SSI/TDI v PADI Tec Training

[WarrenZ]

Check out

 

[mockney]

Thanks Warren, great video the guy makes it look so simple, but very helpful... I have the wrong fins I didn't realise the importance of the sides walls.

 

[toby43]

Hmmm sounds like I need to master this skill, so any advice on how?. I'm proficient with the frog kick and generally use this style for the majority of my dives.. But reverse frog kick, I just feel like i'm pushing my legs straight back and when I try to bring them forward (fins outstretched) to give me the reverse momentum I just go nowhere... well ok as mentioned earlier I need to practise... I will make it my new safety stop activity and forget about my normal practise of blowing water rings

Dont worry about it too much, I'm sure your instructor will show you and you can practise. Doesnt matter if you are a bit pat a cake in early stages, it does take a bit of time to get the knack. There are videos on u tube. A good instructor will help with all this. Whoever you chose should get you right with trim, buoyancy, turns etc with two cylinders before you start playing with stages. If they give you its not part of the PADI syllabus yadda - go with someone else. A good tech instructor knows that their reputation follows you.

 

[WarrenZ]

The video makes it look easy however I am good at starting to backup and ending up coming off of level and pitching head down. It takes practice.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Thanks Warren, great video the guy makes it look so simple, but very helpful... I have the wrong fins I didn't realise the importance of the sides walls.

Unless you have split fins there is no wrong fin. I can back kick in any fin and the only difference is the speed with which I make progress and the technique used. Stiffer fins allow you to move faster yes. Soft fins also require less power in the stroke to account for the flex of the fin.

I have back kicked in Oceanic V-12's, Bio fins, and atomic splits. They are not efficient but they can be made to work somewhat in very calm water. You won't go fast but you will go.

Paddle fins are the best choice. I learned to back kick in the old Aqualung blades. Still have those fins and maybe because I learned in those, which are relatively long and soft compared to my Hollis F-1's and HOG Tech fins, I don't have trouble making others work.

The biggest mistake I see divers new to the kick make is to try and use too much power, have their legs too wide, and to use too long of a stroke.

 

[KevinNM]

The video makes it look easy however I am good at starting to backup and ending up coming off of level and pitching head down. It takes practice.

You may not be not straightening your legs out before the pull, I did that for a while. Keep working it, everyone seems to start out where they pull themselves to the surface in reverse.

 

[toby43]

Unless you have split fins there is no wrong fin. I can back kick in any fin and the only difference is the speed with which I make progress and the technique used. Stiffer fins allow you to move faster yes. Soft fins also require less power in the stroke to account for the flex of the fin.

I have back kicked in Oceanic V-12's, Bio fins, and atomic splits. They are not efficient but they can be made to work somewhat in very calm water. You won't go fast but you will go.

Paddle fins are the best choice. I learned to back kick in the old Aqualung blades. Still have those fins and maybe because I learned in those, which are relatively long and soft compared to my Hollis F-1's and HOG Tech fins, I don't have trouble making others work.

The biggest mistake I see divers new to the kick make is to try and use too much power, have their legs too wide, and to use too long of a stroke.

No wrong fin? Yes there are, ones that dont work for you. Try some different ones out on your course, jetfins, hollis, apeks etc if you can. Eg a good fin like Mares Avanti Quattro wont cut it with twinset and 2 stages, they just wont move you through the water efficiently.

 

[boulderjohn]

There are two distinctly different ways to backfin that I can use. One requires a good sidewall, and the other does not. I can back fin in any fin I have ever tried so far. Once I had a student show up for a refresher class with the wrong fins--Atomic split fins that were way too big for him. I ended up putting him in my fins and wearing the Atomics, even though they were far too big for me. I back kick a lot when doing basic pool work, and I had no trouble with them.

 

[phoenix31tt]

The biggest lesson for me when i posted this before... is take your time... to much power or speed and you end up tilting one way or the other.

Practice on the surface (it seems silly but it works). It does take a lot of practice to perfect (as with most things), so just keep practicing on every dive. I back kick on every dive even if it isn't necessary

 

[boulderjohn]

The first important thing to remember about back finning is that everything that is "normal" in kicking propels you forward. You need to minimize that force, or your recovery strokes will cancel out the benefits of the propelling strokes.

The second thing to remember is that in the mathematical formula that determines the force of your stroke, every factor is a multiplier, but velocity is squared before multiplying, meaning that the speed of the stroke is by far the most important factor in determining the propelling force. Therefore, your recovery stroke, when your fins are getting back into position for the next propelling stroke, must be S L O W.