How to kick effectively?

[TMHeimer]

I've been in a few spots with those silt conditions and have kicked up a storm with my splits at 5' above the bottom. Fortunately I almost always dive solo--it makes for a very easy way to do a reciprocal heading without a compass..yuk yuk. I'm OK around normal sand, though. I'm usually closer than 5' anyway hunting for shells, so paddle fins may not be so great either in those conditions.

 

[eelnoraa]

Agreed and a flutter kick done properly won't kick up sand or silt from the bottom either.
.

If you do a straight leg flutter like most OW class teach, no matter how properly it is done, I don't see how you won't kick sand up because of the downward movement of the fins. A modified flutter with knee bend, and with knee movement only, direct all moment backward, will not kick up sand, but it isn't a very efficient travel kick.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Hi everyone,
I'm a new diver. I just wondering could someone tell me how to kick.
Some of my buddies told me to do frog kick, but my fin is a split fin. So it seems I should not do frog kick.
Is there any videos that I can learn it?

My fin is Atomic Split fin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Ask your "Instructor"
2) Request your "Instructor" refund your SCUBA course fees

sdm

 

[Skulmoski]

And buy new fins. Doing back kicks and helicopter turns are next to impossible with split fins.

I tried split fins and tried backward kicking. Not a pretty site. But I do know a very advanced diver/photographer who can effectively back kick.

GJS

 

[Skulmoski]

I did 1900 yards (more than a mile) in the pool last night.

Good for you!!! Nice to see that there are others who get their cardio snorkelling in a pool. I swim 1 km at a time/5 times a week. I am getting ready to go to the pool this morning (7:30 am). The pool should be empty since it is raining! Yes, raining in sunny Abu Dhabi.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I tried split fins and tried backward kicking. Not a pretty site. But I do know a very advanced diver/photographer who can effectively back kick.

GJS

Some people do master it, but I think that is a lot to ask a fairly inexperienced diver.

 

[Blueringocto_73]

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I thought I saw "Mike Nelson" bicycling with his flutter sometimes.

 

[ronscuba]

If you do a straight leg flutter like most OW class teach, no matter how properly it is done, I don't see how you won't kick sand up because of the downward movement of the fins. A modified flutter with knee bend, and with knee movement only, direct all moment backward, will not kick up sand, but it isn't a very efficient travel kick.

I guess it is a matter of how close to the bottom I am. I could also unconsciously alter my kick to more modified flutter when I am down low.

 

[Marie13]

Good for you!!! Nice to see that there are others who get their cardio snorkelling in a pool. I swim 1 km at a time/5 times a week. I am getting ready to go to the pool this morning (7:30 am). The pool should be empty since it is raining! Yes, raining in sunny Abu Dhabi.

Bad knees and sciatica make swimming the best cardio for me. My doc told me to swim. Took me 3 months to get up to this point. I can just keep going in the pool. It doesn't really hurt when I'm in the water, although frog kick can tweak my left knee a bit. I just zone out in the water. I hate it when the aqua aerobics class is going on and they're blasting music.

 

[Patoux01]

I guess it is a matter of how close to the bottom I am. I could also unconsciously alter my kick to more modified flutter when I am down low.

Or you could just be unaware of the silt you kick up, like most divers are. If you look behind a diver that is up to 2m from the sand, let's say 2-3 meters behind him, you'll almost always see the sand moving, looking like "small explosions" in the sand.

Knowing back kicking can't hurt of course, but other than photography and perhaps moving out of a confined space, I haven't heard of any other real need for it. I don't do either of those things.

Standing still in front of a critter with some surge, staying in front of someone/something without eventually get pushed into it, backing up a few feet because you just swam past something that could be interesting (sure, you could helicopter turn, swim swim swim, heli again and swim back to what you wanted to see...), when working on something (eg tangled line) and needing to slightly reposition, ....