How kick /swim / fin backwards

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tomcat

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Hey guys,

I have seen many posts mentioning that such and such a fin allows them to fin backwards.

Could somebody describe the technique for doing so? I have been experimenting a little myself and I must say that I have no idea how the stroke is executed.

Thanks in advance! I don't know why I need to fin backwards but this will be one cool trick!

tomcat
 
If you mean swimming on your back looking where you've been, then I've seen an instructor do it with a type of frog kick.

--TexasMike
 
Never thought of describing it.. just do it. I use two basic forms - a sort of reverse scull where the feet are moved side to side and the angle of the fin changed to cause reverse thrust, and a sort of a modified bicycle where the fins are brought forward in a motion like raising your foot up in front of you.. then pointing the toe while the leg is straightened in a "no thrust" extension. I'll have to think of more descriptive terms.
Rick
 
hey rick, good stuff! what is the angle for the fin with the reverse scull method? was trying that out for a while and i just couldn't get it. best i could manage was not move...but then again, to accomplish that all i had to do was not fin! heheh.
 
Hmmm... feet are positioned much as they would be when standing. But the best way to think about it is to take the regular forward scull and do it backwards.
Or, lessee... as you rotate your feet toward the "toes in" position, you tilt the inboard edges of the fins away from you, and as you rotate your feet towards the "toes out" position tilt the inboard edges towards you.
You're not going to go far or fast with this method, but you can avoid using your hands to keep from running into something and thereby keep from silting whatever's right in front of you.
And, of course, mostly, there's the "show off" value!
Rick
 
Originally posted by tomcat
Hey guys,

I have seen many posts mentioning that such and such a fin allows them to fin backwards.

Could somebody describe the technique for doing so? I have been experimenting a little myself and I must say that I have no idea how the stroke is executed.

Thanks in advance! I don't know why I need to fin backwards but this will be one cool trick!

tomcat

My instructor used this one on me when doing my peak performance buoyancy for my advanced course recently. He'd float at finger tip length from an object, perfect neutral buoyancy, then begin to gently 'fin' and he'd start to go backwards. Tried for ages till he told me he'd cheated and gently pushed off with his finger tips!!

He assures me that it CAN be done but his only explanation is that you must 'visualise' yourself doing it.

Therefore, my only advice is to 'use the force'!!
 
Heheh, "use the force", i'd probably go further throwing spit out of my mouth and using that as a jet propellant. ekekekekekek.

Hey Rick, thanks for the tip. I think I see what you mean. Sounds about right. :) Now my only problem is to get people to look at me while I do it! :p
 
Scubakat - LOL, exactly what I was thinking!
 
It's very simple and easy to swim backward. I've been doing it without thinking about it for years. One day someone asked me how I did it, I couldn't describe it, so I figured I'd concentrate on it next time. I concentrated on technique and couldn't do it.

WWW™
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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