Two Beat Kick

[Rajan]

Dear All,

I have learnt in this forum about two beat kick. My understanding now is that first release the knee and after that move the leg up by straightening it, and then kick downward. Other leg remains inactive.

Could you please guide me what does releasing the knee mean ?

Does it mean that we have to bend the knee little bit. ?

If in the above explanation, if i am not correct somewhere, please also mention.

Regards

Rajan

[WFEGb]

Hi Rajan,

2ct more: If I understood right, "release" means the difference from SG-legs with expecially straight legs to just relaxed legs. Your knees will bend by itself a little bit. And then do kick an imaginary slipper off your foot. (Think this is Terry's picture so it has to be almost good by nature...)

Regards,
Werner

[Mike from NS]

Originally Posted by WFEGb

Hi Rajan,

2ct more: If I understood right, "release" means the difference from SG-legs with expecially straight legs to just relaxed legs. Your knees will bend by itself a little bit. And then do kick an imaginary slipper off your foot. (Think this is Terry's picture so it has to be almost good by nature...)

Regards,
Werner

Werner ... I had to comment because this "kick an imaginary slipper off your foot", is about the best analogy I've heard. Guess I had missed it along the way, if you don't claim it as yours. I've been trying to "kick" soccer balls but this "slipper" analogy is so clear. You can see Terry and Shinji doing exactly that in the videos. Different things are clearer for different people !!

Mike

[CoachSuzanne]

Originally Posted by Mike from NS

Werner ... I had to comment because this "kick an imaginary slipper off your foot", is about the best analogy I've heard. Guess I had missed it along the way, if you don't claim it as yours. I've been trying to "kick" soccer balls but this "slipper" analogy is so clear. You can see Terry and Shinji doing exactly that in the videos. Different things are clearer for different people !!

Mike

Depends how far and how high you are trying to kick the soccer ball... ;)

You want a quick flick over the defenders head to your forward who is 5 yards away...not a corner kick, goal kick or penalty kick!

[andyinnorway]

Originally Posted by CoachSuzanne

Depends how far and how high you are trying to kick the soccer ball... ;)

You want a quick flick over the defenders head to your forward who is 5 yards away...not a corner kick, goal kick or penalty kick!

I always imagine I am kicking it gently to my 2 year old, I don't want to hit her in the head, just roll it along the ground to her.

[Mike from NS]

Suzanne,

I tend to over "do" things whether on the BBQ or in athletic endeavors. ;-)

Therefore I kick too hard - seeking results in both distance and elevation. Andy, you would be telling your 2 year old to run ... run fast if I were kicking the ball to her.

Having said that, my summer swimming frequency, however, has helped me learn to be gentler. No longer swimming to survive but swimming with focus on taming the wildness of motions. I try to leave the water behind me in as calm a state as that before me. And needless to say, the results have been perfectly positive in pushing me along my progressive learning path.

Perhaps you may agree with an analogy a Quebec ski friend uses when offering skiing instruction. He says to be gentle with the snow. Treat the snow as you might a woman .... be gentle and subtle with your motions. Caress the snow and make no sudden or harsh movement -- no jamming the edges. (You have to know my ski friend to really appreciate his instruction.) Try to maintain a smooth but continuous roll from ski edge to ski edge.

So I'm asking if we should not treat the swimming in a similar fashion. Any rough or sudden wild movements in the water we know are sure to have deleterious results and throw balance "out the window". Should we not be gentle with the water and maintain a smooth flowing motions in our actions of stroke and kick. We must respect the water in another way than just respecting it as a potentially dangerous environment. Perhaps this is another analogy that has a place in both the skiing world and the swimming world ?
Mike

[truth1ness]

Can someone explain the name 2 beat kick? What exactly are the two beats of the kick? If I'm alternating legs for each stroke shouldn't it be a 1 or 3 beat kick?

[andyinnorway]

Originally Posted by truth1ness

Can someone explain the name 2 beat kick? What exactly are the two beats of the kick? If I'm alternating legs for each stroke shouldn't it be a 1 or 3 beat kick?

Kick are referred to in comparison to stroke cycles, that's why the alternative is usually called 6 beat as you kick 3 times per stroke and 6 per cycle.

2 beat kick is 1 leg per stroke or 2 per cycle.

[terry]

Originally Posted by Mike from NS

I've been trying to "kick" soccer balls but this "slipper" analogy is so clear. You can see Terry and Shinji doing exactly that in the videos.

In teaching 2BK to my students lately I've emphasized that the action of an efficient kick is NOT like kicking a soccer ball. To illustrate this I have them walk behind me and hold my ankles lightly as I swim. I then swim in two ways (1) with my usual kick, which has proven highly effective - helping generate sufficient speed to convincingly win my 60-64 age group and finish in the top 7%-12% of the entire field (i.e. 4th of 70 in Point Lookout Ocean Mile on July 29 and 5th of 65 in Greenwich Island Beach 2-Mile a week later) in four consecutive OW races this summer -- yet was utterly non-fatiguing; then (2) with a sharper action, which I likened to kicking a soccer ball.

When I asked what they felt on my efficient kick, they described a sustained levering action throughout my weight shift. And on the 'soccer' kick, they felt a sharp punching action.

I then explained the difference was in how I use my quadricep or thigh muscle. In the 'easy-effective' kick, I kept my quad engaged - so it would simply connect energy/power generated by my weight shift to my 'lower-leg-lever.' In the other kick, I use my quad like, well, kicking a soccer ball.

[terry]

Originally Posted by truth1ness

What exactly are the two beats of the kick?

I 'flick' my left toes to help propel my right hand to the 'bumper of the VW Beetle' I visualize as my hand extends from entry to fullest extension. And vice versa.