Quote:
Originally Posted by freedivenz As a general rule, the shorter the fin, the faster the cadence and narrower the kick. Also, hard fins require a faster cadence.
A quick look. Remember, I'm talking relatively, not in absolutes:
Quattos: long, medium stiffness. A wide, and slow kick
Fibre fins: Mostly short with hard stiffness. A fast, narrow kick.
Statos: short, medium-soft. A narrow, and medium-fast kick.
As zoee said though, good technique is the first step. Most people kick too much from their knees, using the quads to drive the fins. The correct stroke has the power coming from the hips instead. Most times that you see a small guy with hard fins, this is what's happening. |
By wide kick do you mean deep kick? And by narrow do you mean shallow? In most circumstances the kick is going up and down so it should be described relative to depth rather than a horizontal reference. You know, for the beginners out there that are trying to figure this thing out. I imagine someone working a sidestroke kick trying to get reallllly wide.
As far as technique, years of swimming will give you a good base of proper technique but it might be too late for that. So if you can get help as Zoe pointed out, do it. If not, spend time in the water experimenting with your kicks. Work everything from slow deep kicks to slow shallow kicks and fast shallow kicks to fast deep kicks. And keep mixing it up a bit. Here's something to get you started...
The basic flutter kick:
A good drill to get the right feel for a kick is to kick so that it feels like you aren't bending your knee at all. That forces you to start your kick up in your hips. Although it's not identical, I like to think of the movement as that of a balerina doing those fancy little jumps while their feet flutter. Everything is tight so you get a real good feel on both the downkick and the upkick. Despite that you will think you aren't bending your knee, you will be. But don't worry about that unless you feel like you're bending it. Do this while kicking only 8-12 inches (20-30cm). Once you feel good about that (maybe 10-20 very focused lengths later) extend it to 18 inches (45cm). Later, add the feel of a slight bend in your knee as you start the downkick.
Don't try these with big fins on. Either go bare foot or with zoomers or with the wimpiest fins you can find. This is a drill, not a competition.