Importance of back kick in Cave Diving?

[rjack321]

Please clarify this. Are you saying a "good" back kick is necessary to pass C1, but a lesser, "working" back kick is sufficient to earn a Fundies tech pass?

GUE-F rec pass standard
"Demonstrate three propulsion techniques, including comprehension of the components necessary for a successful backward kick"

GUE-F tech pass standard
"Demonstrate proficiency in four propulsion techniques that would be appropriate in delicate and/or silty environments, including competence in the backward kick and helicopter turns"

C1 standard
"Comfortably demonstrate at least three propulsion techniques that would be appropriate in delicate and/or silty environments; one of these kicks must be the backward kick."

Proficient = competent or skilled in doing or using something

It needs to work for a tech pass. If you are a bit wobbly or rise up, break trim, etc then that wouldn't be a comfortable demonstration sufficient for C1. Seems pretty clear in the text.
https://www.gue.com/files/Standards_and_Procedures/GUE-Standards-v9.pdf

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

OT: I think recreational instructors should master the back kick. I’ll shut up now

 

[Nirvana]

When I was learning back kick, my back kick was good enough to hold position in one spot but to weak to propel me backwards with the force I needed. It was good enough to pass UTD Essentials but at Tech-1 level I was required to have a solid back kick. I would assume that GUE also works the same way.

For my Fundamentals tech pass, I had to swim a certain distance (don’t remember how long) doing a back kick.

 

[Lorenzoid]

So we have “demonstrate proficiency in ... including competence in” a back kick for the tech pass versus “comfortably demonstrate” a back kick for the C1 pass. The text is clear as mud, er, silt to me. I guess I’ll know it when I get there. Three-plus years and counting, working on this stuff.

 

[Ayisha]

For the benefit of others reading this, the GUE flutter is not quite like what the rest of the world thinks of as a flutter kick.

Haha, true. To do a flutter kick, it also doesn't feel anything like what it's supposed to look like, IMHO, which is why there might be a disconnect. You might think that you're doing what the instructor is doing, but the video shows otherwise.

It wasn't until the instructor manipulated my feet and I realized "THAT'S what I'm supposed to be doing? Oh, now I get it", and then I did it. I found the backwards kick very challenging, but so was the flutter. I find the flutter a challenging kick to sustain, since power is not something I have much of, but short bursts are ok.

 

[Ayisha]

I agree that a back kick is also a good skill to have for recreational divers. I continue to struggle with it. Of course, I don't dedicate enough practice time to it either.

The backwards kick is a good skill to have in recreational diving. I find that while doing u/w photography in an environment with current or surge bringing you closer to your subject, it's really helpful to use a back kick.

It definitely takes a lot of practice, and having a suitable instructor or mentor really helps. My GUE instructor met me sometimes at a pool and o/w for months before my Fundies course and worked with me and/or my classmates on swimming efficiency, static trim, timed ascents/descents, and propulsion. Yes, we were all lucky to have such a dedicated instructor.

He demonstrated the back kick in the pool. He manipulated my feet precisely. He set up pylons behind me on the pool deck to mimic separating columns and had me slide them using the backwards kick movements. I practiced in shallow water with him and mentors, and on skills or regular dives with him or mentors. It took a few months for me to develop a consistent back kick that moved me significantly.

Some of the common culprits are dropped knees, being off-balance, thrust propelling you upwards or downwards, and preventing backward propulsion by not allowing the glide phase of the stroke.

 

[CptTightPants21]

So we have “demonstrate proficiency in ... including competence in” a back kick for the tech pass versus “comfortably demonstrate” a back kick for the C1 pass. The text is clear as mud, er, silt to me. I guess I’ll know it when I get there. Three-plus years and counting, working on this stuff.

Fundies--You move backward. Could be a little stop and go, could be a little ugly, but you are going backwards. Cave 1--your back kick is smooth, consistent, and would impress an OW diver.

 

[johnkendall]

Please clarify this. Are you saying a "good" back kick is necessary to pass C1, but a lesser, "working" back kick is sufficient to earn a Fundies tech pass?

For a rec pass at Fundies I want to see the mechanics of a back kick. Potentially this means 1 in 10 kicks actually take you backwards. For a tech pass, you need to go backwards when asked, and be starting to use that kick during all drills. For cave 1 (or tech 1) I don't want to ever have to mention back kick because it's happening automatically all the time that's it's needed. I have awarded numerous provisionals or fails at higher levels due to poor back kicks.

 

[Doc Harry]

In order to get a tech pass for Fundies, my GUE instructor required that I successfully maintain position by back kicking into a very stiff current while doing air sharing drills with him.

I didn't pass, and &#$% GUE.

As a photographer and cave diver, I fully mastered the back kick by practicing for hours in a swimming pool. It's such an essential and useful kick, especially for photography.

Back kick into a stiff current while doing air sharing drills? Bring it on, baby. I can do full-on heavy back kicks into current, or gentle modified frog back kicks to back out from tight spots under shelves without silting out.

You shouldn't be allowed to carry a camera within 10 feet of the reef if you can't back kick. I'll shut up now.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .

You shouldn't be allowed to carry a camera within 10 feet of the reef if you can't back kick.

I agree with that! But I would also say a back kick is easier when you don't have steel doubles affecting your momentum, a drysuit/undergarment affecting your range of motion, and bricks on your feet, er, I mean Jet fins punishing your calves. My back kick has been serving me well on coral reef dives since Fundies--my featherlight yet stiff Deep 6 Eddy fins are the bomb for back kicks--but everything seems harder in the full tech gear.