How To Flutter Kick in Swimming - Tips For An Effective Technique

The flutter kick is the most simple yet also the most versatile swimming kick. This article teaches you how to learn and improve this basic swimming technique.

The flutter kick is the kick used while swimming front crawl and backstroke. It is also used in more basic swimming techniques, for example while treading water or while swimming dog paddle.

The flutter kick is a simple kick, for example children often use it instinctively when they play with a kick board. Despite its simplicity, it can be very effective and add a lot of propulsion, as you can see by the speed Olympic level swimmers obtain when they do kick board sets.

Flutter kicking is not unlike the motion you do when you kick into a football:

1. The thigh moves to the front, the knee bends slightly and the foot is flexed forward (plantar flexion) with the toes pointed.
2. The thigh stops its motion while the knee extends until the leg is completely straight.
3. The thigh starts to move backwards and the lower leg follows suit. During the backward motion the flexion of the foot releases slightly.
4. Finally the cycle starts anew.

Both legs move simultaneously but in opposite directions: while one leg moves forward the other moves backward, then exchange their roles.

Here are some finer points to observe to get an effective flutter kick:

• The feet should be a few inches apart and be slighlty rotated inward. This improves propulsion as the upper part of the foot is better positioned to push against the water. One way to train for this is to let the big toes slightly brush against each other.
• Ideally, while kicking forward, the foot should be flexed forward so that it is aligned with the shin, like when a ballet dancer is dancing en pointe. However, the ankles of beginners are often inflexible. In that case using swim fins regularly will help to loosen them up.
  
• The feet should be allowed to flip-flop a little bit: they are completely flexed while kicking to the front, then loose a little bit of flexion while kicking backwards, then flex again, and so on.
• Ideally the feet shouldn't break the water surface or splash, as this wastes energy and reduces propulsion. In practice this can be difficult to obtain, however aim for the least splashing possible.
• The knees should bend slightly during the forward motion. They should neither be kept straight neither bend too much. If you bend your knees like riding a bicycle this is too much bend.
  

To learn the kick, I suggest the following sequence of exercises:

1. Sit a the edge of the pool and let the lower legs dangle in the water.
2. Kick forward with the left leg until it's straight. Feel how the pressure of the water pushes against the top of the foot and makes it flex. Bend the knee and kick backward. Feel how the pressure of the water against the bottom of the foot reduces its flexion.
3. Repeat this a few times with the left leg.
4. Do the same exercise with the right leg.
5. Do the same exercises, and now kick with both legs simultaneously but in opposite directions. When the left leg kicks to the front, the right leg kicks to the back, and vice versa. Try to have both feet a few inches apart and the big toes brush against each other.
6. Grab a pair of swim fins and additional swimming aids if you need to. Grab the end of the pool (or a lane marker), get into a horizontal position and start to flutter kick like previously. The kick should push you against the wall and ideally keep you horizontal without too much effort.
7. Grab a pair of swim fins, a kick board and additional swimming aids if you need to. Hold the kick board in front of you, get into a horizontal position and start to kick. Do a few lengths with the fins on, and vary the strength of the kick: hard, moderately and lazy. Notice how this has an influence on how much you must contract your calves.
8. Remove the swim fins, and do a few lengths of flutter kick. Notice how much faster you must kick to move forward without fins. If you have very stiff ankles, you might notice that you don't move much at all or even move backwards. If that's the case, simply be patient and regularly practice with fins as this will loosen them up (but don't use them all the time as this could strain your ankles).

There are different kinds of swim fins: diving fins, regular swimming fins and short blade fins. When doing the flutter kick with fins, I recommend to use short blade ones. They give less propulsion, so using them is closer to the experience you have without fins. And they also put less pressure on the Achilles tendon, which can be important if you are sensible in that area.

That's it, I hope that these few tips will allow you to learn the flutter kick if you are a beginner or to improve your kick if you already know how to swim.