What does a 6-beat kick imply about leg movement frequency?

• A. 6 kicks per stroke
• B. 6 kicks per cycle
• C. Kick on every other beat
• D. Kick only during pull

Answer: (B)

The key idea is what a "beat" represents in swimming rhythm. A beat is one leg kick. A six-beat kick means you perform six kicks in the time it takes to complete one full arm stroke cycle (the period from one complete arm pull and recovery back to a similar point on the next cycle). So the leg movement frequency is six kicks per arm-cycle. This is a fast kick rate relative to a lower-beat pattern and is distributed across the entire arm cycle to help propel and stabilize the body. It doesn’t mean six kicks per each individual stroke step, nor does it imply skipping kicks or kicking only during the pull.