question about doing the sidestroke in swimming?

Question

i have a question when youre doing the sidestroke in swimming. are your legs supposed to just be just at the surface kicking, like is it wrong if your legs are doing the kicking underwater?

Answer 1

You do a scisor kick under the water.

Answer 2

No it is not wrong, you do kick your legs underwater; it is called a scissor kick (it is like a whipping of the legs).

But there is a glide in between kicks. For example is you are side stroking on your left side you would scissor kick once (extending your right leg forward and you left leg backwards) then return both legs to a gliding position and hold for a second or two, then repeat the scissor kick and hold. (Remember like a pair of scissors the blades cannot go in the opposite direction therefore if on your left side your left leg should never go forward and your right leg should never go backwards) Instead they return to their starting position for 1 or 2 seconds.

Sidestroke is not a competitive stroke it is used for towing or pulling things/people out of the water, so the glide in between kicks is important to not tire out and also to propel you forward in case your arms are occupied.

It is just like in breaststroke or elementary back, there is a glide (chicken, airplane, pencil -pencil is the glide you should be holding for 1 or 2 seconds).

You will find that if you hold that glide the stroke will be alot easier and smoother in the water.

Scissor Kick (Whip) and HOLD

hope this helps

Answer 3

NOOOO! your legs should actually BE IN THE WATER! if you have your legs above the water, you won't get anywhere.

Answer 4

Under water's fine.

Answer 5

no there is nothing wrong with that, you should be doing the scissor kick anyway :)

Answer 6

while swimming the side stroke you should use scissor kicks