Reverse Kick

[lv2dive]

...Treat it like you're playing music. Play it as slow as you need to to make it consistent, then bring the speed back up till it's where you want it to be.
But keep in mind that fast short finning is never more effective as slow long fin strokes.

This thread has been one of the most verbally eloquent I've read on the subject of back kicks! I have nothing to add other than to reinforce the "long slow" concept. I've gotten much more consistent with my back kick but the one thing that will throw me off is getting impatient/frustrated/in a hurry and not taking the time to build momentum into a little bit of a glide before I load another kick. "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

 

[farsidefan1]

Note to the OP. You can do the back kick just fine with a jacket style BC or a back inflate BC. You absolutely do not need to switch to a backplate wing configuration. You just have to get your trim horizontal. It is easy to do in any of the above mentioned rigs PERIOD. Just work on trim and do lots of practice. There are a ridiculous number of posts arguing for the use of various styles of BC's. The bottom line is each has it's proponents and if you are a tech diver you will find most like the backplate wing configuration but for a rec diver taking photos, you jacket style works perfectly fine. Split fins - not so much

 

[Blue Sparkle]

You can do the back kick just fine with a jacket style BC or a back inflate BC....It is easy to do in any of the above mentioned rigs PERIOD.

I might have to contest the part I highlighted in bold though

 

[MRTdiver]

Sorry if I'm being confusing. Here is what I mean:

1) Forward frog kick, propulsion portion (they are calling it "power stroke"). Fin blades are perpendicular to the bottom/surface:

View attachment 107041

2) As compared to this, showing the "power stroke" of the back kick. Here the fin blades are "opposite" to the frog kick in that they are parallel to the bottom/surface: (It's not labelled on screen, but I took this screen shot right in the middle of her power stroke.)

View attachment 107042

I like how you dissected this down (from post #30). Yeah we usually hear the Back kick is simply the Frog kick in reverse. Thinking of it in these terms never worked for me and the fin orientation in the pics show one of the minor discrepancies between the kicks (at least for me).

Oh sure, just when I thought I had determined that the blades were only supposed to be parallel to the bottom :splat:

Don’t get flustered by various descriptions of the reverse kick. Some ppl may effectively back up but think of it in different terms. Some are doing it the orthodox method as they were taught from an agency vs. something else. I believe any method contradictory to the videos here is probably not as efficient. It may help to write down the step by step process in your own words, as we have outlined in the thread and posted the videos.

To Scuba_Noob, Blue Sparkle, et al I say…

If you try and try the Back Kick and get discouraged, then compose the steps of doing the Reverse kick in your own words. But then take a hiatus (a break) from even trying to perform this kick. Forget about it. Go diving and have fun. Also dive with the intent on getting your buoyancy and trim spot on. When/if these issues are finally resolved then remember your steps (review the videos) and give it a try at that time. Especially if you hear a voice say, “Use the force (insert your name here).” This is the DIY method, and probably longer more tedious to figure out.

Of course the easy way would be to look for professional guidance. I would seek out the GUE folks. They have excellent instructors. Reverse kick is covered in the Fundies class where they also video tape you. Then there’s UTD Essentials as well. Scuba_Noob - Mark Gottfried (Victoria, B.C) is in your neck of the woods. (US, MX, Canada UTD instructors). Anyways, a mentor can watch you and make on-the-spot corrections which naturally is best.

 

[TSandM]

The problem with dropping the knees on the power stroke is common enough that it has a (rather rude) specific name . . . you are not alone!

One of the biggest things people have to overcome in learning this kick is to keep the loading phase slow enough that it doesn't push you forward. One way to play with this is to do what I think of as a "modified back kick", which is just sculling from the ankles. That kind of avoids the whole leg extension part, while schooling the appropriate changes in fin orientation and ankle movement. (And you can move backwards surprisingly well doing it!)

 

[divad]

One way to play with this is to do what I think of as a "modified back kick", which is just sculling from the ankles. That kind of avoids the whole leg extension part, while schooling the appropriate changes in fin orientation and ankle movement. (And you can move backwards surprisingly well doing it!)

Yeah, I was playing around with that yesterday during a day of going back to basics (ie, stopping being a spaz). I had forgotten about it due to inactivity. It kind of sorts things out.