Where can you teach me about fin/kick technique?

[Knfmkr]

I'm new to scuba diving. Did probably like many others before me...just bought gear and jumped in the water figuring I'd learn along the way. Hahaha

Well...turns out I have no idea what I'm doing. I can swim just fine (albeit...the slower, old-man version) and know my strokes well enough.

So what's the proper technique for making these fins do what I want them to do?

FWIW, I have a pair of old Jet fins as well as some new Oceanic split fins. Tried both. They are sized properly and I'm using 5mm dive boots with them. I have them strapped on properly too.

The Jet fins feel like they're only holding on to half of my foot. The splits make me feel like I'm overextending at the ankle.

I have fairly strong legs (more squat-strength than endurance strength) so that's not an issue.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be "pointing my toe" when kicking? Or doing more of a "stepping" action with my foot.

Would love some pointers/advice from anyone, really.

I'm excited about getting into scuba...despite a late start at 41 y.o.
Will be starting OW Cert in mid-May. Hoping to have a grip on my gear ahead of then.

Thanks in advance!

Dan

 

[boulderjohn]

Dan, 41 is not a late start! You may well be below the median age for new divers--I'm not sure.

Different people mean different things when they talk about using fins properly. If you are talking about the typical flutter kick, you definitely do not want a stepping motion. If I understand you properly, you are talking about a knee pumping action similar to a bicycle. That is actually called bicycle kicking, and it is extremely inefficient. With a normal flutter kick, your legs should be pretty straight, and they move gently up and down with a relatively small motion. Just let your feet be relaxed as you kick. You are rarely trying to cover a lot of ground in scuba--it is usually very, very gentle.

Split fins are a little different. It seems that a little more knee flexing on the kick seems to help them perform better. That's what I'm told at least--I don't use them.

I will bet that you will get a lot of responses in this thread telling you not to use the flutter kick. I will not tell you that, but I will say that I don't use it often. Many other kicks are available, including the frog kick, the modified frog kick, the modified flutter kick, the back kick, and the helicopter turn. You can look those terms up on youtube and see lots of demonstrations. In my experience, you will do a lot better if you get a good instructor to teach you those techniques. Be careful, though, because lot of instructors cannot do any of them. That is because the overwhelming number of divers in the world get along just fine with the flutter kick, and for most people, that is all you need.

 

[redacted]

I'd bet there are divers in your local area who would be happy to help you. Where are you?

 

[Colliam7]

So what's the proper technique for making these fins do what I want them to do?

Great question. More than a few people become invovled in scuba and find, when they strap on a pair of fins, that what they thought they knew about swimming seems to get in the way. Many of us are simply not used to trying to kick with big things attached to our feet. And, to one of your points, I personally find that Jetfins seem to have (or feel like they have) a shorter foot pocket. I love my Jets, just find that they feel a bit different on my feet than my Mares Quattros.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be "pointing my toe" when kicking? Or doing more of a "stepping" action with my foot.

Diagnosis from afar is always fraught with danger - a description that makes sense to the poster may be interpreted incorrectly by a well-intended respondent. For example, my immediate reaction to the question about a 'stepping' action is that you are wondering if a bicycle kick is what you are supposed to do, and I would say NO-O-O-O-O-O!. But, it could well be that I am mis-understanding what you mean.

Would love some pointers/advice from anyone, really.

The best thing to do is to get in the water with someone who can observe what you are doing. While we can give you tons of advice online, having someone (a knowledgeable someone) next to you in the water is an invaluable resource. That may be a swim instructor or a scuba instructor. I personally prefer to shoot u/w video of students, so I can a) analyze what they are actually doing - sometimes, I simply can't figure out exactly what is happening, except in slow motion - and b) show them what they look like. A picture is worth a thousand words. Having said that, there are any number of videos on YouTube that you might want to look at as well. Simply go to YouTube and search with terms such as 'scuba' and 'finning', or 'kicking'. I particularly like some of the UTD videos.

I'm excited about getting into scuba...despite a late start at 41 y.o.

As several have already said, you are by no means late. I received my OW certification at 52.

 

[Imla]

You could start at YouTube.... John Kendall, a GUE instructor, has made this "tutorial" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5wliityRuU

Gareth Burrows has made a video of Back-kicks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L9WQmgA41Y

And Faisal Khalaf has made this one of general essentials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-p7Pm0tSWM

Enjoy

 

[Knfmkr]

Thanks for the replies. I'll watch the vids once I get some downtime.
I'm thinking mostly of the mechanics of the foot/ankle/calf.
I know stair-stepping is bad....watched a pretty funny video on it a couple days ago.
I feel very compelled to point my toes (go ahead, call me twinkle-toes) when I'm in the fins...either set. This doesn't produce the desired results. I got more thrust by letting my foot bend more before each kick. I don't want to start any bad habits.
Now you can understand.

 

[Imla]

I think especially the video with Faisal will answer quite a few of your questions. He really does the four basic kicks and the backwards kick with elegance.

 

[Knfmkr]

Good vids. Thx for sharing.

 

[Steve_C]

I regularly swim laps in a pool wearing a pair of closed heel fins from my snorkeling days. Other than wearing a pair of neoprene socks to avoid blisters they feel comfortable. I normally do a flutter kick but can vary it in several ways (Including a slow scissors and one with a bent knee that keeps the thrust away from the bottom)

My normal scuba fins are splits, open heel, worn with booties. I recently was looking at a pair of quatros for those "heavier work days" and because my splits don't fit with my new heavier boots.

So I took both sets of scuba fins to the pool, along with the boots to swim with both. Doing a flutter kick. Neither felt comfortable in the pool. Especially the quatros. Which was odd since I have literally hundreds of dives on the splits and they are extremely comfortable.

So took the quatros to a nearby quarry and did a dive with them. They felt fine and I had a nice dive.

My conclusion was that for me anyway it was impossible to test a scuba fin while swimming on the surface. There was not enough flexibility at the ankle with either boot/fin. Maybe it was just me but the only way the fins could be evaluated was while on scuba under the water. Probably because to do my scuba kick at the surface I would have to be lifting the fins out of the water.

 

[danvolker]

I'm new to scuba diving. Did probably like many others before me...just bought gear and jumped in the water figuring I'd learn along the way. Hahaha

Well...turns out I have no idea what I'm doing. I can swim just fine (albeit...the slower, old-man version) and know my strokes well enough.

So what's the proper technique for making these fins do what I want them to do?

FWIW, I have a pair of old Jet fins as well as some new Oceanic split fins. Tried both. They are sized properly and I'm using 5mm dive boots with them. I have them strapped on properly too.

The Jet fins feel like they're only holding on to half of my foot. The splits make me feel like I'm overextending at the ankle.

I have fairly strong legs (more squat-strength than endurance strength) so that's not an issue.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be "pointing my toe" when kicking? Or doing more of a "stepping" action with my foot.

Would love some pointers/advice from anyone, really.

I'm excited about getting into scuba...despite a late start at 41 y.o.
Will be starting OW Cert in mid-May. Hoping to have a grip on my gear ahead of then.

Thanks in advance!

Dan

Personally, I think the best way to learn propulsion underwater, is without the huge drag of the tank and BC--which dumbs down the bio-feedback on everything you are doing either right or wrong.

Also in this theme....if you can learn optimal kick strokes with freedive fins, their long length and the low frequency high amplitude nature of the kicks you would practice with them FURTHER EXAGERATES the kick shapes and results.

Best would be a soft pair....and you can get Cressi Gara 3000 LD's for around $100....these are decent freedive fins, and good for snorkel or scuba.

You want to practice the kicks holding your breath and at least a few feet deep, so you can have full amplitude in each kick without the fins popping out of the water. Technical freediving, with no concern for depth beyond 10 feet. Just perfection in kick shapes, perfect economy of motion, and maximum glide between kicks.....Dead neutral weight from a weight belt pairs perfectly with a slick wetsuit is also required.....or if in a pool, probably a weight belt --you do need to hit perfect neutral.

I don't know if this interests you--if it does, I will take this much further.