Swimming

don't wear goggles

>>17409667
Why? I don't want pool water to get into my eyes

>>17409664
The first thing is knowing survival skills. One of the first is knowing how to lie on your back - fill your lungs, and recline back in the water until your legs, arms, stomach and head are all roughly level with the water. What this does is makes you as buoyant as possible (air in your lungs acts as ballast, and your create as much surface area as possible to keep you above water.)

After that its a case of staying calm, keeping your bearings, and kicking softly until you reach the side of the pool.

Just remember to keep breathing, filling your lungs does no good if you hold your breath and end up passing out.

There are other techniques you can learn, but those are probably best learned under supervision of someone who knows what they are doing, so for now just stick to the basics.

Where are you planning to swim anyway? Try to go somewhere with a lifeguard, just in case things turn pear shaped. Being in the water isn't all that dangerous, but things can go bad fast so it helps to be aware of the risks and prepare for them.

>>17409729
We will swim at a pool

>>17409664
You give the problem away a couple of replies down when you say you don't want water in your eyes. It is not that you can't swim or are afraid of water - it is that this side issue gets in your way.

It is difficult to deal with fears rationally because they are almost by definition irrational. But ask yourself what would be so bad about water getting in your eyes? The chance of infection is negligible, and the only other real issue is that it MIGHT sting a little if there's too much chlorine. Really, really not a big deal.

But of course, you can tell yourself that until the cowfish come home and still not believe it. So, as with a lot of fears, the only way to break its hold on you is to gather up all your courage and take the risk of just doing it - dunk your head underwater and open your eyes. And discover that there actually wasn't anything there to be afraid of all along.

>>17409764
It is really uncomfortable with my eyes

>>17409725
Then don't get in the pool

>>17409773
But I want to swim
I also dislike how water gets into my eara

I would convince your friend to help you paddle around in shallow water at first and practice floating around it. I wouldn't advise you to go in deep water all in one day.

Hate to steal attention of this thread, but could I swim with prescription glasses? Don't say contacts because I forgot them on my trip right now.

>>17409789
You don't want to swim.

>>17409806
Don't risk losing or breaking your glasses if they're all you have.

>>17409769
Yes, but "uncomfortable" is not "deadly". The worst that could happen is that MAYBE some water might leak into your goggles, and MAYBE it would get in your eyes, and MAYBE that would feel bad, and MAYBE that would spoil things for more than a few seconds.

But that's a lot of maybe's, and even if the first happened, that wouldn't mean the second would, and so on.

>>17409841
Water leaks into my goggles like every time i swim

>>17409941
Get better goggles

I don't wear goggles just because it doesn't matter to me. It's blurry underwater without them but I haven't used goggles in years and my eyesight has gotten pretty bad so it wouldn't really matter. Just keep your eyes closed or only open them when you feel you need to.
My best friend doesn't swim and it annoys the hell out of me because I know he can. He'll only go to where he can touch. The inability to swim is all in your head (if you're a normal person with functioning arms and legs). He hates the learning process because when he starts to freak out and can't get to where he can stand he feels like he's a burden for getting help.
I'd say you just need to practice. When I swim, I couldn't tell you exactly what I do. I just move my arms and legs and get where I'm going. It's just natural for me and most people who have a good amount of experience in water.
If you have good friends, they'll be patient with you. And they should respect your boundaries. Don't push it too hard, but you'll probably need to leave your comfort zone to learn.

>>17410032
>Just keep your eyes closed or only open them when you feel you need to
Opening your eyes underwater seems rather uncomfortable to me

I used to hate getting water in my eyes.
but in a pool you can go underwater with your eyes open. It does not hurt in the slightest. Also dont keep rubbing your eyes if you do get water in them... it makes it worse, just wipe/rub you eyes once.

>>17409729
Not him but that is exactly what I have been doing.
Not the best swimmer but doing this I have learned a lot.

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OP

I am a swimmer and have been doing it regularly since I was 10
here is now you learn to swim: kickboard

you first need to have your head out of the water and get a good feel for your kick position and practice it

once you get some stability on kicking, you put your head inside the water, look down to the floor and breathe by letting go of the kickboard and doing a crawl paddle, tilt your head to the side and breathe looking to the side of the pool

once you get comfortable doing that, you start doing paddles with both arms, one at a time letting go from the kickboard, but still hanging on to it with at least one hand. paddle with one arm, then switch and paddle + breathe to the side

when you are doing it smoothly, you can put the kickboard aside and do it without it
now you can swim crawl

>>17411408
I am uneasy about opening my eyes underwater

>>17412439
Don't be so scared

>>17412777
/thread