![]() ![]() ![]() The problem with this is that the back of your lower leg moves forward and not upward. If you bend your knees too much while flutter kicking, it will look as if you were riding a bike. The best way to describe the flutter kick is to make fast, compact upward and downward movements that are initiated by the hip. Ideally, the kick should break through the surface of the water only slightly, and should not move below the line of the body. To bring drag to a minimum, the kick should remain in the shadow of the body moving forward. There are some common mistakes in the flutter kick that affect its efficiency and should, therefore, be avoided: Using a Large KickĪ large kick requires more power and also increases drag and , The beginning of the propulsive phase of the arm stroke on one side always coincides with a downward movement of the leg on the same side, preventing the body from rolling. This is because the movements of the arms and legsĬompensate each other so that the body does not roll sideways. The secondary role of the flutter kick is to stabilize the body. The lion’s share of the propulsion is generated by the arms, at least in the front crawl. Studies have shown that in elite swimmers, the legs only contribute about 10% of the propulsion. Have a powerful kick (often made possible by large feet).įrom this, we can conclude that a strong flutter kick is an essential prerequisite for fast swimming, but how much do the legs contribute to the overall propulsion? Indeed, it is common knowledge that world-class swimmers The primary role of the legs in the front crawl is to Contribution of the Flutter Kick to Propulsion The six-beat kick is almost always used by short-distance swimmers, but can also be observed at times with medium-distance swimmers and long-distance swimmers-with a somewhat subdued kick. Ian Thorpe using a six-beat kick during his 400 m freestyle world record swim at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The downbeat of the right leg occurs during the propulsive phase of the right arm stroke (during the insweep and upsweep phases, to be more precise). In the two-beat kick, you kick once per stroke cycle with each leg. There are also less common four-beat kick variations, but they will not be discussed here. The two most common front crawl kicking rhythms are the two-beat kick and the six-beat kick. This phase of the flutter kick is not propulsive either. The pressure of the water on the ball of the foot and on the toes brings the foot to a neutral intermediate position. The pressure of the water against the lower leg causes the leg to straighten. The leg begins while the knee is still stretching. This phase isn’t propulsive but prepares the leg for its upward The hip is locked in place while the knee stretches. This is how propulsion is created in the flutter For this reason, while the foot is moving downwards, The foot goes into plantar flexion (meaning the toes are pointed, both by muscle contraction and by the pressure of the water against the foot as it moves downwards.ĭuring this phase, the upper side of the foot is facing downwardsĪnd a little backward. Shortly after that, the knee also bends a little. The downward movement is initiated by a slight flexion of the leg at the hip. As one leg moves downward, the other one moves upward and vice versa. The legs are always kept parallel and move in opposite directions. ![]()
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