I don’t like kickboards
I… Don’t… Like… to use… Kickboards.
Granted… I have had used them before for myself and when I taught other people.
What are Kickboards? and why do people use them?
Kickboards are those flat floating devices that some people use to focus on kicking their legs in swimming.
Why don’t I like to use kickboards?
I am cheap, so using them would in general require for them to be bought.
I am lazy (or efficient as I like to put it), so I don’t want to carry things that I don’t have to, plus its a hassle.
But ultimately, I consider them as a handicap, especially for sinkers like me, (more on that soon), holding a kickboard puts the body in a significantly different body position than in actual swimming. So kicking while using it may differ in efficiency and effectiveness without it.
Why am I sharing this?
Partly just to express my thoughts and opinions, and the rest is to convince people they don’t need it in most cases, especially for beginners. I find that people who depend on kickboards to swim, tend to kick too hard and too fast, which tires them out, and discourages swimming, which might leave the learning swimmer negative thoughts about swimming.
Also, a student ask why I don’t teach swimming using them. So I share with them, I share with you.
What would I recommend?
For beginners, in a shallow pool, Just hold your breath and start to kick in the water, feel how the body position in the water and leg kicks work together to propel them forward. Floaters in general need to focus on their legs not being too high and splashing, while sinkers need to focus on pushing themselves upwards as well as forwards. In fact, I would also recommend everyone try and see how slow and relax they can kick and still move forward. One of the most common mistakes in kicking is thinking the faster your kick the faster you move, but in fact, it also depends on how you kick, it quite possible to kick the wrong way that the person sinks and even moves backwards.
What if you decide to still use kickboards?
Well, that is totally your choice, your choice to purchase one, and your choice to spend your time on it. And if you do, I would recommend to learn kicking without using it first, and later use the kickboard to train the legs to continuous kick, to build up a resistence to fatigue from kicking so much. But as my philosophy in swimming goes, It is better to do it slow and right first, before doing it fast.
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Bobby The Effortless Swim Team