Skills

[runez]

I have NEVER met anyone who could be inches away from the bottom and not stir it up with a flutter kick. Please shoot a video and post it, I would love to see how it's done.
Later,
John

[video=youtube;caYhiy5Cjv4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&v=caYhiy5Cjv4&hl=en-GB[/video]


1:55 at this video:
[video=youtube;U5wliityRuU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5wliityRuU[/video]

 

[nimoh]

those are good videos showing the technique. The key is stability, i.e. maintaining position without kicking.

The way the modified flutter kick was explained to me was to think of it as hitting the pedal of a base drum, where you push down and then just recoil your foot rather than forcibly kicking in both directions.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I am one of those divers that only dive about 20 times a year and and believe that my skills compared to most are not good.
But to the dive professionals who want to label me as a poor diver. I would like to point out that most schools around here run 2 open water classes a month and two buoyancy courses a year I have been waiting 4 months to do one so how am I going to improve. Also most dive shops I have been into try to drag every cent they can out of us vacation divers( like trying to sell $1500 can lights when asked about a torch). That it leaves very little left in the budget to improve skills. So when you complain about someone asks yourself first have I contributed to the problem because most have. Time to take some responsibility dive pros


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You need to forget about going to the diveshops and find an independent instructor. The by the book buoyancy and trim courses are not what you want anyway. You want a course tailored to you. And on your schedule.

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[Bob DBF]

I've dived in places where flutter kicks can stir up silt if you're 4 feet above the bottom. Doesn't usually matter if you're alone and don't return on exactly the same route...

Yeah, I'm diving in one for a project up at a nearby lake with a buddy and due to conditions we move in and out of the area along a line in case we our lights malfunction. Three crawdads making a getaway can severely trash the viz. My technique is to kick on the upstroke and let my fins slide down into position for the next kick. Some downward force can be used depending on how far away you are from the bottom and how silty it may be.

And of course if I'm solo and returning on a different route, I'm not so fussy.



Bob
-------------------------------------
“One thing is for sure you can't lie about your skills when you get in the water. The water tells everything!!! “ Mayor

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have NEVER met anyone who could be inches away from the bottom and not stir it up with a flutter kick. Please shoot a video and post it, I would love to see how it's done.
Later,
John

I've dived in places where flutter kicks can stir up silt if you're 4 feet above the bottom. Doesn't usually matter if you're alone and don't return on exactly the same route...

There's places at my local mudhole where you can silt the place out with a stray thought. And it does matter even if I'm alone and not returning by exactly the same route because I'm taking pictures, and silt has a serious impact on the quality of the shot.

I can flutter kick just fine ... inches off the bottom ... without stirring up silt.

Don't say it can't be done ... say you don't know how to do it. Because plenty of people do. Keep your knees bent, your tips point back and a bit up, and kick using only your ankles and a slight amount of lower leg ... everything from the knees up should be very "quiet".

Not only can I do it ... I routinely train other divers how to, which is in my best interest since they often become dive buddies ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[uncfnp]

I have NEVER met anyone who could be inches away from the bottom and not stir it up with a flutter kick. Please shoot a video and post it, I would love to see how it's done.
Later,
John

Won't be in the water for another 2 months (since I am a vacation diver) but if it's still that important to you remind me then and I'll get that video to you. As others have posted, it's really not that hard. If you put your mind to it I bet you can learn it too.

 

[tracydr]

[video=youtube;caYhiy5Cjv4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&v=caYhiy5Cjv4&hl=en-GB[/video]


1:55 at this video:
[video=youtube;U5wliityRuU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5wliityRuU[/video]

That's a "modified flutter". A true flutter kick is with motion coming from the hips. Very hard to do without causing silt if close to the bottom. However, I would certainly choose to use a true flutter if I was trying to go against current to get somewhere in blue water. ( get back to exit or boat,for instance, or to the edge of the drop-off in Galapegos).

 

[nimoh]

That's a "modified flutter". A true flutter kick is with motion coming from the hips. Very hard to do without causing silt if close to the bottom. However, I would certainly choose to use a true flutter if I was trying to go against current to get somewhere in blue water. ( get back to exit or boat,for instance, or to the edge of the drop-off in Galapegos).

In GUE terms (the second video being a GUE video) the kick shown at 1:55 is a flutter kick. A modified flutter kick has much less leg motion.

 

[rx7diver]

I have NEVER met anyone who could be inches away from the bottom and not stir it up with a flutter kick. Please shoot a video and post it, I would love to see how it's done.
Later,
John

You just keep your knees bent and do these little floppy, toe kicks.

DepthCharge,

This "modified flutter" kick, which DD describes above, was *the* anti-silting kick stressed during my NACD/NSS-CDS Cavern and Basic Cave certifications c. 1988. Very easy for a rec diver transitioning to caves, and the "perfect" kick for anyone (like myself) who is flexibility-challenged in his/her hips. Usually doesn't get props here on Scubaboard, though.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[DBF]

You need to forget about going to the diveshops and find an independent instructor. The by the book buoyancy and trim courses are not what you want anyway. You want a course tailored to you. And on your schedule.

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Thanks for the advice Jim, it was something that I hadn't thought of. I will give it an independent a try


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