Now that you’ve learned how to get balanced on your back and on your side using the flutter kick, it’s time to learn the scissor kick, which is the type of kick currently taught at BUD/S training camp.

You’re going to start and stay in Extended Balance – Nose Down.   With one arm extended and eyes focused on the tiles, draw both knees up and then send the top leg forward and the bottom leg back.  

Keep looking at the tiles as you snap the legs back together – like the blades of a pair of scissors.  Take one or two kicks in nose-down position, then roll to your back for air. 

Let’s watch it once more at speed.

Then slow it down to look at the fine points.   Start in Extended Balance – Nose Down.  As you bring up the knees, try to hide your legs within the cylinder of your body.  

If we freeze-frame it right here, you can see how this swimmer’s knees and thighs are hidden behind his torso.

Bend your knees in front of your body and bring your heels up behind your body.

Don’t draw your knees up too far, as this swimmer is doing.  Bringing the knees up high might feel productive – like you’re setting up for a really powerful kick – but it can actually slow you down or bring you to a stop.  

If you feel a lot of acceleration after each kick, it probably means you slowed down too much – or even came to a complete stop – before the kick.  

If you are watching the tiles and they become crystal clear, this is a sign that you are coming to a complete stop before each kick.

The idea in Combat Side Stroke is to keep moving forward.  If you let your ankles get higher than the knees, you’ll trap water behind your legs and this will slow you down.

You’ll be faster if you set up for a smaller, low-profile kick.  Keep the ankles below your knees… don’t extend the legs too far back or too far forward… and take a smaller kick. 

It may feel like you’re going slower, but you’re actually going faster because you’re not slowing down between kicks.  

Practice scissor-kicking on both sides.  

You can practice in the Nose-Up position until you get the hang of it, but then try it nose down so that you can check yourself by watching the tiles. 

**Biggest Mistake Candidates Make** 
The biggest mistake candidates make is to try to do the whole stroke before they’ve mastered all the parts.  

Try not to use your arms until you’ve learned how to scissor-kick without your arms.   Start by focusing just on the kick – and keeping it small and compact rather than big and splashy.


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Step #6: Low-Profile Scissor Kick