Proper Finning Technique

[Woland]

What have y'all been taught and what do you find works best with various fins?

I was taught to keep my legs straight and mainly use my hips to "pivot" my legs up and down.

A buddy I was diving with said he prefered to pretend like he was climbing stairs (i.e. knees bent, "stepping" through the water). That seemed weird to me, but he definitely swam faster than me. He was using split fins, while I was using Jet Fins.

I've also found that with one pair of fins (Mares Plana Avanti X3) that the hip method makes the bones on the tops of my feet hurt a bit after strenuous kicking, and that with the ScubaPro Jet Fins (not split) that my ankles hurt.

Any tips?

Thanks.

Woland

 

[JRScuba]

I have a pair of Sherwood Trek split fins. Doing the straight leg (Flutter kick I think it's called ) , moving feet up and down about 12" gives me power plus.

I also have a pair of ScubaPro Twin Jets. After awhile
my thighs start to ache. Propulsion is not very fast with them either.

I sure that others will give you their comments. Listen to them all and then make your own decision.

 

[Cold_Under_Here]

I can't give exact proper finning techniques...I can just tell you want I like.
I like frog kicks; they give me a nice push and graceful glide through the water. I've seen people use frog kicks (ala DIR gurus), and just blitz through the water. I seem to automatically/subconsiously start flutter kicking, hard habit to break and I ALWAYS manage to kick up silt.

Flutter kicks are out of fashion. :14:

 

[Jamdiver]

Started out using flutter kicks with small strokes and fast movement.
I usually zipped around my dives, always in front blah blah, although suprisingly not the first to run low on air.
When using flutter kicks with my arms tucked in I found that the kicks would rotate my body a bit :11:.

After seeing a buddy in split fins doing frog kicks and after a couple months of lurking on Scubaboard :14:, I grew curious to see what all the hype was about.
Tried out frog kicks, found it to be more relaxing, graceful, less taxing on my muscles and somewhat easier to maintain my horizontal profile whilst diving. Oh and did I mention it improved my air consumption, lol.
I've also found that with frog kicks it's next to impossible to stir up silt or sediment if they're done properly.

Now I find flutter kicks to be tiring and only use them occasionally during a dive.
So in conclusion frog kicks are the way to go .
Seriously though I'd practice a few different type of kicks during your dives and see which fits your style the best and is most comfortable.

 

[Woland]

Thanks everyone!

I switch to frog kicks when my feet / ankles hurt from flutter kicking, and I seem to be as fast, but yeah I seem to tend towards flutter kicks subconciously.

I grew up swimming competitively (boy, would I suck now) and I always wished I was allowed to swim breast-stroke (I got stuck with butterfly ), because when I get tired or want to catch up on some breaths while swimming for fun, breast-stroke always seems the least strenuous stroke and almost, or just, as fast. (And if this doesn't make any sense, breast-stroke uses a frog-like kick.)

Are there real benefits to one kick style or the other for certain diving situations? What type of fins are best for each style?

Thanks!

Woland

PS - Do anyone else's feet or ankles hurt after long surface swims? Do I have a technique problem / bad fitting fins, etc.?

 

[utnapistim]

Frog kick with Cressi Frog fins works the best for me now.

With split fins and frog-kick I was usually slower than the rest of the group and had to make an effort to keep up.

I think most split fins are specially designed for flutter kick.

 

[Bruciebabe]

This is a really good article on the subject:
http://www.gue.com/classroom/propulsion/index.shtml

I personally prefer Mares Quattros because they work however you fin, are very powerful and are good for manoevering. Perhaps why they are so widely used by dive pros and tech divers.

 

[DennisW]

The flutter kick as you describe it is the correct method. The way your friend kicks is called a bicycle kick and is very inefficient. I don't see how he can out swim you unless he is in very good shape. People that use a bicycle kick generally tend to use Force Fins. They are good for that type of kick.

 

[D_B]

...
I was taught to keep my legs straight and mainly use my hips to "pivot" my legs up and down.

That is what I was taught as well , but I think I end up using my knees/ankles more, in a small flutter kick (Atomic splits)

...
A buddy I was diving with said he prefered to pretend like he was climbing stairs (i.e. knees bent, "stepping" through the water). That seemed weird to me, but he definitely swam faster than me. He was using split fins, while I was using Jet Fins.

...Woland

Maybe this only works with splitfins?
Funny , when I get tired on our 200(?) yard surface swim out from the beach , I'll switch to the "stepping" bicycle kick and it speeds me up compared to the rest of the group , I can feel a good push forwards (actually, backwards , as I'm swimming on my back) as I do it , gives my legs a rest (I don't use it swimming forward on my belly though)
DB

 

[fairybasslet]

When dove at Epcot and we used Scuba pro split fins (the first time I used them) the guide there told me to just flutter kick with my ankles. I thought that was kind of weird, but I tried it and I went pretty effortlessly. Of course, you're in a big fish tank so there's not much current. I have fins that are 25 years old (belonged to my late husband). Don't know what they are, but I generally frog kick. I'd like to learn all these other kicks I've heard about, helicopter, backing up. etc. There should be a class just in finning technique.