How to kick with bi-fins

[blueface]

i see you also bend your knee a lot, i would fix this first, the ankle should follow (not 100%, but more than a bit)
Vali is right, knees are wide and this comes from you: i bet you felt you fins touching each other the first time you wore them!!

try this: while finning THINK of your legs as if they have no knee and try not to bend it, your legs have to be straight and rigid :crutch
this is not what you actually want to achieve, but it helps reducing the bending of the knee

after that you can go for the ankle (see first posts):ko

Thanks sgnips!

 

[azapa]

it is hard for me to tell what the problems are unless i can see your video
this is me going down with dolphin and regular kick....

Hello Vali. Well I have the worlds worst style in all disciplines, so don't listen to me too much but you could try:
- tuck your elbow into your chest on the arm that is being used while equalizing
- look straight out into the ocean and not so downwards, you could even try to tuck you chin in a little (I don't like this tip, but some do)

good luck

 

[vali]

thanks azapa
in fact at the last dive i did so!
and it works...some improvment where made

 

[ahofbauer]

I´m utterly horrorized!!

He´s scissorkicking!

The fact that You use bifins does
not mean that You are condemned
to the scissorkick!

Try to exit the swimming pool where
there is no ladder, but do it with
a dolphin kick.
Later You can try to increase the
hight between the water surface
and the rim of the pool.

In a certain moment You will discover
(or someone else will tell You) that
You use the shoulders (moving them
back and forth) to get more strength
into Your kick.
This is the AHHHH-effect, when You
discover that there is no way to do
the same thing while scissorkicking.

...and it´s also the reason why dolphins
don´t have two tails

Don´t believe it... just try to get
out of the pool the same way with
a scissorkick.

Finally, (in a few months) when You have
learned to kick, You could as well go back
to Your beloved scissorkick.


Remember: The scissorkick is in no way
obsolete. There is a lot of situations where
the dolphin kick does not work.

Near the surface, the scissorkick is better
unless You swim on Your back.
In a cave, the dolphin kick can be deadly.
etc.

 

[blueface]

Max, yes I agree the dolphin kick generates more power but I don't know why I don't see too many spearfishermen using it. I also hardly see them duck dive with two feet in the air. I have not tried the dolphin kick while spearfishing. Perhaps it raises the heart rate too much and reduces bottom time but I don't know enough to judge. Thanks for commenting.

Skip

 

[ahofbauer]

Basically, I think that the Dolphin Kick is
simply too alien to us, bi-pedal landdwellers.

I came to it through exhaustion.
That means that I was using the scissors
as much as any other person, but then
a change ocurred. Normally I seek to dive as
much and as long as possible when a body
of water happens to be nearby. That ranges
from 4 to 6 hours per occasion.

There is a place in Mexico, called "Ciudad del
Carmen". It´s a City on a longish Island that´s
kinda closing a big lagoon and a swamp.
Two roads go to this place, both on some kind of
bridge with tunnels for the water.
I used the tide for my own hydrodynamic
training tunnel, while breathing with an extension
hose from a scuba gear (without carrying tanks).

As soon as Your legs get tired, Your body begins
to try out different ways of kicking, in search for
a more efficient propulsion.
...and there begins the whole Dolphin thing.

Here is a great vid from Misty Hyman about Dolphin
Kick...though she is all set up for speed:


This kind of underwater-threadmill really helps
in the development of the Dolphin-Kick.

Before that, my idea was to kinda undulate my body
in the (hopefully) same way I´ve seen on some
vids. But there is really NO WAY to learn it just by
observation.

Nowaday, I would say that I´m sure the fins have a
important role in my propulsion...though I´m not sure
about what part they actually carry out.
My whole body is involved.

 

[blueface]

That's some pretty amazing technique. Thanks for the response.

 

[Deacon]

Have you considered your flexibilty? Thats a factor overlooked in many activities.

 

[blueface]

Thanks Deacon! That's a very good point. I will work on it.