Quote:
Originally Posted by atapene  is it necessary to turn sideways to get a big dolphin kick going while close to the tiles in order to avoid cramping the stroke against the bottom and banging your knees? |
The way you ask the question the answer is yes. If you get rid of the close to the tiles, or assume that it just means in reach of the bottom, the answer is no. I rarely dolphin so I can't give you much from my personal experience except that I have seen many deep dolphin kickers move the puck nicely from a bit higher up the water column. You just need to bend a bit more at the waist and your kick will want to push you down so you have to resist that.
To work on it, start slow and really focus on the feel of your body. The kick will be a bit different than a regular dolphin since you are bent a bit more to begin with. You won't have the same range of motion extending up into your rib cage so your kick will be more from the waist down. You still want to keep your head and shoulders still. It should take time to make the adjustment and get the feel of it so keep working on it.