knees down

[dlndavid]

I have seen alot of divers (films) that do their kicks with the knees down. My father (not a diver) watched a video of one of my dives and commented about my knees being down was not a proper technic. I know we strive to be streamlined, so I guess this is something I should work on. Thoughts?

 

[Firecrizzotch]

I have seen alot of divers (films) that do their kicks with the knees down. My father (not a diver) watched a video of one of my dives and commented about my knees being down was not a proper technic. I know we strive to be streamlined, so I guess this is something I should work on. Thoughts?

I dont' know if you and I are on the same page, but I've seen many divers use a modified kick where they are bent at the knees with their feet above their body. To my best understanding, this is to minimize the amount of silt that is kicked up from the bottom. By moving the downward force from the fins away from the bottom, the likelihood of stirring up the bottom is greatly decreased. Same reason that many people like the frog kick.
I could see where you wouldn't be as hydrodynamic as using a straight leg flutter kick, but I believe that this kick has it's place and that its not simply bad technique...but as alway I could be wrong
Anybody else got any thoughts?

 

[Diver0001]

I have seen alot of divers (films) that do their kicks with the knees down. My father (not a diver) watched a video of one of my dives and commented about my knees being down was not a proper technic. I know we strive to be streamlined, so I guess this is something I should work on. Thoughts?

Getting horizontal (what you want) is a matter of having the right amount of weight but just as important having it placed in the right locations. It's a matter of trial and error. The feet down posture, in my experience, is often related to having too much weight on the weightbelt.

"Feeling" when you're horizontal isn't as straightforward as it sounds. In fact it often "feels" a bit like head-down, especially if you're not used to it..... Your buddy can see if you are horizontal better than you can feel it, especially in the beginning.

R..

 

[jagfish]

Have a look at Diver0001's picture...

 

[MechDiver]

I took the poster to mean he was using a bicycle kick instead of a flutter.
Not a frog. Most rec divers don't use frog kicks.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I took the poster to mean he was using a bicycle kick instead of a flutter.
Not a frog. Most rec divers don't use frog kicks.

Possibly it means that his knees are dropped below the "slipstream" created by his upper body ... which is common in newer divers. It's caused by either being overweighted or by not having your weights properly distributed.

To respond to the original post, being "knees down" means that as you swim you must push more water than necessary out of your path ... which is just extra work.

To correct the problem, think of your body as a "see-saw", and you've got too much weight on the lower side. You need to balance out the see-saw. You can accomplish this in several ways ... the correct way will depend on what's causing the problem.

Do a weight check and see if you're overweighted (search for weight check in here, there are several posts that tell you how). If you're properly weighted, try moving your cylinder higher up on your BCD, or moving weights higher up on your body (if you're using ankle weights, replace them with weights in BCD or weight belt).

If the issue cannot be resolved by removing or redistributing weights, then you'll probably require additional training to correct the problem. A competent instructor or DM should be able to help you out.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MechDiver]

Possibly it means that his knees are dropped below the "slipstream" created by his upper body ... which is common in newer divers. It's caused by either being overweighted or by not having your weights properly distributed.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Or, by not knowing how to kick correctly.

Everything in the dive world is not due to being overweighted or trim. Some people simply need to be shown how to do something better.

 

[dlndavid]

Thanks for all the replies. I have done alot of reading of proper weighting and being new to diving, have trouble descending without a good supply of lead. I will have to work on all these technics in combination as it seems it is not as straight forward as one might think. Just diving for recreation, so it may take a few years to gain the experience.
Thanks again for all the input.

David

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Or, by not knowing how to kick correctly.

Everything in the dive world is not due to being overweighted or trim. Some people simply need to be shown how to do something better.

True ... and sometimes the root cause of a problem isn't readily apparent due to symptoms.

But, whenever troubleshooting a problem, one should start with the most common causes ...

.... Bob