Dolphin kick vs. Fin Swimming

[Andrew_OZ]

Hi All!

I'm a newbie here and also fairly new to free-diving and spearfishing.
I have been doing a bit of training the last few months in my local pool and have become obsessed with dynamic apnea!
It seems that whenever I go for a maximum distance swim, I always get further by just normal fin swimming, rather than the doplphin kick. (I also think that I have my dolphin technique down pretty decent)
Now I only have pretty basic flippers at the moment, and am looking at getting some Gara 3000's pretty soon.
Does anyone else find that they get further by just finning?

thanks in advance, and I look forward to posting on here!

cheers,
Andrew

 

[DeepThought]

The general opinion of advanced freedivers is that if both techniques are mastered finning is more efficient for bi-fins than dolphin kicking.
That being said, I hope you are training dynamic apnea with a partner who knows how to do proper safety for freediving activities. Lifeguards should NOT be considered as a safety measure for apnea parcitce - a mistake that was proven lethal in the past.

Welcome aboard.

 

[naiad]

I find that finning is more efficient, but dolphin kicking is more fun, so if I want to go for a max I will do normal finning, and if I am just doing laps I will do mainly dolphin kicking.

I agree with Michael that it is very important to train with a partner, and most of all if you are going for a maximum distance, there must be someone to meet you on the surface.

Lucia

 

[Morg]

Does Dolphin kicking use less energy then normal kicking? I remember reading or hearing about that somewhere.

Does this make sense to incorporate the two.

Use the dolphin kick when descending.
Use the normal kick to move forwards and accent?

 

[SanderP]

Hi everyone!

Good somebody brought this topic up.
Today I was at my local pool, mainly just for swimming and training myself a little. First time in my life I tried this dolphin kick technique. And to be honest, I think I looked like a retarded giraffe starting to drown. I didn't have any fins, but I doubt they would've helped.
There weren't much room in the pool, it wasn't very deep and I had limited time. But still... I've seen videos how people swim long distances with this swimming technique and without fins. It looks really neat.
I'm going to try it the next time, when I have more time and the pool is less crowded. I should go there on daytime, right after my lessons.

Any tips or tricks how to 'learn' the dolphin kick?
How can I spare the maximum amount of oxygen/energy by dynamic apnea? (what techniques, ways)

 

[lungfish]

Dolphin kick without fins is basically the butterfly kick. It is a two beat, double kick that begins in the shoulders and travels down to the feet like a sine wave. Emphasis is on the second kick while using the first as a stabilizing kick. A good way to practice is with a kick board.....
However, the dolphin kick used by freedivers is a very wide amplitude kick that is much more like the insinuation of a snake or fish. Its purpose is to reduce the load on your quads and distribute it across your body. Of course, it is the only way to swim with a monofin....
I prefer using my stereo fins because I can apply a variety of kicking techniques and control my movements but I am more of an extreme snorkeler, underwater naturalist than a freediver though I do train using competitive technique both out and in water...
Lungfish

 

[naiad]

First time in my life I tried this dolphin kick technique. And to be honest, I think I looked like a retarded giraffe starting to drown. I didn't have any fins, but I doubt they would've helped.

It does take a while to learn the dolphin kick. The first time I tried it, I looked like a caterpillar! No forward movement at all...

Now I can do it reasonably well.

Lucia

 

[BennyB]

Ever since watching the Big Blue when I was 11 I have always dolphin kicked with fins, but it wasn't until I started freediving (with training) a year and a half ago that I realised I had an incredibly inefficient stroke.

First monofin I ever tried was Andy's (ADR) - I jumped in the pool, did a jerky 50m, sliding from left to right like a car skidding on take off, then when I turned on 50 I managed to get it stuck between the wall and the pool ladder and had to doggy paddle my way out so I wouldn't tear it in half rofl

Did a lot of sporadic training here and there, but it wasn't until I bought some cheap swim training flippers about 40 or 50cm long and used them in the pool non stop for about 3 months that I realised a dramatic improvement in technique. Went for a max attempt one day, first attempt in about 6 months and put an extra 13m on my PB. My technique still sux when looking at some of the good guys but it's a hell of a lot better than before. Well at least I haven't caught my mono up in the pool ladder again

Cheers,
Ben

 

[nixe_berlin]

Mr_miyagi,
did you see those videos on the internet and do you still have the links? I am right now also trying to learn dolphin kick without fins and I don't manage to move forward at all! :martial I think it's really tough to learn. The pool I usually go to doesn't allow fins to be used in the pool. :waterwork
Nixe

 

[SanderP]

http://www.freediving.sk/video/ (from the "How to learn freediving" thread)

I'm going later this day to the pool, I can try dolphin kick then.

 

[XabreTooth]

- url leads nowhere..

 

[watts]

Slovakian freedive team. Great SAMBA vids:naughty :ko :chatup :crutch

Oh and the shampers