Propulsion Techniques Workshop

This workshop is for any diver who wants to move through the water with more control, more confidence and less effort.

To join, you’ll need to:

• be a current BSAC member
• hold at least BSAC Discovery Diver (or an equivalent qualification from another recognised agency)
• be medically fit to dive

Good buoyancy and trim are the platform every one of these kicks is built on, which is why we ask you to arrive with that foundation already in place.

You’ll need your normal diving kit with enough gas for your in-water session. If you’re training in a pool, you’re welcome to wear your usual open-water configuration, drysuit and all, so the techniques feel natural when you take them back outdoors. Just take care not to overheat in warm water.

The workshop starts on dry land, where you’ll watch video demonstrations of each technique and then practise the movements lying on a bench or the floor. Your instructor can guide your fins through each kick so you feel exactly how it should move before you ever get wet.

Then it’s into the water. In a pool or a sheltered shallow site, you’ll put everything into practice with your instructor demonstrating each kick, coaching you through it and helping you refine your technique. Many instructors use a small action camera so you can see your own finning and spot the tweaks that make the biggest difference.

You’ll learn four families of kicks:

• Power kicks (flutter and frog) for covering distance efficiently and holding your own against a current over a clean seabed
• High kicks (high frog) that send the wash behind and slightly upwards, keeping silt where it belongs
• Modified kicks (modified high flutter, modified high frog, and pull and glide) for slow, delicate movement in silty or tight spaces
• Control kicks (back kick and helicopter turn) for precise positioning, moving backwards and turning on the spot, all without using your hands

You’ll also learn how to read your diving environment, whether it’s open water or a confined space, silty or clean, and pick the technique that suits it best. And you’ll finish with the fun “push-me, pull-you” exercise with your buddy, which puts your forward and backward control to the test.

By the end of the workshop you’ll have a range of finning techniques you can call on for any dive: speed when you need it, finesse when you don’t and fine control when your hands are busy with a camera, a reel or a DSMB.

Your instructor will assess your technique and award you a standard:

• Bronze: power and high kicks, within ±2 m of depth
• Silver: power, high and modified kicks, within ±1 m
• Gold: power, high, modified and control kicks, within ±0.5 m and trim within ±30°
• Black: every technique, hands-free, within ±0.3 m and trim within ±15°

You can then apply for your qualification card to show what you’ve achieved.

Your new skills will make a real difference anywhere visibility matters and it’s a great skill to learn early on – you can always progress through the grades. They’ll also give you a strong foundation if you’re heading towards twin-set, sidemount or technical diving. For those wanting to gain Sports Mixed Gas through BSAC’s modular approach PTW god or black combined with  BTW gold or black, ADP and Deeper Diving Trimix awards the BSAC Sports Mixed Gas certification. 

Get started

Book onto a scheduled Propulsion Techniques Workshop, or ask your club about running one.