How important is the kick?

Rut Roh  

You do want to develop a bit of a kick, but it should not dominate your time. While we do kick with more minimal effort in a race, it still needs to be strong enough to do something. In order to accomplish both of those there needs to be some development. It's been debated quite a bit as to how much, but would think one would want to at least be able to get through those kick sets without being trashed.

As an off-topic, but relevant aside -

Kicking or no kicking, it is definitely worth at least making sure you CAN swim with no-kick (like banded at the ankles) just for a technique check, to eliminate any imbalances in your pull that will cause a scissor kick. It's worth doing that even if you prefer to kick fairly hard during your normal swims.

Most swim teams do some sets of no-kick / paddle pull sets, which reinforce exactly this clean pull, with no kick to offset any stroke error.

The fast swimmers in a sprint/Oly, and especially a draft legal event, respectfully ask that the rest of you don't kick.  That is all. 

I would like to extend this to the 25-29 age group as well.

Kicking is part of swimming. Would you run without swinging your arms because you want to save them for the swim? (pretend the swim was after the run ) 

I absolutely love this simple, spot-on.

How important is the kick in terms of stroke technique? Super important. Critical.

How important is it to kick hard during the entire swim portion of long-course triathlon? It isn't.

Indeed. The difference is that the WAY you swing your arms (provided you keep 'em out of the way of your legs) is completely unimportant in running.

To get back to your original question, though--1. by the way, indeed, it's not about saving them for the bike and run, it's a different issue entirely, namely

2. Using your kick well as part of / in order to set up the rest of the stroke.

Kicking should be like everything else in a swim workout: there should be a reason you're doing it, and if you're beginner to intermediate, it should be done with a direct application to what part it plays in your whole swim technique.

Uh......I've watched runners sit on the floor and propel themselves simply by swining their arms.  It's a drill that helps teach and visualize the benefit of arm drive in running.....especially at distances of 1 mile or less, or anytime in a race that pace needs to quicken.  Run with no arms and see what happens.

Yes, what you do with your arms can make you a better runner..  It's actually not a bad analogy to the kick in the swim.

For those who think that arms don't matter while running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L27nvy3-B-4

ETA: Upper body position for knowledge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttylHjpm94

X

If you don't believe a premier coach, maybe you will believe a premier runner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgn5dqtjQHk

The fast runners in a sprint/oly respectfully request you do not use your arms while running.  That is all.

I have been getting coached in my swim two times a week for the past few months. Before this I have just figured out the swimming part on my own. I had the same though, why work on my kick and kick hard when they have to pedal 112 miles and run a marathon. I thought, kill the arms in the swim as they are just going to be hanging out for the next 112 miles.

However my coach was good enough to make me kick anyway and now I really appreciate it. I figure I will train like a swimmer and work on my kick so I have a good strong kick available to me. I will not use 100% of that kick in my IM but it will be there, and 50% of my kick now is a lot more than 50% of where my kick was when I started. It is a tool, work on it, have it in the bag if needed and then use it wisely in a race.