sam1
Contributor
Ive been trying to develop a back kick for about two and a half yearsbecause its a useful skill in general and in underwater photography in particular. Ive had instruction on it on a couple of occasions and have practiced a little and very occasionally I actually could move backward, but it never really clicked. I was chalking it up to one of those skills that will remain elusivethat is until I flooded my camera on a trip last week to Grand Cayman and instead of taking pictures I practiced my back kick. The flooding actually happened on my first dive of the week and on the second dive I tried a few back kicks and I had some success. I had remembered the thread on the back kick from a couple of months ago and, in particular, TSandMs post (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/400741-reverse-kick.html#post6099676) about practicing in a pool without fins, but without access to a pool, I hadnt actually tried it. Since I was staying in a hotel with a pool, that afternoon I tried backward kicking without fins and it was trivially easy to consistently go backward! Over the rest of the week I practiced on the dives (when I could) and in the pool. I lack consistencysometimes the kicks are such that I feel like I could do a whole dive backwards and sometimes they dont workbut now I know it is a skill I can develop. (I think of the cost of replacing my flooded camera as the cost of developing my back kick and consider it money well spent!)
