How, exactly, do you use your (swim) fins?

[KnoviceMax]

Hi All,

I finally found/saved a used Freeline kneeboard (5'11") that was damaged and apparently headed for the dump, rehabbed it, and have been out a dozen times or so around Santa Barbara in the last year. It's fun and I think I'm getting the feel of the board and riding kneelo, but I'm still confused about the use and benefits of fins. For reference, I'm about 5'10" tall, and I got a set of Da Fins. Here's what I've experienced so far:

When positioned on the board like I'm paddling into a wave -- far enough forward that the board is roughly level and gliding -- my legs are too far forward to do much kicking with the fins. At best, they feel like they are doing little slaps on the surface of the water, because the tail of the board gets in the way of legs doing any deeper kicking. I can paddle into some waves without much help from the fins, but I also miss a lot... leaves me wondering if I'm not using fins the way most of you do.

I ran into an experienced kneelo in Cayucos (near Morro Bay) several months ago, and he said he got the best use of fins when "rocking back" at the base of an approaching wave, plunging the tail of the board into the water, and kicking at that point. I've tried that many times, and it sometimes works, even though my position on the board feels pretty similar to when paddling into a wave. While rocking back with legs deeper in the water, it seems that they are able to kick more freely for a second or 2, but then they're quickly back on the surface doing their little flaps. When I do catch a wave like this, it's often a very late takeoff that doesn't always go well.

I've also tried shifting my body backwards on the board so that my legs are free to kick more fully, which pretty much eliminates the option of paddling with arms but generates some speed. However, in this position the nose of the board also rides quite high in the water, and I have not had much luck actually catching waves with this approach.

Granted, I'm new at this and need to figure out what works for me. Would still appreciate hearing your approach to body position and using fins, if you've got any tips!

Cheers, Max


PS: apologies if there's already a thread on this, but I didn't see one

[JACKSON]

I use the jam the tail down an kick method. you have to take off when the wave is pretty steep you just have to work on the vertical drop lol