Different Types of Kicks: Do They Really Matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\nPeople scuba dive for a variety of reasons. Some seek adventure and discovery. Others journey to cultivate inner peace. Still, others use diving as a way of boosting physical fitness. Whether these are the motivating factors or something else entirely, showing off mad kicking skills rarely if ever, is on the list.<\/p>\n
In fact, do any of the reasons for scuba diving need kicking technique when flutter kicking propels you through the water just fine? The answer? Yes. All scuba diving, done for any reason, requires proper kicks.<\/p>\n
Perhaps a paradigm shift is in order. Divers don\u2019t merely kick. They fin. The idea of finning is a concept that lends purpose and grace to the notion of a kick. Finning on a rudimentary level means moving through the water (so, kicking). Finning involves finesse, and finesse improves your diving experience.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/sebastian-pena-lambarri-44r12Ck_CoI-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHow Does Finning Improve Diving?<\/strong><\/h2>\nYour swim kicks impact several vital aspects of scuba diving:<\/a><\/p>\n\n- Efficiency<\/li>\n
- Adaptability<\/li>\n
- Safety<\/li>\n
- Environmental preservation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>\nMinimizing your scuba-diver-magazine-is-expanding-take-an-inside-look-at-the-fast-growing-publication is critical. The harder you work, the more air you will use. Further, the more effort you exert, the more fatigued you will become.<\/p>\n
Tiring yourself and needlessly consuming oxygen isn\u2019t wise things to do in the depts of the sea. Flutter kick swimming, especially done incorrectly, can cause both to happen.<\/p>\n
Finning correctly<\/a> in multiple ways makes you more efficient in motion.<\/p>\nAdaptability<\/strong><\/h3>\nSurprises abound underwater\u2014partly because you often explore territory new to you, and partly because it\u2019s the nature of the underwater world. It’s imperative that you be able to react instantly when the unexpected pops up.<\/p>\n
Flutter kick swimming isn\u2019t adequate in situations where you must turn and maneuver. Knowing multiple kicking techniques helps you avoid obstacles as well as gently follow and observe ocean life.<\/p>\n
Safety<\/strong><\/h3>\nSafety encompasses efficiency and adaptability. Employing various finning techniques preserves your health and life itself.<\/p>\n
A tragic accident highlights the magnitude of the kicking issue. In 2012, four divers died in Italy\u2019s Grotto Rosso cave<\/a><\/u>. Their kicks stirred up silt from the cave floor, completely obstructing their vision. They became disoriented, swam down a dead-end tunnel, and died before they could find their way out.<\/p>\nA more mundane example of the necessity of proper finning is at the end of your dive. Proper ascension to the surface is needed to avoid decompression sickness and possible injury from watercraft when you emerge from below. Correct kicking helps.<\/p>\n
Environmental preservation<\/strong><\/h3>\nJust as when hiking or otherwise exploring on land the tenet is to respect the environment and all life, so it is for the marine biome as well. A big part of scuba diving is appreciating beauty and life; therefore, leaving it undisturbed is paramount.<\/p>\n
One of the ways to ensure that life remains undisturbed is through appropriate techniques. Kicking the right way will avoid making a mess by creating a whirlwind of sediment to swirl up from the bottom, raining silt onto delicate life forms.<\/p>\n
When you kick efficiently, you also avoid inadvertently scraping your fins along reefs, walls, and wrecks. Such scraping may seem harmless and insignificant; however, it can cause significant damage.<\/p>\n
7 Types of Kicks for To Enhance Your Ability, Enjoyment<\/strong><\/h2>\nAdd these finning techniques to your repertoire of diving skills<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and increase your confidence and pleasure. They\u2019re not difficult, but they do take practice and repetition to execute properly (yes, even the basic flutter kick).<\/p>\nFlutter Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis kick involves alternating up-and-down motion of your legs and feet. Most people know flutter kicks; the key is knowing how to do flutter kicks as well as when to do them.<\/p>\n
This is the kick to use when you are quickly propelling forward. When you\u2019re in open water merely swimming to your destination, you can kick freely and powerfully.<\/p>\n
A full flutter kick involves the whole leg. You move your legs from the hips down to engage your muscles and get where you need to go.<\/p>\n
Modified Flutter Kick <\/strong><\/h3>\nThis flutter kick is also a good one for propulsion. It\u2019s especially useful when your pace is slower and your distance shorter than when using the full flutter kick.<\/p>\n
Bend your legs up at the knees, keeping your flippers elevated. Use the same primary kick stroke, only make the motion shorter. You\u2019ll move less from the hip and more with your fins.<\/p>\n
Bent-Knee Cave Diver Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nQuite like a modified flutter kick, this one is molasses slow. It\u2019s perfect in caves or other cramped environments and over silty floors. Its impact is insignificant, so you can get up close and personal to what you\u2019re viewing. Use the bent-knee cave diver kick, too, to slow yourself down when needed.<\/p>\n
Like the modified flutter kick, your knees are bent so that your feet are up and parallel to the ground. The motion is ever-so-slightly from the hip and ankles.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/aviv-perets-eLfDul2Uu8k-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFrog Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe frog kick is so named because it looks like the motion a frog make with its back legs while swimming across a pond. People use it in cave diving and other situations where there is the risk of kicking up silt.<\/p>\n
To execute this kick, slide your legs away from each other with your flippers flat. Next, in one motion bend your knees out slightly while turning your flippers out causing the bottoms to face each other. Finally, with the soles still facing each other, whoosh your legs together, gliding forward.<\/p>\n
Reverse Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nSometimes you\u2019ll want to move backward. It\u2019s much more efficient (read: consumes less air and conserves energy) than moving forward and looping around. When you want to back up, use the reverse kick.<\/p>\n
This simple kick can be a fun one. With legs straight and flippers touching, rotate your ankles outward so that your flippers point away from each other. Then, move your feet apart by spreading your legs. You\u2019ll drift backward. Repeat as necessary.<\/p>\n
Sculling Kick (A.K.A. Helicopter Kick)<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis is a turning maneuver executed in tight spaces or when you don\u2019t want to stir up clouds of sediment. It takes practice to master, but it’s well worth it to do so. If you become a regular scuba diver, the chances are high that you’ll be in a situation requiring a tight turn.<\/p>\n
This kick allows you to rotate yourself like a helicopter blade, straight around. Separate your fins as you execute back-and-forth-motions. While doing this, rotate your ankles and flippers in a small circle. Smooth and effective turning motion won\u2019t happen immediately, but with practice, you might find yourself playing helicopter for fun.<\/p>\n
Dolphin Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nFreedivers<\/a> use the dolphin kick. Divers employ this motion to move up and down the water column.<\/p>\nPicture how a dolphin moves, and you\u2019ll visualize this kick. A diver moves his legs, knees, and feet together, in a dolphin-like motion.<\/p>\n
Scissors Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nWe\u2019ve come full circle back to the fundamental flutter kick. The scissors kick (or split kick) is similar to the flutter kick, but whereas you kick your legs up and down in the flutter kick, you open and close them (like a pair of scissors) in this kick.<\/p>\n
It has the power of a flutter kick, but it doesn\u2019t take as much energy nor does it make a mess of things when you\u2019re finning over silt.<\/p>\n
Finning Technique is Also About the Flippers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHow Does Finning Improve Diving?<\/strong><\/h2>\nYour swim kicks impact several vital aspects of scuba diving:<\/a><\/p>\n\n- Efficiency<\/li>\n
- Adaptability<\/li>\n
- Safety<\/li>\n
- Environmental preservation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>\nMinimizing your scuba-diver-magazine-is-expanding-take-an-inside-look-at-the-fast-growing-publication is critical. The harder you work, the more air you will use. Further, the more effort you exert, the more fatigued you will become.<\/p>\n
Tiring yourself and needlessly consuming oxygen isn\u2019t wise things to do in the depts of the sea. Flutter kick swimming, especially done incorrectly, can cause both to happen.<\/p>\n
Finning correctly<\/a> in multiple ways makes you more efficient in motion.<\/p>\nAdaptability<\/strong><\/h3>\nSurprises abound underwater\u2014partly because you often explore territory new to you, and partly because it\u2019s the nature of the underwater world. It’s imperative that you be able to react instantly when the unexpected pops up.<\/p>\n
Flutter kick swimming isn\u2019t adequate in situations where you must turn and maneuver. Knowing multiple kicking techniques helps you avoid obstacles as well as gently follow and observe ocean life.<\/p>\n
Safety<\/strong><\/h3>\nSafety encompasses efficiency and adaptability. Employing various finning techniques preserves your health and life itself.<\/p>\n
A tragic accident highlights the magnitude of the kicking issue. In 2012, four divers died in Italy\u2019s Grotto Rosso cave<\/a><\/u>. Their kicks stirred up silt from the cave floor, completely obstructing their vision. They became disoriented, swam down a dead-end tunnel, and died before they could find their way out.<\/p>\nA more mundane example of the necessity of proper finning is at the end of your dive. Proper ascension to the surface is needed to avoid decompression sickness and possible injury from watercraft when you emerge from below. Correct kicking helps.<\/p>\n
Environmental preservation<\/strong><\/h3>\nJust as when hiking or otherwise exploring on land the tenet is to respect the environment and all life, so it is for the marine biome as well. A big part of scuba diving is appreciating beauty and life; therefore, leaving it undisturbed is paramount.<\/p>\n
One of the ways to ensure that life remains undisturbed is through appropriate techniques. Kicking the right way will avoid making a mess by creating a whirlwind of sediment to swirl up from the bottom, raining silt onto delicate life forms.<\/p>\n
When you kick efficiently, you also avoid inadvertently scraping your fins along reefs, walls, and wrecks. Such scraping may seem harmless and insignificant; however, it can cause significant damage.<\/p>\n
7 Types of Kicks for To Enhance Your Ability, Enjoyment<\/strong><\/h2>\nAdd these finning techniques to your repertoire of diving skills<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and increase your confidence and pleasure. They\u2019re not difficult, but they do take practice and repetition to execute properly (yes, even the basic flutter kick).<\/p>\nFlutter Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis kick involves alternating up-and-down motion of your legs and feet. Most people know flutter kicks; the key is knowing how to do flutter kicks as well as when to do them.<\/p>\n
This is the kick to use when you are quickly propelling forward. When you\u2019re in open water merely swimming to your destination, you can kick freely and powerfully.<\/p>\n
A full flutter kick involves the whole leg. You move your legs from the hips down to engage your muscles and get where you need to go.<\/p>\n
Modified Flutter Kick <\/strong><\/h3>\nThis flutter kick is also a good one for propulsion. It\u2019s especially useful when your pace is slower and your distance shorter than when using the full flutter kick.<\/p>\n
Bend your legs up at the knees, keeping your flippers elevated. Use the same primary kick stroke, only make the motion shorter. You\u2019ll move less from the hip and more with your fins.<\/p>\n
Bent-Knee Cave Diver Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nQuite like a modified flutter kick, this one is molasses slow. It\u2019s perfect in caves or other cramped environments and over silty floors. Its impact is insignificant, so you can get up close and personal to what you\u2019re viewing. Use the bent-knee cave diver kick, too, to slow yourself down when needed.<\/p>\n
Like the modified flutter kick, your knees are bent so that your feet are up and parallel to the ground. The motion is ever-so-slightly from the hip and ankles.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFrog Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe frog kick is so named because it looks like the motion a frog make with its back legs while swimming across a pond. People use it in cave diving and other situations where there is the risk of kicking up silt.<\/p>\n
To execute this kick, slide your legs away from each other with your flippers flat. Next, in one motion bend your knees out slightly while turning your flippers out causing the bottoms to face each other. Finally, with the soles still facing each other, whoosh your legs together, gliding forward.<\/p>\n
Reverse Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nSometimes you\u2019ll want to move backward. It\u2019s much more efficient (read: consumes less air and conserves energy) than moving forward and looping around. When you want to back up, use the reverse kick.<\/p>\n
This simple kick can be a fun one. With legs straight and flippers touching, rotate your ankles outward so that your flippers point away from each other. Then, move your feet apart by spreading your legs. You\u2019ll drift backward. Repeat as necessary.<\/p>\n
Sculling Kick (A.K.A. Helicopter Kick)<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis is a turning maneuver executed in tight spaces or when you don\u2019t want to stir up clouds of sediment. It takes practice to master, but it’s well worth it to do so. If you become a regular scuba diver, the chances are high that you’ll be in a situation requiring a tight turn.<\/p>\n
This kick allows you to rotate yourself like a helicopter blade, straight around. Separate your fins as you execute back-and-forth-motions. While doing this, rotate your ankles and flippers in a small circle. Smooth and effective turning motion won\u2019t happen immediately, but with practice, you might find yourself playing helicopter for fun.<\/p>\n
Dolphin Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nFreedivers<\/a> use the dolphin kick. Divers employ this motion to move up and down the water column.<\/p>\nPicture how a dolphin moves, and you\u2019ll visualize this kick. A diver moves his legs, knees, and feet together, in a dolphin-like motion.<\/p>\n
Scissors Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\nWe\u2019ve come full circle back to the fundamental flutter kick. The scissors kick (or split kick) is similar to the flutter kick, but whereas you kick your legs up and down in the flutter kick, you open and close them (like a pair of scissors) in this kick.<\/p>\n
It has the power of a flutter kick, but it doesn\u2019t take as much energy nor does it make a mess of things when you\u2019re finning over silt.<\/p>\n
Finning Technique is Also About the Flippers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
- \n
- Efficiency<\/li>\n
- Adaptability<\/li>\n
- Safety<\/li>\n
- Environmental preservation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Minimizing your scuba-diver-magazine-is-expanding-take-an-inside-look-at-the-fast-growing-publication is critical. The harder you work, the more air you will use. Further, the more effort you exert, the more fatigued you will become.<\/p>\n
Tiring yourself and needlessly consuming oxygen isn\u2019t wise things to do in the depts of the sea. Flutter kick swimming, especially done incorrectly, can cause both to happen.<\/p>\n
Finning correctly<\/a> in multiple ways makes you more efficient in motion.<\/p>\n
Adaptability<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Surprises abound underwater\u2014partly because you often explore territory new to you, and partly because it\u2019s the nature of the underwater world. It’s imperative that you be able to react instantly when the unexpected pops up.<\/p>\n
Flutter kick swimming isn\u2019t adequate in situations where you must turn and maneuver. Knowing multiple kicking techniques helps you avoid obstacles as well as gently follow and observe ocean life.<\/p>\n
Safety<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Safety encompasses efficiency and adaptability. Employing various finning techniques preserves your health and life itself.<\/p>\n
A tragic accident highlights the magnitude of the kicking issue. In 2012, four divers died in Italy\u2019s Grotto Rosso cave<\/a><\/u>. Their kicks stirred up silt from the cave floor, completely obstructing their vision. They became disoriented, swam down a dead-end tunnel, and died before they could find their way out.<\/p>\n
A more mundane example of the necessity of proper finning is at the end of your dive. Proper ascension to the surface is needed to avoid decompression sickness and possible injury from watercraft when you emerge from below. Correct kicking helps.<\/p>\n
Environmental preservation<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Just as when hiking or otherwise exploring on land the tenet is to respect the environment and all life, so it is for the marine biome as well. A big part of scuba diving is appreciating beauty and life; therefore, leaving it undisturbed is paramount.<\/p>\n
One of the ways to ensure that life remains undisturbed is through appropriate techniques. Kicking the right way will avoid making a mess by creating a whirlwind of sediment to swirl up from the bottom, raining silt onto delicate life forms.<\/p>\n
When you kick efficiently, you also avoid inadvertently scraping your fins along reefs, walls, and wrecks. Such scraping may seem harmless and insignificant; however, it can cause significant damage.<\/p>\n
7 Types of Kicks for To Enhance Your Ability, Enjoyment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Add these finning techniques to your repertoire of diving skills<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and increase your confidence and pleasure. They\u2019re not difficult, but they do take practice and repetition to execute properly (yes, even the basic flutter kick).<\/p>\n
Flutter Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This kick involves alternating up-and-down motion of your legs and feet. Most people know flutter kicks; the key is knowing how to do flutter kicks as well as when to do them.<\/p>\n
This is the kick to use when you are quickly propelling forward. When you\u2019re in open water merely swimming to your destination, you can kick freely and powerfully.<\/p>\n
A full flutter kick involves the whole leg. You move your legs from the hips down to engage your muscles and get where you need to go.<\/p>\n
Modified Flutter Kick <\/strong><\/h3>\n
This flutter kick is also a good one for propulsion. It\u2019s especially useful when your pace is slower and your distance shorter than when using the full flutter kick.<\/p>\n
Bend your legs up at the knees, keeping your flippers elevated. Use the same primary kick stroke, only make the motion shorter. You\u2019ll move less from the hip and more with your fins.<\/p>\n
Bent-Knee Cave Diver Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Quite like a modified flutter kick, this one is molasses slow. It\u2019s perfect in caves or other cramped environments and over silty floors. Its impact is insignificant, so you can get up close and personal to what you\u2019re viewing. Use the bent-knee cave diver kick, too, to slow yourself down when needed.<\/p>\n
Like the modified flutter kick, your knees are bent so that your feet are up and parallel to the ground. The motion is ever-so-slightly from the hip and ankles.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFrog Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The frog kick is so named because it looks like the motion a frog make with its back legs while swimming across a pond. People use it in cave diving and other situations where there is the risk of kicking up silt.<\/p>\n
To execute this kick, slide your legs away from each other with your flippers flat. Next, in one motion bend your knees out slightly while turning your flippers out causing the bottoms to face each other. Finally, with the soles still facing each other, whoosh your legs together, gliding forward.<\/p>\n
Reverse Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sometimes you\u2019ll want to move backward. It\u2019s much more efficient (read: consumes less air and conserves energy) than moving forward and looping around. When you want to back up, use the reverse kick.<\/p>\n
This simple kick can be a fun one. With legs straight and flippers touching, rotate your ankles outward so that your flippers point away from each other. Then, move your feet apart by spreading your legs. You\u2019ll drift backward. Repeat as necessary.<\/p>\n
Sculling Kick (A.K.A. Helicopter Kick)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This is a turning maneuver executed in tight spaces or when you don\u2019t want to stir up clouds of sediment. It takes practice to master, but it’s well worth it to do so. If you become a regular scuba diver, the chances are high that you’ll be in a situation requiring a tight turn.<\/p>\n
This kick allows you to rotate yourself like a helicopter blade, straight around. Separate your fins as you execute back-and-forth-motions. While doing this, rotate your ankles and flippers in a small circle. Smooth and effective turning motion won\u2019t happen immediately, but with practice, you might find yourself playing helicopter for fun.<\/p>\n
Dolphin Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Freedivers<\/a> use the dolphin kick. Divers employ this motion to move up and down the water column.<\/p>\n
Picture how a dolphin moves, and you\u2019ll visualize this kick. A diver moves his legs, knees, and feet together, in a dolphin-like motion.<\/p>\n
Scissors Kick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve come full circle back to the fundamental flutter kick. The scissors kick (or split kick) is similar to the flutter kick, but whereas you kick your legs up and down in the flutter kick, you open and close them (like a pair of scissors) in this kick.<\/p>\n
It has the power of a flutter kick, but it doesn\u2019t take as much energy nor does it make a mess of things when you\u2019re finning over silt.<\/p>\n
Finning Technique is Also About the Flippers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/diving-info.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/sebastian-pena-lambarri-7i5HMCGupVw-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/a>Beginning scuba divers are often surprised to learn that a wide variety of flippers are available and that diving type and flipper type need to match. To ensure that you\u2019ll choose the right fins, know what your diving experience will be\u2014and what kinds of kicks you\u2019ll use\u2014 before you shop.<\/p>\n