Chapter 49: Universal Shock: Brother Ming, You Actually Don't Know How to Butterfly?

After dealing with a mountain of frustrating affairs, Wang Xiaoming looked at the Westerners bowing and apologizing to him.

He could only shake his head helplessly.

Then, he raised his hands slightly and said, "Alright, that's enough for now. Time to go back and rest, the competition will start soon!"

This scene was, once again, captured precisely by the live cameras.

Chinese netizens universally mocked the moment, comparing it to an emperor ascending the throne and telling his officials to rise from their bows.

In an instant, everyone burst into laughter.

As the dust settled, Wade and the Olympic Committee officials gave everyone present a firm guarantee.

The disciplinary results would soon be announced to the public and broadcast to the entire world.

"Trust us, they will face severe punishment!"

Following that, this farce came to a temporary end.

Except for the American athletes, everyone returned to their respective quarters to prepare for the upcoming 200-meter butterfly event.

As for Wang Xiaoming, he called over the members of the Chinese swimming team and headed straight to the swimming training hall.

There wasn't any major issue; he simply wanted to—

"What? You're saying you don't know how to swim the butterfly stroke at all? Are you joking?" Pan Zhanle was completely dumbfounded.

Who was the person standing in front of him?

It was Wang Xiaoming, Brother Ming, who had just won the 800-meter freestyle gold medal and the 4x100-meter relay gold!

And now you're telling me you don't know the butterfly stroke at all?

Not just Pan Zhanle, but the rest of the swimming team members also looked at Wang Xiaoming in utter disbelief.

In their eyes, Wang Xiaoming was basically an omnipotent Superman.

Yet at this moment, he claimed he didn't even know the most basic butterfly stroke.

Who on earth would believe that?

"Why would I lie to you guys?" Wang Xiaoming glanced at them helplessly.

After all, having previously worked as an assassin, all of his skills and techniques were optimized for maximum simplicity.

When it came to swimming, freestyle was naturally the most common and convenient choice.

Things like butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke were of no use to him, so why would he bother learning them?

However, Pan Zhanle and the others naturally could not comprehend this logic.

Coach Wang Mu looked at Wang Xiaoming, and it didn't seem like he was joking.

The others also recalled that, seemingly from the very beginning, Wang Xiaoming didn't even know how to properly execute starting techniques and various minor tricks!

In that instant, everyone had a sudden awakening.

It was as if Wang Xiaoming had never been a professional swimmer to begin with.

Hiss...

"Well, alright then. I'll have them guide you through the details and movements of the butterfly stroke!"

In the Olympic arena, there are strict requirements for every swimming style.

Whether it's the butterfly, backstroke, or breaststroke.

The rules dictate specific movements for competitors, and if you use a different swimming technique during the race, you will be disqualified immediately!

Hearing Coach Wang Mu's words, Wang Xiaoming nodded.

Then he began to strip off his clothes; he really did need to learn these movements properly.

Otherwise, if he subconsciously slipped back into freestyle while swimming in the race, all his previous efforts would go down the drain.

Receiving the coach's instruction, Pan Zhanle was the first to strip off his clothes and dive into the water with a sleek dolphin dive.

Immediately after, pointing at Pan Zhanle—who was demonstrating a standard butterfly stroke—Coach Wang Mu turned to Wang Xiaoming and said,

"Look, when swimming the butterfly, you must pay attention to a few crucial areas!"

"First is the catch, which means moving your body forward to push the water back. Your fingers should point downward with your palms facing backward. Bend your elbows to keep your forearms vertical to the bottom of the pool, and after entering the water, your arms should sweep outward!"

"Second, chest press. Use your chin and chest to drive your body forward. You shouldn't tuck your chin in, but pressing down too deeply might affect the catch. Putting it together: press your body forward, extend your hands forward into the water, kick, and press your chest forward."

"Third..."

After Pan Zhanle's brief trial swim and Coach Wang Mu's roadside explanation, Wang Xiaoming decided to give it a try.

Stripping off his clothes, he quickly entered the water and accelerated instantly, executing all movements in one fluid motion.

It almost looked like a perfect swimming posture.

Except—"Wait, no, your hands can't do that. Both hands must move synchronously!"

Your hands should enter the water at shoulder width or slightly wider.

Palms facing down, thumbs should enter first or simultaneously with the rest of the fingers.

The most important thing about hand entry is that it must be soft, so you don't create a massive splash when entering the water.

"Ah, okay, let me try again!"

"No, no, no! This isn't freestyle, your breathing can't be like that!"

Breathing too high or at the wrong moment will ruin your stroke.

The key is to stay low and breathe forward.

Timing the breath late is crucial.

You need to focus on breathing as you pull your body forward.

If you watch the best swimmers in the world, you can see their chins barely clearing the water surface to inhale.

The second kick is vital for propelling the body forward.

He was improving bit by bit.

"No, no, no, your legs can't do that. You keep subconsciously wanting to alternate them!"

In modern butterfly stroke, the most standard underwater kicking technique is the dolphin kick.

The underwater dolphin kick has become an essential component of the butterfly stroke.

Even when you're not racing, maintaining good rhythm and frequency with proper kicking techniques applies to overall swimming proficiency.

During competitions, the world's best swimmers can spend up to 60 percent of the distance racing underwater (in short course pools).

Even in long course events like the Olympics, top swimmers spend a considerable amount of time underwater.

The best way to achieve this in competition is through daily training.

However, since Wang Xiaoming lacked this muscle memory entirely, all he could do was forcibly instill these movements into his mind.

He had to constantly remember that his form must absolutely not deform.

"Xiaoming, the butterfly stroke is different from freestyle!" Coach Wang Mu stroked his chin, took a deep breath, and thought of a solution.

"It doesn't rely on your explosive power or acceleration! Understand?"

Reinforcing good technique is paramount.

The butterfly stroke is a rhythmic swimming style; it's not about strength, but about mastering efficiency.

The longer the distance, the more it relies on posture, alignment, balance, and rhythm.

Wang Xiaoming nodded. Indeed, after trying it out, it was vastly different from freestyle.

Many of the skills he relied on were completely useless in the butterfly stroke.

Especially his most potent ability, the [Xuanwu Stillness].

The butterfly stroke fundamentally had no use for breath-holding skills.

Because when swimming butterfly, both arms must maintain synchronized movements, sliding forward and backward together.

You couldn't alternate your arms back and forth like in freestyle.

This made holding your breath underwater impossible; your head inevitably had to bob up and down out of the water surface.

So what should he do?

Wang Xiaoming currently felt like a martial arts master unable to unleash his prowess.

Just as he was continuing to practice the standard butterfly posture, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

Everyone looked toward the entrance and saw a delegation of South Korean athletes approaching them.

"You guys, is there something you need?" Coach Wang Mu stepped forward to meet them.

However, the South Korean athletes did not walk straight toward Wang Xiaoming.

"Hey, what are you trying to do?" Pan Zhanle immediately stepped in front of Wang Xiaoming to block them.

Yet the South Korean athletes made no aggressive moves. Instead, amidst the shocked gazes of everyone present, they walked right up to Wang Xiaoming.

And then—

They dropped to their knees all at once.