The Flutter Kick Technique For Swimming

Swimmers perform the flutter kick in three scenarios in the water: backstroke, freestyle and treading water. The technique for the flutter kick remains the same, regardless of whether you're swimming on your front, your back or treading vertically in the water, although the nuances of the kick vary slightly.

Backstroke Flutter Kick

Flutter kick is the only legal kick for competition-level swimmers racing in the backstroke, sometimes called the back crawl. To practice and perfect the flutter kick on your back, isolate your leg movements by holding a kickboard to your chest; this gives you the ability to focus on what your legs are doing without worrying about the arm motions. Your legs should be straight but relaxed at the knee and ankle; keeping your knees unnaturally straight can make your kick choppy, while pointing your feet at the ankle causes a condition called plantar flexion, which leads to calf cramps. Generating the movement in the top of your thigh, press one foot down no more than 12 inches into the water. Then, as you allow the first foot to return to the surface, press the other foot down. Repeat this motion.

Freestyle Flutter Kick

Although flutter kick is the only legal kick for swimmers competing in the backstroke, freestyle -- also called front crawl or simply free -- can use any style of kick: flutter kick, dolphin kick even breaststroke kick; however, flutter kick is the kick of choice because it's the fastest way to propel yourself through the water. Again, practice the kick by isolating the leg movements; float on your stomach, holding a kickboard in your hands with your arms straight out in front of you. The leg position and movement for flutter kicks on your stomach is the same as on your back -- with legs straight and relaxed knees and ankles, alternately press down in the water to move.

Treading Water Flutter Kick

Use flutter kick while swimming vertically in the water, also known as treading water. Your legs should still be straight with relaxed knees and ankles. The upper legs still generate the thrust for this movement, but the size of the motion is slightly different. In backstroke and freestyle, smaller, faster kicks are a more efficient way to move through the water, especially in competitive swimming where time is of the essence. With treading water, your main goal is simply to keep your neck and head out of the water. With this in mind, it is fine to increase the size of your flutter kicks, increasing the space between your feet from no more than one foot to two or even three feet. As the size of your kicks increases, they begin to resemble a pair of scissors -- the reason flutter kick is sometimes called scissors kick when treading water.

Competition Considerations

The faster your kicks, the faster you'll swim when it comes to doing flutter kick in conjunction with freestyle or backstroke. But the rhythm of these movements play a large role in the execution of flutter kick as well, especially for competitive swimmers. Whether you're on your front or back, use a larger two-beat kick -- one flutter kick with each leg per arm stroke -- for distance events or casual training. This is a slower, easier kick. For sprint events -- and whenever you want to increase your speed -- use a four-, six- or even eight-beat kick. This rhythm uses smaller, faster kicks and more energy, but will get you to your destination more quickly.