Does anyone else here NOT kick when they swim freestyle?
When I was 19, a coach told me that a lot of "real" freestylers don't kick, which was a surprise to me because every other coach I'd had would yell at me to kick during my events. I grew up thinking I was the odd one out, but maybe someone on here knows what I'm talking about...
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Former Member
Because swimmers always move faster when using the arms alone, than with legs alone, Doc compared the pull and kick to a car with separate front-wheel and rear-wheel drive. If the front wheels turn at 30 mph, but the rear wheels turn at 20 mph, the resultant speed will not be 50 but less than 30, because the rear wheels create drag. The same thing happens when a swimmer overemphasizes the kick. The kick consumes energy and increases drag.
There is a problem with this analogy. The wheels of the car are turning at a constant speed, but a swimmer has periods of acceleration and deceleration during each stroke cycle.
Clearly there are many swimmers with a very propulsive kick, Popov being a good example (able to kick 50m in 28 seconds). As for distance swimmers, Bill Rose has stated that a six beat kick was an essential part of Lars Jensen's success in the 1500 in Athens.
Many coaches (Maglischo among them) believe that the primary function of a nonpropulsive kick is to provide balance. Supporting this view is the example of a swimmer with a relatively weak kick who is faster with a pull buoy than full stroke swimming. Presumably hip rotation is no better (and possibly worse) with a pull buoy than without.
I have heard it said (Rick DeMont?) that you should build your stroke around your strengths; specifically, if you have a propulsive kick, by all means build the stroke around it.
Because swimmers always move faster when using the arms alone, than with legs alone, Doc compared the pull and kick to a car with separate front-wheel and rear-wheel drive. If the front wheels turn at 30 mph, but the rear wheels turn at 20 mph, the resultant speed will not be 50 but less than 30, because the rear wheels create drag. The same thing happens when a swimmer overemphasizes the kick. The kick consumes energy and increases drag.
There is a problem with this analogy. The wheels of the car are turning at a constant speed, but a swimmer has periods of acceleration and deceleration during each stroke cycle.
Clearly there are many swimmers with a very propulsive kick, Popov being a good example (able to kick 50m in 28 seconds). As for distance swimmers, Bill Rose has stated that a six beat kick was an essential part of Lars Jensen's success in the 1500 in Athens.
Many coaches (Maglischo among them) believe that the primary function of a nonpropulsive kick is to provide balance. Supporting this view is the example of a swimmer with a relatively weak kick who is faster with a pull buoy than full stroke swimming. Presumably hip rotation is no better (and possibly worse) with a pull buoy than without.
I have heard it said (Rick DeMont?) that you should build your stroke around your strengths; specifically, if you have a propulsive kick, by all means build the stroke around it.
