I first encountered the 'Surge Point Kick' thirty-five years ago.

I was a junior surf lifesaver and there was one boy I hated to swim behind, his name was Craig and he eventually went on to win at the Surf Lifesaving Nationals. He was a faster swimmer than me, not only because he was two years older, but because he was impossible to draft off.

I ran into Craig recently and hopped into the local pool with him to do some training; I noticed his kick hadn't changed as I swam behind him drinking in a Tsunami of water. So what is it about his kick?

He's fast because he kicks only when he surges.

I hear a lot of talk about swimmers having a consistent 6-beat kick, occasionally we hear of the 4-beat kick during an endurance/middle distance race and on the rare occasion we see the 2-beat kick. Coaches and upper level swim teachers need to start training the kick like we do the stroke cycle. The stroke cycle has different gears, as does the kick; and if taught correctly can be a race tactic to lift your game.

As a Swim Teacher (I am not a coach) I put a lot of emphasis on teaching the learner swimmer to use a six beat kick. At the early stages of the Learn To Swim process we need a strong kick to maintain a good streamline and to add propulsion to keep the new swimmer moving forward on top of the water. Not teaching a good kick early in the Learn To Swim curriculum causes all sorts of faults further down the track and makes Learning To Swim take longer.

I recently have moved into the realm of Stroke Correction as a Stroke Mechanic. My background as a swimmer and swim instructor has given me a heightened sense of watching what works and feeling what works as well as unearthing what doesn't work. When you see something that obviously is working and no-one is talking about it, is time to speak up. It helps that I had a disagreement with another coach who told me Ledecky had a 6 beat kick when I know I have seen her use a two beat. We were both right, upon closer inspection it became obvious she uses her Surge Point Kick in 'some' of her longer distance races and the 6 beat for the shorter races. A great race tactic.

Maintain speed (increase stroke rate) + conserving energy (decrease kick use) = Surge Point Kick

4 Key Points to a good SURGE

My first key point: A strong kick is imperative if you want to use the Surge Point Kick. Triathletes please take note, even if you choose not to kick during a race you need to train your kick! Why? Because you're going to need it in a minute when you finish reading about the Surge Point Kick and because learning to kick correctly gives you an awareness of what your legs are doing while you are swimming and a better body position in the water.

My second key point: You will need to have a strong pull under the water and you'll need to evaluate which is your dominant pulling arm when you swim. I timed myself, when I breathe to my left only, I swim faster than breathing only to my right. Therefore, my right arm is my dominant pulling arm. And yes, the Surge Point Kick can be used in conjunction with the Gallop/Loping/Hybrid Freestyle technique.

My third key point: Find the 'surge point'. Gary Hall SR from The Race Club writes "I call the fastest point in the stroke cycle the surge point. In freestyle, the surge point occurs when one recovering hand first enters the water. At this precise moment, the head should dip slightly underwater in order to minimise frontal drag...then to maximise arm propulsion, the pulling hand needs to move backward as quickly as possible and with as much surface area as possible."

The surge point does not necessarily require the 'head dip' (some coaches aren't fans of the head dip) but it is the point where the face returns to neutral after the quick breath and the pulling arm starts to grab the water.

My fourth key point is the kicker (literally): As the head returns to neutral, the pulling arm reaches forward and grabs the water and pulls, then and only then does the corresponding leg (ie the leg on the same side as the pulling arm), give a strong whip-like kick down.

I visualise the process like this: With enough force, the pulling arm reaches forward and catches the water to move it in the direction you are traveling; this action creates a funnel which you swim through then kick out of.

The Surge Point kick can be used intermittently throughout a 6-beat/4-beat cycle or continuously during a 2-beat cycle. I have watched USA Olympic Superstar Katie Ledecky use the Surge Point Kick with her surging leg acting as a rudder and periodically kicking to surge and I have watched Aussie Open Water Champion Madeleine Gough use it intermingled with a 6-beat and 2 beat rudder to both conserve energy (which is cycled into her arm strokes) and kick efficiently during a race to boost her speed occasionally as she races.

As a final point, Triathletes can use the #SurgePointKick to conserve energy during the swim leg of triathlons. Six beat kicks consume a lot of the energy you need to maintain over a long distance, the Surge Point Kick is an occasional kick that gives you more bang for your buck and worth giving a try.

As a Bonus, if you can do it correctly no-one will want to draft behind you :)

#EfficientFreestyle #TriathlonSwimTips #EnduranceFreestyleKick #IronmanSwimTip #OpenWaterSwimmingTip

www.BornToSwim.com.au

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