Diver Propulsion: When to use the Frog Kick and When to use The Flutter Kick

greatdivers.com
Each kick has a specific purpose in diving. Each kick also will consume a certain amount of gas. In general the flutter kick is the kick which takes the most amount of energy and therefore it is the kick which will cause you to breathe the heaviest. The flutter kick is your power kick. This is the kick you use to move rapidly, or against strong current. It is the kick that allows you to move with the most force in the water. It is also the kick, which because it moves so much water, and because there is really no rest phase in the kick, will consume the most gas. The flutter kick is best used when you either need to move quickly, or against a strong current. In the video below you can see how to do an efficient flutter kick.
• Flutter Kick: How to d...
The frog kick is the kick which is best used for most of the diving we do. The frog kick resembles the kick a breaststroke swimmer uses. If you have ever seen a frog moving in the water, you'll know why this kick is named after our amphibian friend. What makes the frog kick the best kick for most of our diving is that it has a rest phase built in. In other words after kicking there is a recovery phase, where you just glide, move forward without effort while preparing to kick once more. For most people this kick will consume less gas. This is also a great kick because many times the glide phase of the kick can be prolonged, as you just hover and checkout the reef, or whatever you are looking at, and then kick again to move forward once more. In the video below you can see how to perform an efficient frog kick.
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• Frog Kick: How to Mast...
Once you have mastered the frog and the flutter kick, you will have your cruising speed kick, and your power kick. These two kicks can also be alternated if you happen to get cramped or feel your muscles getting too tired with just the frog kick. If this is the case however, you should probably practice some more in the pool and condition your muscles to doing this kick.
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• Diver Propulsion: When...

[@philipbwillcock777]

Wonderful video. Thanks for all the help. Philip

[@isays]

You mention that frog kick is better at conserving oxygen, which makes sense because you kick less, move slower and therefore encounter less drag (which is proportional to the square of your velocity). You consume less oxygen over time, which makes your dive longer. But what if you have a long swim between dive features? what is the most efficient way to swim over distance rather than over time? Flutter kick will sacrifice total down time, but could it increase the time at the dive feature itself?

[@bryanboldt887]

Comments about the flutter kick only somewhat true. Flutter kick can have an intermediate relaxed/rest phase incorporated and not necessary to flail away as you describe. It can be done just as relaxing... even more so than the frog kick because that kick engages more muscles to pull your legs & knees up. Frog kick does not propel 100% (more like 35%) of the time and you can also achieve same or better propulsion efficiency with a "restful" flutter kick as it keeps you in a streamlined position. I am always, ALWAYS, the last male diver/most reserve air at the end of dives, so no question on my efficiency.

[@aliasincognito0]

Nah, the frog kick is superior in every way. It gives access to helicopter turns and back finning. In cave diving, flutter kicking is not allowed for obvious reasons and any diver doing it doesn't belong there. I have never seen a technical or cave diver use the flutter kick except as an example on how to fin improperly.