How do you go backwards/movement in tight quarters

[occrider]

So on my latest dive trip to grand cayman we did a few dives that had a lot of tight, enclosed pass throughs. Also there was a surge that pushed you backwards and forwards quite a bit. I have relatively good buoyancy when there are no extraneous variables, but I found myself struggling when it came to controlling myself in tight tunnels when there's a surge. Is there a kick that let's you move backwards? Also what's the best way to make tight turns while avoiding damage to reefs that are within a few feet to your left and right?

 

[lamont]

some vids of helicopter turns and back kicks:

http://www.deepsouthdivers.org/training.html

more:

http://www.divetekadventures.com/Images.htm

 

[jeckyll]

And to add: IMO, helicopter turns are fairly straight forward. Back kicks have eluded me. I'm not sure what I'm actually doing in the water, but going backwards doesn't seem to be part of it.

I've watched the video clips (repeatedly!) but just can't get the back kick...

 

[trucker girl]

At risk of looking like I am clueless... I use my hands. I experienced much more surge recently in Hawaii than I ever get in the quarry... and I found that I could use my hands better in tight quarters than my big, awkward, behind me fins.

Okay, someone tear me apart and tell me why using hands is wrong. I'm waiting...

 

[Cacia]

Sitting through a series of sets of surge before you enter a lava tube or an overhang will help you predict how you should proceed. Sometimes a back frog kick is enough, sometimes it is not. If you need your hands too much it is possible that you are getting in to an enclosed space over your head around here. Occasionally we have people sucked into internal cavern sytems like under blow holes, etc and they are powerless. The physics of the wave "surge" can pack a lot of power. Careful when swimming by smaller portholes, etc because a surge can feed through a wreck and suck you right in. I saw one guy get spit out the top hatch once after being sucked in.

 

[diverdown247]

Learning the Frog kick, helicopter turn, and backward kick are great.

The more you dive the easier making maneuvers in tight places becomes. I've even found a few situations where it's been tight enough to not turn horizontal. I simply switch from a face down position to a back down position (like swimming on my back at the surface) then do a 1/2 roll to get face down again and voilla I'm going the other way again. Seems to work well in surge because it's quick, as long as it's not super strong surge.

Another "backwards" swim trick (takes practice to do this smoothly) is to simply cup your hands (provided you have proper buoyancy) at your sides (palms facing out) and push your hands forward in an arc motion (like making a snow-angel face down). The cupped hands will act as paddles and move you back slowly. This is usually good if you only need to move a short distance, it can also be utilized for turns. Trust me, this does work and is practical; handicap diver's course teaches part of this for certain issues.

 

[BabyDuck]

to get the 'feel' of the back kick, take a kickboard or life preserver or inflated wing without plate. wear a bathing suit or wetsuit. get in the pool or quarry or ditch or whatever.

hold the float out in front of you in your hands. stretch out your bod & bend your knees until your feet (no fins needed) almost are sticking out of the water, but are parallel to the top of the water. it's almost the normal position for a frog kick, except since you're not under water your knees are lower. your 'cocked' feet are level with your butt.

keep your feet flexed and push them straight and together, away from your behind. move them in little circles - out from center and toward your butt fairly quickly, together and back away from you fairly slowly. you're doing a frog kick backwards, so if you need to do a few slow cycles forwards to deconstruct the motion, that's fine.

after you feel how a back kick feels when it 'works', you can take it underwater. continue to keep your feet flat - you're using the sides of your feet more than you think. don't be surprised if you spend a lot of time at first going both backwards and up, in the 'baby shrimp dance'. it will flatten out with practice.

i think it does help to have seen the videos referenced above ad nauseum, but i had lots of trouble trying to go straight to using the kick under water without knowing what it 'felt' like, and trying to get the feel by picnic table diving didn't help. this technique did. caveat, though - i did this last november, and still didn't really have a backwards gear until about april...and yes, i dove *a lot* during the winter.

 

[TSandM]

I think the back kick is hard to learn, and takes a lot of practice. It's a very useful kick (used it almost continuously during our trip to Indonesia), but it's also not very powerful, and may not be enough if you are fighting significant surge or current. In those cases, you might have to scull with your hands or even pull yourself backwards, if the need to get out of a tight spot was strong enough.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Back kicks have eluded me. I'm not sure what I'm actually doing in the water, but going backwards doesn't seem to be part of it.

I've watched the video clips (repeatedly!) but just can't get the back kick...

Those just learning the reverse kick often end up rocking back and forth instead of actually moving in reverse. This is because their fin tips are pointed up instead of straight back. When they push their fins *straight back* to get ready for the side sweep their fins propel them forward a bit.

Here is a tip that will keep that from happening as well as eliminate the tendency to back kick toward the surface:

When you extend your fins back to load for the reverse kick think of yourself as dropping your fin tips toward the bottom. If you do it right they will slip through the water without resistance and you won't move forward. Then when you sweep them out to the side you will move backward. It really doesn't take much to move backward a lot if done correctly. Just think about how little sculling action is require to move you forward. Same *little sculling* will move you backward if you eliminate the forward component.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rick Inman]

Those just learning the reverse kick often end up rocking back and forth instead of actually moving in reverse. This is because their fin tips are pointed up instead of straight back.

ROTFLOL!!!!!