry of Silly Swimstrokes is intrigued by your ideas.
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### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/5 "2007-09-20T15:29:09Z")
In any freestyle event you can swim however you wish. You would not be allowed to pull on the lane lines, nor push off of the bottom of the pool. The only time this doesn’t apply is on the fourth part of the individual medley where you can not swim fly, back or breast strokes.
I’ve only seen one person swim feet first, he was doing the crawl backwards, it was interesting to watch, but not very fast.
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### Author:  [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/6 "2007-09-20T16:53:24Z")
I once met a guy who had perfected his sidestroke to the point that it was _absurdly_ fast. He could easily beat even a pretty powerful crawl stroke. Truly bizarre.
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### Author:  [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/7 "2007-09-21T02:29:57Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout]
I can swim feet first (on my back, keeping my legs fairly straight and doing breaststroke actions with my arms) - it’s not fast, but it could still make for an interesting race.
[/QUOTE]
this is called “sculling,” it’s a kind of technique or strengthening drill done by competitive swimmers.
love
yams!!
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/8 "2007-09-21T10:18:05Z")
Thanks - I didn’t know that.
Is there a name for my personal fastest stroke? Here’s how it works:
I’m swimming on my back, doing frog-kicks with my legs (as with breast stroke)
My arms don’t break the surface of the water - I draw my hands up close to my sides (making my elbows stick out sideways), then I bring my hands outwards, then back down/in again - it’s a bit hard to describe, except that my arms are actually doing something a bit similar to the frog-kick motion of my legs, I guess.
The frequency of leg and arm strokes when swimming this way (I find) is dictated by the resistance of the water, so I will often do almost two arm strokes for each leg stroke - there’s not always any kind of synchrony in the two movements (although there can be).
ETA: I would imagine that when viewed from above, the movement looks a bit like a jellyfish swimming - an expansive pulse, then a propulsive one.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/9 "2007-09-21T12:36:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout]
Thanks - I didn’t know that.
Is there a name for my personal fastest stroke? Here’s how it works:
I’m swimming on my back, doing frog-kicks with my legs (as with breast stroke)
My arms don’t break the surface of the water - I draw my hands up close to my sides (making my elbows stick out sideways), then I bring my hands outwards, then back down/in again - it’s a bit hard to describe, except that my arms are actually doing something a bit similar to the frog-kick motion of my legs, I guess.
The frequency of leg and arm strokes when swimming this way (I find) is dictated by the resistance of the water, so I will often do almost two arm strokes for each leg stroke - there’s not always any kind of synchrony in the two movements (although there can be).
ETA: I would imagine that when viewed from above, the movement looks a bit like a jellyfish swimming - an expansive pulse, then a propulsive one.
[/QUOTE]
Elementary backstroke, actually. It’s one of the first strokes they teach new swimmers. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun.
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### Author:  [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/10 "2007-09-21T12:47:51Z")
Is it possible to do a butterfly stroke on the back?
It’s not immediately clear why it would be any less powerful than the standard fly.
The arms seem like they would be doing something more powerful (pulling rather than pushing – it’s a more natural way to use the lats, it seems), although the kick wouldn’t really give propulsion out of the water.
I can’t really think through the torso movements without trying it.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventing-a-new-swimming-stroke/419847/11 "2007-09-21T13:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk]
Is it possible to do a butterfly stroke on the back?
[/QUOTE]
Yes, but it’s not fun - the arms don’t really rotate through the right angles to make it practical - and I suspect injury might result from trying.