Learning to swim??

[Max™]

Took you a while to notice that, you aren't catching some of the retard from me are ya?

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

this is like the third post I've seen you make since that thread

[Moss]

what the fuck are yall talking about? i swam at my gmaw's house every summer and then stopped going over there at like 16. went to the beach for the VERY FIRST time this past may and swam in the ocean fine. I'm 21. ohwait i forgot i took classes on how to swim in the ocean before i went cause everyone does that. tards.


edit: why are yall even talking about swimming in open water?

edit2: OP said nothing about swimming in open water or anything. he said swimming, not like it even matters. you guys must have had very pussy parents or you're all just really pussyfooted. yea im using all the insults now and shit. tards<-

Obviously you are the pussy because I've been swimming in the ocean since I was like 8. If I was 19 and had never learned how to swim, you bet your ass I would take classes, if only to feel more confident. Not sure if you are aware of this but even experienced swimmers drown all the time, and not just in the ocean.

[Max™]

this is like the third post I've seen you make since that thread

So you care enough to provide a stillborn attempt at an already setup joke, but not enough to actually notice the setup being in place though we've posted in the same threads since then?

I GUESS WE'RE NOT GOING STEADY ANY LONGER, HUH?

*runs off to b'aww at the b'aww posts in the random image thread*

[Fodder]

You can get private lessons at the YMCA. Sure half your city has pissed in the pool, but that is what chlorine is for

[Furtwangler]

I had issues treading water at first (which should be the first thing you learn to do, so you can stay in deep water without having to get too tired) until I took a class.

Basically, you can start in shallow water at first, and crouch your legs. Move your hands in horizontal figure eights with your fingers together and palms open to make like a paddle. Then start just kicking your feet or kicking them in circles like you're going up stairs almost. As someone said it is easier to do this in deep water.

Second thing is to learn to float on your back, also start doing this in shallow water. You just push your chest up to the surface of the water, and extend like you are on a bed. Let your ears get wet. The biggest problem people have is tilting their head forward and then they don't float.

You can combine back floating and treading water to stay afloat almost anywhere.

Next step is swimming, which can be done a a large variety of ways that you can easily look up online.

[lovehatehero]

what the fuck are yall talking about? i swam at my gmaw's house every summer and then stopped going over there at like 16. went to the beach for the VERY FIRST time this past may and swam in the ocean fine. I'm 21. ohwait i forgot i took classes on how to swim in the ocean before i went cause everyone does that. tards.


edit: why are yall even talking about swimming in open water?

edit2: OP said nothing about swimming in open water or anything. he said swimming, not like it even matters. you guys must have had very pussy parents or you're all just really pussyfooted. yea im using all the insults now and shit. tards<-

This is prob the worst advice to listen to. Swimming in the ocean is A LOT differnent then swimming in a pool. Current, waves, rip tides, etc etc. Biggest thing to remember is just staying calm during everything, half of swimming is floating, and controlling your breathing will make that go that much better. But ya take a class if you are really thinking you are gonna be that horrid, otherwise just find a pool jump in. Start in the shallows work your way deeper. IMO side stroke is the easiest to teach new people and the easiest from what ive done teaching to learn/get comfortbale with.

Edit: Treading water should be the first thing you learn though.

[Max™]

Incidentally, if you're too dense to readily float naturally, grab a football or basketball, push it down under your legs like you're going to sit on it, then trap it with your calves, and the back of your thighs. The added buoyancy will counter your sinking easily enough for you to get comfortable with your balance/keeping your head out of the water with just your hands.

I can't float on my back, my chest dips under, and if I don't correct for it I sink whether I've got a full breath in my lungs or not. Not enough body fat I guess, makes it fun to challenge people to see who can stay under the longest, you can hold your breath a while if you're just laying on the bottom without moving.

[Cyn]

BG is full of pansy nancy boys. Jump into a 14' pool OP. If you're genetically prepared, you'll figure it out quickly enough.

[Shenrien]

BG is full of pansy nancy boys. Jump into a 14' pool OP. If you're genetically prepared, you'll figure it out quickly enough.

yeah but then they start throwing out insane situations where the OP may end up killing themselves when they probably will never go swimming in an ocean or gulf.

[Cyn]

yeah but then they start throwing out insane situations where the OP may end up killing themselves when they probably will never go swimming in an ocean or gulf.

According to BG, any minor risk you take can very easily result in a horrific death.

[Shenrien]

So its just like CNN and MSNBC

[Cyn]

Threat level orange. Always.

[Sylvrdragon]

Basic Swimming:

Legs are like a propeller. Point in the opposite direction you want to be and kick in a manner similar to walking, except keep your knees straight and your feet out as though you were standing on your toes.

How you work your arms depends on what you're trying to do. If you're just treading water (staying in the same place with your head above water) you can just move them forward and back while angling your hands so you're pushing the water downward (similar to fan blades or propeller blades pushing things away from them).

If you're going for forward motion, then you typically reach in front from your sides with your hands and scoop the water backward along your side or you can reach from above and scoop the water below you. With the former method, both hands are usually moved forward and back at the same time; though with the latter method, you alternate. In either case, you want to move your hands to your front with as little resistance as possible, and move them back with as MUCH resistance as possible.

The human body will tend to float in calm water so long as you're not flailing around like an idiot. As was said above, just about any amount of movement toward "up" will keep you at the surface of the water.

Most pool water is safe to your eyes, so no need to freak out. I think it's even customary to keep your eyes open when you move anywhere underwater, though it will be blurry without goggles. Keep your mouth closed, obviously, and don't freak out if water gets in your nose.

[Drako]

when I was younger my parents put a life jacket on me, and threw me into a pool and I learned all by my self, push the water around you with your hands and kick with your legs.

eventually they took the life jacket off and put on water wings, they were getting in my way, and one day they fell off and I sunk to the bottom of the pool and sat there for about 20 seconds before I finally started to make my way up, I suggest you do the same

When i was really young (like 3 or 4) my parents just threw me at the pool to see if i could swim, of course, watching carefully.. after a couple times i could keep myself floating all the time anywhere in the pool, after that they taught me to swim properly.

It did work, but they did it like this because i was kinda crazy and had already jumped in the pool a couple times when no one was watching and was dangerous to leave me without knowing how to swim.. i did learn fast this way, but wouldnt recomend to anyone, i just wasnt afraid of water.

If i were you, i would pay for begginer classes, its kinda embarrassing but you will probably stay just a couple weeks there if you learn fast enough, swimming is really easy, its easier then running imo.

[Tellahh]

Read through the thread, and alot of good advice. But honestly, I was taught by doing at an early age like many here, and had a "decent" technique (pretty much a retarded doggy paddle with a lil hummingbird like someone mentioned). But to REALLY learn how to swim you need a class, I took some classes in High School and learned a professional swimmers stance (Long armed strokes ahead with Rapid kicks to accentuate and breathing timed on either side of stroke) and honestly it made a world of difference. This was at my local High School with a swimming class & water polo team, if none at a school maybe hit up the YMCA or Boys & Girls Club, both readily available in the Washington area.

Edit: To clear up anything, I swam damn fine until high school classes. No shit you can keep yourself afloat, but to really learn how to tread water efficiently you need a lil' teachings.. c'mon now...
Also one of my favorite swimming stances now is a floating backstroke.. chilling watching the sky above and moving along slowly.. something I learned young. But, at least if I need to move fast I can flip over and book it with the technique I listed from classes lolz.

[Norellicus]

Triggering 'fight or flight' methods to learn to swim is retarded, even in a pool. You pick up some nasty habits and will tire easily.

Learn how to do it right and you can spend hours in the pool and not really feel it much.

[OWS_Tonx]

Jump in the deep end first. It's how my dad taught me.

[ferigor]

When I was 5 years old I was diagnosed with a hip disease. One of my hips was smaller than the other, so I had to wear this leg brace. Think Forrest Gump, but worse (and I'm not retarded). I had this leather belt, and it attached to two plastic cuffs around my hips, stylishly secured with velcro straps, and a very sleek bar connecting the cuffs to keep my hips separated. Ah, good ol' Larry the Leg Brace I called him, I hated that fucking thing. I had to wear my leg brace from about the first quarter of kindergarten until the summer after fifth grade. Except for a 30 minute break my mom would give me, I had to wear that fucker all day.

My mom always said that before my leg brace, I could swim as a baby and loved the water. Unfortunately, Larry wasn't exactly conducive with swimming. Regardless of the fact that had I ever gotten that thing wet, my mom would have killed me, had I managed to fall in some water I'd be S.O.L. from the added weight of the brace, and the fact that there was a bar spreading my legs apart making it impossible to kick. My family was pretty outdoorsy, not like boating or swimming, but my dad worked as a hunting and fishing guide so I spent a lot of time near rivers and shit. My mom handled the situation by telling me that if I ever fell in water, I'd drown (which was true). She instilled this horrible fear in me, that is something that even now (I'm 28 ) I can't overcome. I've taken swimming lessons, and physically I know how to swim, but if I ever get to a point where I can't touch and have my head above the water, I freak the fuck out (If you want to race in like 3 feet of water, its on though). I've had to be rescued from 6 ft of water by my friends more than a few times, its embarrassing. I'm caught in this horrible paradox where I'm scared of the water because I can't swim, and I can't swim because I'm scared of the water.

I don't really have any advice to offer (since I still can't swim and all), but I saw all these people talking about just jumping in and letting instincts take over, and I think its horrible advice for an adult. In my opinion, it works for kids because all they have to rely on in that situation is instinct, but as an adult I think your brain might think the situation out too much (At least that's what happens to me). Unless you feel very confident in your instincts kicking in, I think getting with an instructor would be your best bet. I mean, if you swim, great, if not, you are putting yourself at a huge risk (And putting anyone who tries to save you at unnecessary risk also). That's just my opinion though, and its bias because I'm super scared of drowning.

[Cadsuane]

Hah, crazy to me that people can get to their 20s and not know how to swim, or even only knowing because you've taken classes. You should really know how to swim primarily due to frequently coming across bodies of water that are pleasant to throw yourself in.

Probably take some classes since the training structure makes it easier to stay motivated. At some point though, you're gonna need to do it recreationally.

Some advice: Fresh water is harder to float in than saline, but the ocean has current. If you are ever out in the ocean and being sucked out, you're in a riptide and the last fucking thing you should ever do is swim straight back to shore, no matter how big your dick is or how strong a swimmer you are. No amount of swimming classes will save you. Swim parallel to shore until the current reverses and you can leisurely float in.
Undertow isn't really dangerous unless you're too clumsy to live or the waves are big enough that you shouldn't be on the beach anyway.
If it's low tide and you're wading half a kilometre off shore, you'd better know when it's coming back up so you're not out there when it does.