As I've tried to learn how to frog kick, I've found that I always feel like I'm twisting my ankles too much in order to "touch my heels together". What am I doing wrong? I see in this thread that I'm supposed to keep my knees somewhat together (not a lot of movement) and yet bring my heels together. How do you do that without twisting your ankles?
How to kick effectively?
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For my aged brain, I need to keep things simple. I have kicks I use for speed, for positioning and for silt sensitive areas.
What diving situations would the frog, modified frog, breaststroke, be used over one another ? Or are they are considered equally effective ?
What diving situations would the frog, modified frog, breaststroke, be used over one another ? Or are they are considered equally effective ?
+1 for this for the OP.
Slow down and feel the water. Try this in a pool or open water with no current. Start by hovering in place, quietly. No arm or leg movement. Breathe easily. Then make your first kick... slooowly. Feel the water on your fin/foot and against your body as you move. If you are doing it correctly, you should feel the pressure of the fin directly corresponding to your movement. Be aware of your whole body and how it feels gliding through the water. Be streamlined and aware of your environment. Let the fin do the work. I like to think that I'm kicking with my whole body, not just my legs. Be fluid like the water. Slow is smooth... Smooth is fast.
Slow might be smooth and smooth might be fast, but sometimes, slow is just....slow.
All kidding aside. I flutter because I frequently dive in currents. I modify flutter, ankle kick or frog kick when I need small slow movements. I should work on my frog kick more as practice for when I dive Cenotes and wrecks.
I think the kicks on that video are deliberately slow to provide a chance to see the steps involved.
Sometimes fast is just slow - too many people try to kick quickly and unwittingly end up bicycling which means they are getting nowhere in a hurry so they try to speed up even more and so on.
A slow deliberate flutter kick can be very effective as can frog kick etc - it is all about picking the right stroke for the right moment.
Frog kicking is simple in theory. Bend your knees to bring the feet closer to you butt. Then push the feet back and outwards, and finally pull them forcibly together. As you squeeze the water between your legs, you glide forward. Fins will make this even more efficient, especially if you can rotate your ankles a bit (which is lovely with bare feet in a pool too). This is best practiced in the shallow end of the pool as your friend is watching and giving feedback. Keep your hands on the edge and only pay attention to leg movement. What is important is a) symmetry of movement and b) the feel that your legs actually grab and push the warter. Something like this:
Feet are not needed for turns and reversing. There are at least two ways of reversing with hands: the reverse breaststroke (inwards) and the palm propeller movement (needs less space sideways but is quite physical). Legs have stronger muscles and are often preferred for reversing. With your fins however, maybe not. The reverse kick also works without fins as your legs grab the water. Split fins have their plusses, but especially cave divers dislike the line trap in the middle. For accurate turns, the palm is wonderfull. Just note that it can be both horizontal and vertical. Move the hand horizontally, turn it, and push the water sideways. Repeat. Legs, again, are stronger, and often preferred. I actually reverse and turn on a weekly basis using hand techniques in a pool while freediving and dwelling on the bottom. Whatever gear you have, learn to use it, and avoid environments where the gear poses a risk. Split fins can be great, or they can kill you, but so can a tasty bit of beef.
Why on earth would you need the frog kick? Are you planning on becoming a cave diver who is sometimes forced (by the ceiling) to the close proximity of a muddy floor, and must thus direct the thrust sideways to avoid ending up in a mud cloud? If you dive in an ocean where there is twenty feet (or a mile) of water then it really does not matter how you kick. The flutter kick is simple, easy on the joints, efficient, and powerfull. And near the bottom it lifts a cloud of mud, but...
Feet are not needed for turns and reversing. There are at least two ways of reversing with hands: the reverse breaststroke (inwards) and the palm propeller movement (needs less space sideways but is quite physical). Legs have stronger muscles and are often preferred for reversing. With your fins however, maybe not. The reverse kick also works without fins as your legs grab the water. Split fins have their plusses, but especially cave divers dislike the line trap in the middle. For accurate turns, the palm is wonderfull. Just note that it can be both horizontal and vertical. Move the hand horizontally, turn it, and push the water sideways. Repeat. Legs, again, are stronger, and often preferred. I actually reverse and turn on a weekly basis using hand techniques in a pool while freediving and dwelling on the bottom. Whatever gear you have, learn to use it, and avoid environments where the gear poses a risk. Split fins can be great, or they can kill you, but so can a tasty bit of beef.
Why on earth would you need the frog kick? Are you planning on becoming a cave diver who is sometimes forced (by the ceiling) to the close proximity of a muddy floor, and must thus direct the thrust sideways to avoid ending up in a mud cloud? If you dive in an ocean where there is twenty feet (or a mile) of water then it really does not matter how you kick. The flutter kick is simple, easy on the joints, efficient, and powerfull. And near the bottom it lifts a cloud of mud, but...
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Well, no one in the US can see the video.
Yeah... we don't use hands. Fins and fins alone should be the diver's motile force. Less chance of scaring the fishies. You won't disturb your trim and you won't silt out the place if you don't use your hands. It looks like you're swatting skeeters under water.
The ocean is full of silt. In order to get a gander under many outcroppings, you need to be close to the bottom and you don't want to kick while in close proximity. Also, you'll find that divers using the frogkick usually have a decidedly lower SAC due to the inherent efficiency in the kick. I can do either a flutter or a frog kick, and I rarely use the former.
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