What’s the key to learning how to swim? What is the secret or actual skill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you black? When I was in boot camp all the brothers looked like they were being electrocuted in the water.

Yes

[Anonymous]

I was terrified of water as a kid too--lots of ear infections caused severe ear pain which I think was the root of my problem. In 4th grade we were required to take a week of swim lessons and I was still terrified. For me, learning to float on the my stomach was the gateway to learning other skills. I think floating on your back is much harder to master.

The real key is 1) suck in air to fill your lungs 2) learn to float and just be generally comfortable in the water 3) learned to use a kick board and paddle from one end of the pool to the next until you get the kick motion down then 4) learn to do a crawl stroke--w/o using your legs, just learn the arm part. Your elbow should be the highest part of the motion and your hands like like scoops that push the water away which is what propels you. Your head to to the side--just pick one side don't flail your head all over the place. Face in the water, stroke, breathe, stroke other arm, face in the water, stroke, face to the side, breathe. Once you have that down, the work on putting the arms and legs together.

You can do this! You can do hard things. And soon, this won't be hard anymore. Number one thing is to relax, have fun, and learn to float before anything else.

[Anonymous]

if you want to learn to swim, i would recommend swimming lessons. do you have easy access to a pool? if you were my neighbor, i would teach you myself in my pool.

i understand why some people never learned to swim and also why you are afraid (your experience as a child), but i think it is something worth learning if you are interested.

[Anonymous]

I am far from an expert, in fact my swimming is weak (I have trouble with the breathing), but here is my advice:

You might want to consider beginning with treading water. Usually taught after learning how to swim, it might be an easy way to give you some confidence. Your head stays above water (so you don’t have to coordinate breathing) and the motions are simple. While it won’t propel you anywhere, it can allow time for someone to come to your rescue.

While you definitely want actual swimming lessons, there are lots of videos on Youtube that might give you a better idea about beginning swimming than anything we can post in text.

Good for you for tackling this. I know you can do it. Your determination is inspiring me to reevaluate some of my blocks that I gave up on rather than overcoming. I think I’ll need to try again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Jump in water.
2. Don’t drown.

So simple that even most animals can figure it out.

Jump in water during a high tide is asking for trouble . Even the best swimmers have drowned .

This is foolish advice. Swimmers like you who don’t realize water has a mind of its own are the ones who end up on the news for failing to take precautions [/quote

[Anonymous]

I think it is actually very much like riding a bike, in that the key is to keep moving in the right ways (there's more than one!) and then you can keep your bouyancy. Just like with a bike, momentum is key to keeping balance once you start.

If you do have trouble with biking, and have neurological/balance issues, you might need more specialized lessons for those issues. They may be out of the realm of your local high schooler who works weekends at the rec center pool.

[Anonymous]

I think you would benefit from individual lessons. You should also explain that you fear the water and have been traumatized. Good luck and I commend you for trying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Work on just relaxing in the water. To me that is key.

This. You can’t float if you are scared, and it makes a lot of sense why you would be!

[Anonymous]

I don’t think there is a secret, OP. Your swim instructor will give you all the steps. You will have to not panic. Remember that you can touch the floor of the pool if you need to, and there are people there to help you if you get in trouble, and that you’re not 5 anymore. You absolutely can do this. I’m sorry about your past traumatic experience.

[Anonymous]

Babies instinctively know how to hold their breaths. Before a year old, that’s when they will reflexively hold their breaths when you dump water over them or dunk them under water. That’s why those baby and me swimming classes are actually beneficial. The babies won’t learn to swim, but they WILL learn to float and hold their breaths.

For your situation, I would recommend a few private swimming lessons to begin with. A group class will be too much pressure and not enough individual attention.

[Anonymous]

I had one of my vestibular nerves removed so i have balance issues too. For swimming, my little hacks include looking at the horizon while swimming, come out of the water and sit on the edge of the pool for a sec to reestablish my land legs. Keep my ears a bit in the water (tip head forward or backwards or even one ear on the side). This helps a lot with floating and I can still do this even with my nose out of the water.

The good thing about water is it will automatically balance you. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP I honestly think the first step is being comfortable in the water generally. Whether you’re a child or an adult. If you’re not comfortable you’re going to struggle with learning the steps.
Not the best metaphor but imaging trying to learn to read but no one ever taught you the alphabet or the letter sounds. But then you’re given a book and told you’re going to learn to read it. But you don’t even know what sounds the letters make.
I would go as much as you can when it’s not a lesson.. just push yourself around, put your face in and hold your breath for a few seconds, from a standing position push off backwards on to your back and just let your feet down to
Where you can stand again. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Learning how to tread water is the most important safety skill in the water IMHO. No one floats on their back without some movement. Treading water is sustainable in terms of energy expenditure for a long time if you do in it properly, certainly long enough for a lifeguard of strong swimmer to drag you out if you can't actually do strokes.

[Anonymous]

A strong kick is what is going to propel you through the water. Think about moving your legs like scissors instead of “pushing” the water behind you with your legs.

Once you’re ready to put your face in the water, try using a kickboard while you kick your legs, blow bubbles in the water, and then lift your head out to breathe. Once they motion feels more familiar you can ditch the kick board and add in a foggy paddle with your arms and then work on an actual stroke if you want.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry you had such a scare, OP!

Lots of good advice here, especially 21:56. You might never become a great swimmer, but that playing around and getting some comfort in 3 or 4 feet of water is probably the best thing you can do.