OK, my long time swimmy friends, I need some help. I've mentioned before that kicking is my downfall. For about a year, I found that a 2-beat kick was super helpful for me. It wasn't helping my speed, but it was keeping other things like body positioning better while I worked on other stuff. About a month ago, I started a 6-beat kick. I find that I still drop a kick every now and then (as in--stop kicking, and then start up again), but if I focus, I can keep kicking. However... my hips drop (this was part of my original problem with kicking and I solved it by kicking furiously, which led to all sort of other problems, which took me to the 2-beat kick). I do some drills, I use a kickboard, and both help. I find that when I use a kickboard for 25, and then front crawl for 50, it's a better front crawl because using the kickboard helps my body remember to stay long.

So, if you're able to follow me... self-talk works really well for me. I swim and just repeat something over and over. I can't figure out what to tell myself to get my hips up, keep kicking, long legs, flat body, etc. Any ideas?

Oh, and as long as you're here... lately when I use my fins (the shorties), I find my feet and calves getting tight. How to ensure that my kick is actually coming from the hip??

Lots of kick problems. Discuss...
And as always, thank you!!
~Curly