All+About+the+World+of+Swimming

=**How to Swim**= There are four strokes, or ways to swim.
 * By Maggie L.**

__Butterfly:__On your stomach, bring both arms across the water at the same time and do a kick resembling a worm, called dolphin kick. Watch Michael Phelps do it at this link. []

__Backstroke:__ On your back, bring one arm at a time over your head and do a "flutter kick". For flutter kick you simply move your legs like scissors. Watch Phelps do it at this link. []

__Breaststroke:__ On your stomach, bring your arms under and around your chest in a heart shape. For kick, first bring you heels to your rear, splay your feet out only, and snap around. If you are an advanced swimmer you can try a breaststroke pullout by putting hands in streamline position pulling in a circle around to your underarms and pulling your arms down to your side for a push. Watch Kosuke Kitajima. [] Start watching at 0:26

__Freestyle:__ On your stomach, bring one arm over your head at a time slightly bent. You do the same kick as in backstroke. Watch Phelps and Ryan Lochte in [].

A combination of all four strokes is called individual medley, or IM for short. The order of the strokes are the order I listed them in; butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle

Now, you have a decent guide on how to swim. Good luck!

=﻿History of Swimming= Swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times. The earliest known record of swimming dates back to paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date back to 2000 BC. In 1578, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, //The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming.// The first actual 'stroke' was a stroke related to breaststroke, or so-called doggy paddle. Although the record of swimming goes such a long way back, the first swim club was founded in 1817 in Berlin, Germany.