I was looking at monofins today and came across the Finis Foil (which is inexpensive enough to just give it a try). The thing is - the advert talks about "The Foil Body Motion" as taught by Bob Gillette. I cant seem to find any reference to this technique outside of the sales materials for the monofin. Is this a real thing or merely sales propaganda? If real, can anyone point me to training or other reference materials?
Bill
Thank you VERY much. Now I just need to convince Santa to bring me a Foil Monofin.
Happy Holidays,
Bill
There are two schools of thought on dolphin kicking. There is the Gillette school -- kick on your side, big amplitude undulation. And there is the Brett Hawke school -- kick on your back with fast compact SDKs. Personally, I subscribe to the latter, but it likely depends on the particular swimmer and their body type. I also really dislike the Finis Foil monofin. I ordered it and promptly returned it. Because it is so floppy, there is not much benefit over using stiffer long blade fins, IMO. I prefer the Finis Shooter monofin or long blade fins for dolphin kicking (and I do a LOT of it).
YMMV
I am not a coach and I have not done much research on this (yet) but it seems to be less than efficient to practice kicking either on your back or on your side if your primary goal is improving butterfly. I do find that while simply kicking with a kickboard (face down) that my down kick is propulsive while the upward kick is not. With respect to the design of the foil monofin, I'm a bit concerned that it does not present a much bigger resistive surface than my Speedo standard fins. Perhaps the coupling is a key point although I do not find that my feet separate much while dolphin kicking with my standard fins.
it seems to be less than efficient to practice kicking either on your back or on your side if your primary goal is improving butterfly. I do find that while simply kicking with a kickboard (face down) that my down kick is propulsive while the upward kick is not. .
It was rather recently that I noticed the same thing about my kick. (Weaker up kick) To the contrary of your first statement though. When I dolphin kick on my back I notice that I emphasize the "down" kick more (which is the up kick for butterfly). By working both on stomach and back sdk I work both beats of the kick and I've noticed a quantifyable difference in speed after doing so for a few weeks.
I do not believe in or use fins though...
I do not believe in or use fins though...
So old school ... Dave Salo says fins are the #1 best piece of equipment. I know they've helped make me speedy in the fly/back dolphin kick events.
I particularly find it helpful to do 25s UW for distance per kick and at top speed on back, belly, both sides and sometimes doing rotating 360s with two kicks each way.
I particularly find it helpful to do 25s UW for distance per kick and at top speed on back, belly, both sides and sometimes doing rotating 360s with two kicks each way.
Other than to make yourself dizzy like a four-year-old, what is the benefit of the 360s?
Other than to make yourself dizzy like a four-year-old, what is the benefit of the 360s?
-- improve body control, body position, SDK technique
-- teach propulsion in all directions
-- teach body not to lose momentum
-- teach body to change directions efficiently (coming in handy in free turns for example)
Vertical kicking is also very helpful in improving dolphin kick.
I was looking at monofins today and came across the Finis Foil (which is inexpensive enough to just give it a try). The thing is - the advert talks about "The Foil Body Motion" as taught by Bob Gillette. I cant seem to find any reference to this technique outside of the sales materials for the monofin. Is this a real thing or merely sales propaganda? If real, can anyone point me to training or other reference materials?
Bill
the "foil body motion" is how he describes how Misty Hyman dolphin kicks. She had a lot of upper body movement when she SDKed.
Faster SDKer's seem to keep their upper bodies still like
Phelps Rallies Past Crocker in 100-fly - YouTube
Michael Phelps 100 M Butterfly Rome Final WR - YouTube
Though Lochte is very fast and seems to move his pupper body more than Crocker or Cavic when he SDKs
Ryan Lochte sets a new World Record in 200m IM - Universal Sports - YouTube
you can get a lot of info about dolphin kicking from the SDK lane
I don't really use them because I don't really need them. Used to use them. Learned what could be learned from them... don't use them now. Now my size 15's are plenty. :angel:
OMG! That is just unfair!!! :bow:
Fins aren't just a learning tool. By using them for AFAP work, you're engaging in neuro-muscular patterning. Your body will get used to going above race pace speed and be faster without fins. That's the main value for me in training.
