Always going forward because I can't find reverse...

[FinnMom]

To fin backwards effectively you first need to be and remain horizontal. To get a feel for what this should actually feel like, lie on your living room floor or with no dive gear at all. Think about your position and how your knees are almost in lie with your shoulder (not 18" lower, as many do). You can also get a friend to video you in. the water to see if you hover and move horizontally, or if you are unknowingly doing something else.

Once you can remain relaibably horizontal, you will find the reverse gear if you try and practise. You need stiff fins BTW. Once you are fairly good at it, floppy fins might also work, but to learn you want a fin that gives to genuine "feel" and can effectively move water. For many, back finning will succeed shortly after they had concluded they obviously were never going to learn the movement, so just keep a positive frame of mind and keep trying. The good news is that during this practise you will get a good feel for how to scull just a tiny bit with one fin tip or the other to keep your position just right, or change it just a bit.

You can gain a little insight on the correct movement by lieing flat on the surface of water with no BCD/wing and no fins, even in just a shorty suit to help you easily float flat on your back. Now remain flat on the surface from neck to knee and move your legs from the knee down in circular motions to propel you (in the direction of your feet, i.e. backwards) across the surface. Get a feel for the motion. That's your kick.

 

[Cr.padlo]

That’s exactly what we teach our students not to do. Also, imagine your camera required two hands. Or you had a light in one hand and following a line with the other. These are all situations where sculling is impractical/impossible.
Why not just learn to do it right from the beginning?

Even as a swimmer, I never really used my legs that much...so its still a work in progress...but in a pinch it works if needed. I also use it when I'm near the bottom and trying not to stir all the silt up.
Either way, learning to fin is a useful skill no doubt

 

[Macan]

Checkout this video link on FB.

Go Dive PH

The video shows the Reverse Kick and other Tec skills being taught to new divers in their PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW) diver course.

It's not the Fin or BCD. The divers are in recreational fins and bcd.

 

[admikar]

The best way to learn back kick is to spend some time developing the techniques bare footed.

This did it for me. As @The Chairman said, if you try to thread a needle, being barefooted really helps in feeling water flow.