How to Flutter Kick Properly

The flutter kick is a basic kicking motion used by swimmers in which each leg is kicked down in alternating succession. When used in tandem with a freestyle swimming stroke, a technically sound flutter kick will increase your forward propulsion and lower your swim times. Although the flutter kick is easy to learn once you understand the proper form, many swimmers struggle to accurately replicate the kick due to misunderstandings about what leg motion generates the best forward momentum.

Things You'll Need

  • Kick board
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Instructions

    • 1

      Practice flutter kicks using a kick board. The kick board allows you to focus on your technique by keeping your head above water so you only have to concern yourself with what your legs are doing.

    • 2

      Extend your feet so that your toes are pointed as far behind you as possible.

    • 3

      Drive down the leg that is currently kicking from the hip to create the propulsion, as opposed to using your thigh muscles to pull the leg up as if taking a running stride before driving it back down. Driving from the hip is the most efficient way of creating forward propulsion.

    • 4

      Straighten the kicking leg below the knee, driving the foot down.

    • 5

      Bend the knee of the kicking leg to begin raising the leg up for another kick, while beginning the downward hip drive of your second leg at the same time.

    • 6

      Raise the leg you just finished a kick with from the hip to get it into position to kick again. Your other leg should just now be finishing its downward kicking motion, allowing the two legs to always have one leg beginning down just as the other begins to reset for another kick.