SDK vs SFSK

Does anyone know if submerged dolphin kicks are always better than submerged freestyle (or backstroke) kicks? I find fly kicks very tiring and slow for my particular body. It seems I can go as fast if not faster off the walls kicking free or back underwater--and these take much less energy. If SDK is the obviously preferred approach, can anybody provide actual evidence--swimming science studies, for instance--that compare the same person's speed doing both? Similarly, is there some physical cause for why split-leg kicking should be intrinsically slower than legs-together kicking? Obviously, you have to do SDK on fly and *** pullouts (if you are going to do any kick at all.) But for free and back, you still have a choice, and I'd like to know if the SDK choice is always (or almost always) a better one. I am wondering if it is sufficient to conclude that because most of the world's fastest swimmers do this, it necessarily means it's an optimal technique. Dara Torres, for her part, does not use SDK in her sprints. Is this just a case of old dogs having trouble with new tricks? Or could it be that SDKs work great for some--but not so great for other body types?
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  • This talk of teaching SDK's to old dogs (me--don't think my SDK's on my back are fast at all unless I have fins on) I thought I'd ask about the dolphin kick now allowed on the breaststroke pull-out. Anyone else have trouble putting it in there and having it feel natural? I did so much breaststroke for so many years that sticking a dolphin kick in my pull-out totally breaks my rhythm and concentration. I don't swim enough now to break out of my old ways, I guess. I'm sure if I did it well I could be faster but right now all it seems to do is distract me. Anyone else in the same boat?
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  • This talk of teaching SDK's to old dogs (me--don't think my SDK's on my back are fast at all unless I have fins on) I thought I'd ask about the dolphin kick now allowed on the breaststroke pull-out. Anyone else have trouble putting it in there and having it feel natural? I did so much breaststroke for so many years that sticking a dolphin kick in my pull-out totally breaks my rhythm and concentration. I don't swim enough now to break out of my old ways, I guess. I'm sure if I did it well I could be faster but right now all it seems to do is distract me. Anyone else in the same boat?
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