Frog Kick

[Compressor]

Hello friends:
I'm taking the fundamental course this July. Been practicing the modified flutter and frog kick. The flutter I am doing well (I think) but the frog is very difficult for me. It just does not feel natural. I know I am probably doing something wrong but would like to get some insight on how long its going to take to get comfortable with the new propulsion techniques.

Thanks

 

[tbone1004]

depends, for our students not very long, but they don't have any bad habits to break. You do, so it may take quite a while. If you can have someone video you and post that would help, or find some cave/dir divers in the area and see if they can mentor you. There are a bunch of land drills you can do to practice this as well.

 

[RJP]

Can you find someone to actually get behind you and move your feet properly for you? Until you know how it's SUPPOSED to feel you'll be at a disadvantage. That said, think "clap with your feet"

 

[Compressor]

Thanks guys; very helpful hints.

 

[eelnoraa]

I would say don't worry about it. You take the class to learn. You don't need to go into the class fully mastering the skills. You will have more than enough time in water to get your frog kick down. Going into the class for the learning, not the passing. This mind set will let you learn the most

 

[TSandM]

The biggest thing with Fundies is stability. With the number of dives you state, you should be able to hover quietly and watch demonstrations, and that's the core of the class. If you can manage ascents and descents, and do simple stuff like mask clearing and air sharing without buoyancy problems, you will have plenty of time to work on the kicks.

The bad thing about trying to learn the frog kick on your own is that you may, in fact, be doing it entirely backwards. I was. Until the instructor "patterned" my feet through the kick, I didn't get the coordination at all. Had I done a bunch of practice prior to class, I would have ingrained entirely the wrong procedure. If you have no one to give you feedback or to do video, I'd suggest working on your stable platform and perhaps your mod flutter, and leaving frog to class.

 

[tbone1004]

practice makes permanent.... only perfect practice makes perfect. Live mentors that know what they're doing are best.... Good swim coach should actually be able to get your legs moving in the right direction in a pinch

 

[WhiteSands]

Take a video from behind and post here for more useful help.

 

[Ayisha]

Agree, the most useful thing to have down pat going into Fundies is a stable, balanced platform. Especially while being task loaded even with only basic skills. Without this stable platform, the rest won't happen effectively and your progression will be hampered. You might consider not practicing actual skill sets until the course, just in case you teach yourself a different way that has to be re-learned.

It took me months to feel comfortable doing the modified frog kick or any of the other propulsion. I would default to my "normal" scissor kick quite often, and only do the frog or modified frog if I thought about it. I kept trying. Then eventually, the frog kick has become my default kick.

Seriously, video of your propulsion will be very useful to see what's going on. You'll see lots of that in your course. BTW, if you're at least a silver member of GUE, you'll be able to see very helpful how-to videos. Similar videos are also available for free online, such as:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-p7Pm0tSWM

and many specific propulsion videos as well as many others on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/UnifiedTeamDiving/videos

 

[Compressor]

Agree with all of you. I will stop practicing on my own and wait for the course.
Lessons learned: be patient and take the course then be taught correctly.