Lobzilla
Contributor
Sometimes the path to success becomes clearer if we try to fail deliberately.
Let's try a frog kick that creates no (or very minimal) forward thrust. At the end of the loading stroke, let's relax and wait until the fin tips have gone from the whale tail configuration back to pointing more or less straight back. Now let's extend the legs slowly and move the fins through the water like slowly thrusting a knife. When he legs are almost fully extended, let's rip the fins forward in a fast loading stroke, then wait and slowly extend again.
After doing this (slow, flat extension and a ripping loading stroke) a couple of times we are moving backwards. This is the backwards frog kick. The gross motion is the same as the forward frog kick, however timing and subtle changes in the fin angles are vastly different.
Let's shift gears and go forward again. Pull the fins forward, gently, flat, and relaxed. Just before reaching the end of the loading stroke, flick the tips outward and briskly stop the forward motion of lower leg. Let the inertia carry the tips forward. When you got the maximum whale tail spread, push the feet and fins back while initiating the rotation to create maximum thrust.
The clap at the end of the power stroke is a soft stop of the leg movement. Kind of a fizzling out into the glide phase.
Focus more on speed changes in the motion and when to initiate fin angle changes rather than trying to muscle the fins into a certain static position.
Let's try a frog kick that creates no (or very minimal) forward thrust. At the end of the loading stroke, let's relax and wait until the fin tips have gone from the whale tail configuration back to pointing more or less straight back. Now let's extend the legs slowly and move the fins through the water like slowly thrusting a knife. When he legs are almost fully extended, let's rip the fins forward in a fast loading stroke, then wait and slowly extend again.
After doing this (slow, flat extension and a ripping loading stroke) a couple of times we are moving backwards. This is the backwards frog kick. The gross motion is the same as the forward frog kick, however timing and subtle changes in the fin angles are vastly different.
Let's shift gears and go forward again. Pull the fins forward, gently, flat, and relaxed. Just before reaching the end of the loading stroke, flick the tips outward and briskly stop the forward motion of lower leg. Let the inertia carry the tips forward. When you got the maximum whale tail spread, push the feet and fins back while initiating the rotation to create maximum thrust.
The clap at the end of the power stroke is a soft stop of the leg movement. Kind of a fizzling out into the glide phase.
Focus more on speed changes in the motion and when to initiate fin angle changes rather than trying to muscle the fins into a certain static position.
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to try it in real conditions and see how it feels though. Maybe this Sunday.
