This study of backstroke kicking is the second in a series investigating the development of proper technique in swimming and the implications for improving teaching effectiveness. Swimming Nature Ltd (SNL) advocates teaching backstroke (see What Stroke Should Be Taught First?) as a first stroke because it is a more natural way of swimming. It is less difficult then freestyle because the swimmer`s face is not in the water to complicate breathing. Additionally, backstroke skills can then be easily transferred to learning freestyle skills and thus promoting faster and more efficient learning. Measuring the backstroke kicking patterns of the lower limbs of swimmers at various levels at the beginning and end of an SNL term identifies common features of novice swimmers and how they change with increasing skill. This information can be used by SNL instructors to apply this new knowledge to improve teaching strategies. The research here is presented in two parts: Research Methods and Teaching Applications. The 'Research Methods` section describes the way the study was designed and implemented. The research analysed backstroke kicking range of motion at the hip, knee, and ankle joints, the coordination of joint movements, smoothness of motion at the joints, symmetry between right and left sides, and consistency in the movement patterns. The 'Teaching Application` section presents general trends that occur when learning backstroke kick and gives specific examples characteristic of individual swimmers. It presents questions that instructors may ask themselves to assist in identifying aspects of technique that need improvement. This section also has tips for instructing individual swimmers with specific characteristics to help them learn more quickly.