3. Improve your rotation. Swimmers who scissor kick typically under rotate their bodies and swim flat in the water. To fix this, focus on rotating your hips to face the wall. Drills like the shark fin drill, hand entry drill, and even doggie paddle freestyle can help improve your rotation. This will help relax your kick and improve your overall freestyle.
4. Stretch your ankles. If you have feet that point forward in a flexed position as you swim, you may be suffering from the dreaded runners' kick. Many runners develop tight, inflexible ankles, and this is detrimental to swimming. Your feet act as anchors and drag as you try to move forward. The best thing to do is stretch your ankles daily. You can also practice kicking in the pool using short fins such as Zoomers. These will force you to kick the proper way and work on your flexibility in the process.
More: Are you a Swimmer With a Runners' Kick?
5. Practice upright in the water. Do this with the vertical kicking drill. Get into deep enough water so that your feet aren't touching the bottom when you get into a vertical position. Let go of the wall, cross your arms, and kick in place in a vertical position (keep in a straight line), pointing your toes and keeping your chin above the surface of the water. Get your power from your quadriceps in this drill. Try 20 seconds at a time.
Note that kick boards weren't mentioned above. They don't actually help improve your kick because they prevent you from working on balance in the water. Unless you just want a break from staring at the black line for a bit, or you want to be social with your training buddies, stay away from the boards.
Follow the steps above and put your kicking worries to rest for good.
More: Drills to Improve Your Swimming
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