Have you ever looked at your own feet while you dive? Most divers never do — and almost 100% of them are kicking up silt without knowing it. Here's why it happens, the basics that stop most of it, and the advanced kick I copied from a cave diver that lets you swim right over sand and coral without touching a grain. This is Part 8 of my 9-part series on scuba fin kicks.

I'm Totty, owner of BIGHOLIDAY, a fun-diving shop on Miyako Island, Okinawa — 20,000+ logged dives, 60,000+ divers guided.

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THE CORE IDEA
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Why the water goes murky behind you:
1. You're not neutral — you're sinking a little, so your feet drop.
2. Your body is tilted, so every leg movement points at the bottom.
3. Your kicks are short, fast and strong.
Fix your buoyancy and switch to big, slow, gentle kicks, and most of the silt disappears.

The advanced kick — one prerequisite: neutral buoyancy with a perfectly horizontal body. Then:
Leg angle: bend the knees firmly, keep the ankles horizontal and lift the feet upward, so your contact point sits far above the bottom.
The movement: with the legs folded, open — pop — and pull back together; from behind it's "pull back and squeeze". Keep the fins vertical or they won't catch water. Kick only when you want to move.

Even if the kick itself takes time, the foot angle alone stops the silt. Once it's in your body you never think about your feet again — over sand, over a clownfish, through Miyakojima's caves, over coral. Good for the reef, and good etiquette.

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CHAPTERS
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0:00  Intro — have you ever looked at your own feet?
0:24  Why nobody taught you about silt
1:04  Look at your feet on your next dive
1:26  Today's plan
2:03  Reference footage: Moe stirring up the bottom (overhead view)
2:42  Why does it get so murky?
3:00  Reason 1 — not neutral, feet dropping
3:31  Reason 2 — tilted body angle
3:42  Reason 3 — short, fast, strong kicks
4:03  The basics: buoyancy first, then big slow gentle kicks
4:17  The advanced silt-free kick — the one prerequisite
5:08  Leg angle: knees bent, ankles horizontal, feet up
6:03  How to move: open, pop, pull back and squeeze
6:54  Keep the fins vertical
7:21  Kick only when you want to move
7:34  What matters most: foot angle and buoyancy
8:07  Where I learned it: a technical / cave diver
8:40  What changes once you can do it
9:21  Sand, coral and the creatures on the seabed
10:12  Wrap-up

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WATCH THESE NEXT
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Next in the series, plus the skill every kick in this series depends on:

Part 9 — Scuba Fin Kicks: The Back Kick That Makes You Pro Level
→ Scuba Fin Kicks: The Back Kick That Makes ...

Scuba Fin Kicks: The Complete Series (all 9 parts, in order)
→ Scuba Fin Kicks: The Complete Series

Scuba Buoyancy Control: The Complete Series
→ Scuba Buoyancy Control: The Complete Series

Not quite getting it? Leave a comment on this video and I'll reply.

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DIVE WITH ME IN JAPAN
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BIGHOLIDAY — Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan
→ https://bigholiday-miyakojima.com/en/

Business inquiries: see the email on my channel's About page.

#scubadiving #finkicks #scubaskills #miyakojima #japandiving