schwimmwelt.ch describes the crawl leg stroke as follows: ” The leg movement comes from the hip and continues through the thigh, knee and lower leg to the ankle. For the downstroke, the thigh is actively lifted to the surface of the water. The feet are stretched out during the downstroke and turned loosely inwards. When actively kicking the other leg upwards, the feet should be kept loose. The propulsion movement is performed with low amplitude and high frequency (6-legged stroke).”

The Swiss Federal Sports Commission (ESK) defines the crawl leg stroke as follows: “The legs whip up and down alternately from the hip and knee joints.”

• Alternating up and down strokes

• From the hip to the knee to the ankle.

• Downwards in the knee joint slightly bent, upwards stretched.

• Drive effect only slight; mainly for stabilization.

Exercise forms

1. Underwater leg kick:
   An effective crawl leg kick provides propulsion in both the downward and upward motion. To better feel the pressure and resistance of the water, you can train the leg stroke under water. Push off from the edge of the pool at a depth of about one meter and drift forward with the crawl leg stroke as far as you can. The slightly inward-turned toes swing up and down on the relaxed ankle with an amplitude of around 40 to 50 centimetres. Can you feel the resistance of the water?

2. Contrary experience:
   In this leg kick exercise, you deliberately do everything wrong at the beginning (knees bent at a high angle, feet flexed at 90 degrees, etc.). You will find that you can only generate very little propulsion this way.
   Stretch your knees and ankles more and more in small stages until both are almost stretched out and swinging loosely. Can you feel how the correct leg and foot position propels you forward more and more effectively?

3. Your foot is a fin:
   Your crawl leg kick produces the greatest effect when the foot can work like a diving fin. This is made possible by the joint movement of the upper (ankle) and lower (tarsal) ankle joints. During this leg kick exercise, deliberately turn the tips of your feet slightly inwards so that your big toes are always touching slightly as you swing up and down. The slight internal rotation gives your leg kick the greatest effect.

The crawl leg kick / PDF

© swim4u.ch / Sources: schwimmwelt.ch, ESK, swim.de