Like most butterfliers, Kelsi takes two kicks for every arm cycle.  She delivers a slightly smaller kick when the hands enter the water…and a larger, more powerful kick as the hands finish the pull and exit the water.  On the smaller kick, Kelsi’s heels are just under the surface.  On the bigger kick, her heels come just above the surface, to create a more powerful downward push.

From above, the thing to notice is that Kelsi’s toes are turned slightly inward when she delivers each downward kick.  This gives her slightly more surface area for a more powerful kick.

From under water, we see Kelsi’s timing of two kicks per arm cycle – a big kick followed by a smaller kick.  Kelsi bends her knees slightly for the kick, but the angle is in the 120-degree range, and not in the 90-degree range that we see in some swimmers.   Two more ingredients in Kelsi’s powerful kick:  she delivers power on both the down kick AND on the up kick…and her toes are always pointed.   

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Butterfly - Legs