finning technique

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on different finning technques vs fins, eg. does a quick short stroke work with leaders, but destroys any benefit of a split fin, and alike does a long steady cadence stroke work well with ala's / quattro's but no good for fibre based fins.

I'm sure any input on this would prove useful; especially to newcommers to the sport who would benefit from guidence when choosin the right fin.

In my opinion, someone who is a swimmer (as in have had coaching etc) can use any fin because they actually know how to kick properly. I think those who want to get the best benefits from their fins should take the time to get a swimming coach to correct their stroke (the entire stroke not just kicking).

Knowing how to kick properly enables you to jump between any fin you want and be able to use it.

That's true, but different fins require slightly different strokes, which I think is what chris is asking about.

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.

i wouldn't say quattros requires a slow kick, if i'm trying to swim quickly it's more of a short sharp kick - it's only for minor parts of the game i use a slower kick it's generally medium/fast

I wasn't disagreeing with that - I went from softer fins to leaders and noticed the change in kicking style but I don't think it's a hard change to make - it just came naturally for me, which I guess is from having a good technique.

I think if you don't have good technique, it doesn't matter how you try to use the fins. I mean, if someone who had a bad kicking style read on here they should be doing a 'fast, narrow kick' because they wear fibre fins and go to the pool and try to change their style, they'll end up looking silly and not getting the best from their fins.

Good technique is key.

Personaly i like shorter harder kicks,
theres a great exerces.
Do a length under water,start off with a huge long kick then as you proceed shorten your kick as you go,taking acount intoy your acceleration and find the kick that works best for you,meaning which part of the pool you feel fastest in.
I have'nt reaped the benifits yet as i'm still working on it but i generaly like 3 quarters way up.
Another
Go to the surface and work on one leg,finning only,pushing downwards and concentrating on pulling upwards as well,do a few of those lengts alternating as you go.
You can look under your body and make sure your fins are horizontal flat to the the pool bootom,thus giving you as much forward thrust as possible,you would be surprised how many people have a bandy kick.
Theres also toe and ankle extensions to the kick,which are a bummer for me.

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top of de mornin to yeh

You're dead right. I was just disussing my general findings after good technique has happened

yeah freedive is right.

i'll add that in my opinion, irrespective of technique, each different type of fin suits a different kind of kick best. each design has an optimum cadence that will get the best out of it.... we can adapt the way we kick but a fin is a single design that stays the same all the time and can't change much... surely.

big long bendy fins cant be kicked anywhere near as fast as short hard fins, purely because if you have to wait for them to flex... if you could somehow manage to kick as fast as a short hard fin with quattros, say, then you'd be stuffing up the flexing action of the fin.

slow/fast should probably be kept in context that it's different for every player.... but if you wear quattros, do dolphin kick to see what slow is for you, then switch to a pair of alas and do scissor and thats probably on the fast end of your scale. fibre fins tend to be on the fast end of the spectrum to get best results, ditto vortex and other split fins.

cant actually think of many "slow" type fins other than the quattros to be honest?

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it's more polite on the grating than on the subs bench

I guess quattros are the only 'long' fin that hockey players use these days. Helping out on freediving courses though has opened my eyes to several kicking styles that can only be described as unique. Like kicking a pair of these like they were split fins

Long fins just don't suit quick acceleration and manuvering, the lifeblood of hockey. My spearfishing fins may be great for efficiency, but you'll be doing three-point turns like a bus if you try them in a game. Plus they're carbon fibre and would probably slice a few people open while you're turning