need help in learning correct finstroke

[Jim Malone]

I am currently helping in training a new diver. The problem is that he has a horrible finstroke. He keeps "bicyling" instead of using the correct fin stroke. He pulls up his toes and can't lock up his knees. His other diving abilities are reasonable but the horrible finstroke is keeping him from going in open water.
can anyone give advice how to teach this guy the correct way to use his fins?
He also goes into a sort of spastic mode where he freezes his hands and arms when he is concentrating on his legs.
Sometimes his stokes are reasonable but when combined with say turning he locks up.

thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[g1138]

Have him skip on land with his legs completely locked
then put him in the water.
I taught kids swim lessons over the summer and it was the only way I could get them to change their kick styles.

 

[tstormdiver]

He doesn't really need to lock his knees, but they do need to be reasonably straight. He needs to kick from the hip instead of the knees. There are bigger, stronger muscles in the hip than around the knees. By kicking from the hip, there is less strain on the knees & more efficiency. You can give him the mental picture to kick like a pair of scissors work, with his legs being the "blades" & his hips as the pivot point.

 

[Guba]

I haven't trained divers, but I have taught an awful lot of people to swim (kids and adults). One of the most prevalent problems was always how to overcome "bicycling". The easiest method is to put the swimmer in a pool, have him put both hands on the side, get him/her into a horizontal facedown position (a snorkel will help with this...you don't want the head and shoulders high), and have them flutterkick, as if they were trying to push through the wall. Now the hard part (for you). Stand next to them and place your extended arm under their KNEES, about a foot or a little more below the surface. They are not to touch your arm. Bicycling takes place high in the leg, at the hip, with their knees bent. If you do not allow the knees to bend and keep the swimmer stretched out, the knees will be straighter and they go into a more natural up-and-down kick. Of course, you also have to work at keeping their knees and ankles supple and not locked, but that comes with practice.

This also works when you have them flip over and do the same thing on their backs. The difference is to put your arms under their lower back in order to keep them horizontal. Now, the instruction is to keep the knees more or less in the water (it's hard to bicycle because it's more difficult to lift their knees clear of the water). Having them point their toes slightly (again working on keeping the ankles supple and not locked) and try to kick water upwards with their fins, like kicking a soccor ball. When they can do these motions stationary reliably, put them on a float or kickboard and have them motor around the surface of the pool for a while. Then do the same thing snorkeling a few feet below the surface. Progress on to doing the same thing in full gear.

It takes time and practice for this to become natural. However, I've had great success with it in remarkably short periods of time. Once this motion becomes natural, there should be much less conflict with the coordination of hands and arms (though ideally those should have a much reduced role in diving motion).

Hope this helps.

 

[SkimFisher]

Put him on his back and show him how to do a scissor kick (think: gym). Put some ankle weights on him so he gets a feel for the resistance. If he can't manage that then I'm not sure what to tell you....

Scissor Kicks

 

[iztok]

Switch to frog kick?

 

[on_two_wheels]

Why not do it at the bottom of the pool? Have him practice finning across the bottom without touching his knees yet keeping his torso very close to the bottom. Never tried it...just thinking outside the box.

 

[The Chairman]

I'm with Iztok. I teach the Frog Kick from the outset. Hey, it's what I dive with.

BTW, there were two very excellent suggestions from swim teachers. THANKS!!!

 

[fresh_fish]

I had this problem... I hung off the edge of the pool, and consciously worked on the kick. This meant I was not overloaded with things like watching depth, air, running into something or someone. I could just kick and kick and kick. Without fins, of course. I then took to doing "laps" in the pool. Without a snorkel, I grabbed my fins and hopped in. I just went back and forth in the pool until I was tired. The reason I say without the snorkel is because if you have the snorkel, it doesn't matter how you are kicking, you will be fine. If you don't have it, you need to have the proper kick and slightly less than horizontal to keep your head out of the water. A bicycle kick will not get the job done here.

It worked for me. Get the technique down and strengthen the muscles, then force yourself to use them skills with the fins on!!

 

[Hallmac]

Assemble the BC, tank, and regulator. Fully inflate the BC and place it in the water tank down regulator away from student. Have your student place his hands through the arm holes and rest his arms on the back plate or jacket. Arms only. Then ask him to swim laps without fin slaps. Using a mask and snorkel will force him flat on the surface.

The resistance of the equipment will give him the feel when he is getting the most and least out of the fins, the sound of slaps will indicate improper foot positions. Bicycling will be apparent in no thrust, and lots of bobbing up and down.

You are looking for smooth, quiet, laps where he is rocking slightly side to side indicating he is using the large muscles.

Plus you are using scuba equipment so it must be scuba related.