Why do flutter kicks have to be narrow?

I think the reason for a narrow flutter kick is so your legs stay "in your wake" and don't make your swimming profile any larger than it needs to be. Keeping your legs/feet "inside your shadow" so to speak will result in a better streamlined position and less drag/resistance when moving through the water.

Right, and I also think a wide kick can be indicative of other stroke problems. For example, if you turn your head too much to breathe a lot of times your legs will naturally scissor to counterbalance the upper body rotation.

As for drills, I think balance drills would be a possibility because like Kirk mentioned, your kick may be wide if you are struggling to balance while you breathe. You could try the drill where you kick while balanced on your side with your bottom arm extended and your top arm at your side. You can switch sides every 8-6-4 kicks -- whatever feels best at first. You might also try swimming and kicking with fins a bit. I know that seems counterintuitive, but fins may help you feel which parts of your kick are propulsive. Any extra motion can be eliminated. Good luck!:cheerleader:

Swimming as if in a small pipe is much faster than having a wide profile. A wide kick means that the profile is big...which could result in way too much drag as Colin and Kirk pointed out. I recently coached a former runner into not kicking much at all. (He was kicking the water like one would a soccer ball.) With the pointed toes and compacted kick...his times improved dramatically.

Plus, if your kick is too big, it's really hard to do a 6-beat kick (or even a 4-beat kick).

I've been thiking about the problem, and I think the scissoring happens because I don't rotate my lower body enough. If I try to rotate the upper body while keeping the lower body flat, the legs naturally spread apart to counterbalance - even when I do this exercise on dry land. I think this is a good observation. I hadn't thought about it, but I believe that as you turn to breathe, stroke, etc. then your hips should follow and turn as well.

Right, and I also think a wide kick can be indicative of other stroke problems. For example, if you turn your head too much to breathe a lot of times your legs will naturally scissor to counterbalance the upper body rotation. Yes, I had someone videotape my swimming, and my legs do "scissor" when I rotate to breathe. My legs don't scissor when I roll to my non-breathing side. But I wonder if it is really caused by turning my head too much. My video shows that I turn my head just so much as to see the lane rope, with one goggle in the water. I've been thinking about the problem, and I think the scissoring happens because I don't rotate my lower body enough. If I try to rotate the upper body while keeping the lower body flat, the legs naturally spread apart to counterbalance - even when I do this exercise on dry land. Would my own analysis of my problem be a fair statement? The drill that Chlorini mentions sounds like a good solution, then.

I've been thinking about the problem, and I think the scissoring happens because I don't rotate my lower body enough. If I try to rotate the upper body while keeping the lower body flat, the legs naturally spread apart to counterbalance - even when I do this exercise on dry land. I think I also have the same problem with you on this one. When I rotate to breathe I tend to kick to counterbalance of my upper body. Knelson, is there any drill to correct this one? or any drill to learn how to rotate the entire body?

Read what chlorini suggested. These kind of drills will help. I think you'll find initially it will be very difficult to balance, but will get easier if you work at it.

The simplest way to fix the kick is to cocentrate on pointing the toes in while kicking. If you need drills, kick a few lengths whille constantly kicking one big toe with the other. This will force you to have a narrow kick. Now keep the amplitude low and you are on your way.