# How can one NOT know how to swim? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700 "2012-06-29T14:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/81 "2012-06-29T20:00:03Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > You’re not in Gainesville, by any chance? Are you? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/82 "2012-06-29T20:02:01Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > …Now I live in Florida – and have for a couple decades – but I am too embarrassed to take swimming lessons as an adult, mostly because of the derisive tone of the OP. :o kind of adult doesn’t know how to swim? **That would be me**. It would also be everyone else in your beginning swim class. The instructor is used to dealing with people who feel the same way you do and will not embareass you. If his attitude forces you to leave, the rest of the beginners will be right behind you. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/83 "2012-06-29T20:02:07Z")
I’ve been in Gainesville since 1991. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/84 "2012-06-29T20:05:40Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Everybody is buoyant. It’s just that not everybody floats on the surface. > > I think that any non-swimmer who was placed in a pool deep enough to float in but shallow enough to stand with their head above water could quickly and without panic figure out how to propel themselves across the width of the pool without touching the bottom. > [@MoonMoon](#): > > Incorrect. Elaborate, please? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/85 "2012-06-29T20:07:18Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Never heard of it. Maybe they call it the “Jellyfish float” in your area. Same thing. You only need to kick your feet OR move your hands just enough to keep the back of your head out of water and pull your head up to breath occasionally. The purpose is to save your strength and keep you alive until help arrives. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/86 "2012-06-29T20:09:51Z")
**Dogzilla** , do _not_ let embarrasement about what other people might think be your reason for not learning how to swim. Contact your local Y or rec center with a pool. They will have adult swimming classes, or information about adult swimming classes. Unless you are able to accurately gauge your own level of competence, you might be better off asking about a private lesson initially. When you are asking about lessions, find out when they are held and whether the pool is open to other use at that time. Some people prefer not to take lessons as an adult while the pool is open for other use, because they don’t want people watching them. Swim instructors who work with adults will be very familiar with the potential for embarrasement, so don’t worry about them causing you grief. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/87 "2012-06-29T20:12:48Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Maybe they call it the “Jellyfish float” in your area. Check out post #37. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/88 "2012-06-29T20:14:00Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Elaborate, please? Everybody is NOT buoyant. There have been several cites in this thread stating so. Non-swimmers placed in water shallow enough to stand in cannot quickly (nor usually without panic) figure out how to swim across the pool. Some might sort something out eventually, but it won’t be quick. And I’ve had non-swimmers panic in _two feet_ of water; don’t blithly discount their fears. So, you were incorrect on both points. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/89 "2012-06-29T20:20:31Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Now I live in Florida – and have for a couple decades – but I am too embarrassed to take swimming lessons as an adult, mostly because of the derisive tone of the OP. WTF kind of adult doesn’t know how to swim? That would be me. Sadly, a lot of people die because they are too embarrassed to do the things that could save their lives. Getting colonoscopies and digital rectal exams come to mind but in your case, it’s swimming lessons. For your own sake, try to overcome any embarrassment you feel, and sign up for some swim lessons; it could save your life some day. I promise, **Shakes** will not be teaching the course. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/90 "2012-06-29T20:21:39Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > \As mammals we seem to have a dog-paddling instinct. A basic dog paddle may not keep your head out of the water if you are fully clothed, and will soon result in exhaustion regardless. This is even true of dogs. Until a dog or a human becomes comfortable in the water, they will exhaust themselves trying to use the dog-paddle to climb upward out of the water.\ > [@tdn](#): > > I’m thinking that while we need instruction, there’s got to be some instinctual level of knowledge going on. After all, quite a few land animals can swim with no intruction at all. And doggie paddling is a pretty intuitive way to get around. I thought it was an instinctive ability for all dogs, too, until I had to wade in and rescue our two-year-old dog the first time we got him into a pond deeper than he was tall. Oops. (The dog is fine, but he’s always hated the water and never did learn to swim.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/91 "2012-06-29T20:23:27Z")
I cannot swim. As a child, I took swimming lessons (OK, to be accurate, my parents made me take swimming lessons) on three different occasions. Each time, things went fairly well until we got to the point where my face or head would go underwater. That’s when I’d freak out. I hated having water in my ears / nose / whatever, and couldn’t effectively float at that point. (I was also extremely skinny as a kid, which probably didn’t help.) Each time, my instructors basically gave up on the idea. “He really doesn’t want to swim”, they told my parents. So, I’ve gotten through life not knowing how to swim. If I’m going to be on a boat, I always wear a life vest. I try to stay away from situations where it might be an issue (i.e., fooling around on the edge of a pool). However, my running partner (who is a great swimmer) seems to have taken this on as a challenge. Last summer, she was able to teach me how to hold my breath underwater, and even open my eyes underwater – this is something I simply thought I couldn’t do. We might try actual swimming at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/92 "2012-06-29T20:33:12Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I am. > > I know that we’ve had this discussion before, and some people are convinced that they sink like rocks, that’s just the way they are. Then I asked a swim instructor about it. She said that’s nonsense. Everyone floats. Well, she’s wrong, I sink. I am a strong swimmer, completely at home in the water - I can tread water for extended periods and can tread water so as to rise up and expose both shoulders for a minute or so. I can swim lengths with my hands clasped behind my back (using only my legs) or with my feet crossed together (using only my arms). I can swim lengths underwater. But I can only maintain any floating position actively by making gentle swimming motions. If I relax and try to float motionless, my legs sink, then my torso and then my head goes under - and I come to rest on the bottom of the pool (holding my breath, obviously). That’s in a fresh water swimming pool - I’d probably float OK in a seawater pool or in the sea itself (if it was calm). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/93 "2012-06-29T20:36:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I am. > > I know that we’ve had this discussion before, and some people are convinced that they sink like rocks, that’s just the way they are. Then I asked a swim instructor about it. She said that’s nonsense. Everyone floats. She’s wrong. There were two guys in my Navy boot camp company that went straight to the bottom and stayed there. The Navy doesn (or didn’t) give a shit whether you said you could swim or not. You got in line and stepped off the one meter platform two by two. Honest to og, I’ve never seen anything like it when these two stepped off. The three of us had to go to remedial swimming lessons, and while I was able to learn to frog kick my way around the pool pretty easily, these guys had to fight for every inch. Every time they would swing their arms back, their asses would head for the bottom. I don’t swim well and never have, even with lessons. It’s not enjoyable for me, and by now I’d be a prime candidate for drowning if I fell into any water over my head. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/94 "2012-06-29T20:48:23Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Everybody is NOT buoyant. There have been several cites in this thread stating so. > > Non-swimmers placed in water shallow enough to stand in cannot quickly (nor usually without panic) figure out how to swim across the pool. Some might sort something out eventually, but it won’t be quick. And I’ve had non-swimmers panic in _two feet_ of water; don’t blithly discount their fears. > > So, you were incorrect on both points. Exactly. If I’m up to my neck I can do a bounce leap thing to the side, but I can’t do more than a few swimming strokes at a time. (I also can’t tread water very well and have never understood how it’s supposed to give you a “rest” in the water. It’s damn hard work and I start to sink after a few moments anyway.) All of that adds up to a fair amount of panic, but then factor in the fact that I’m desperate to avoid going under water and there’s no avoiding panic. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/95 "2012-06-29T20:50:09Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Everybody is NOT buoyant. There have been several cites in this thread stating so. > > Non-swimmers placed in water shallow enough to stand in cannot quickly (nor usually without panic) figure out how to swim across the pool. Some might sort something out eventually, but it won’t be quick. And I’ve had non-swimmers panic in _two feet_ of water; don’t blithly discount their fears. > > So, you were incorrect on both points. By quickly I don’t mean immediately. I mean within a few hours. When they panic do they sink to the bottom, or do they stand up? And once they realize that they can avoid drowning by standing does it alleviate their fears? ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/96 "2012-06-29T20:58:35Z")
I’m a 44-year-old male, somewhat muscular but not particularly lean. My buoyancy is positive or negative, dependent upon the air I have in my lungs. If I exhale, even half-way, I sink and my feet eventually reach the bottom of the pool (3 meters). No matter how relaxed my body is. So my recent swimming lessons have put some emphasis on exhaling-and-inhaling fast enough to avoid having my mouth under water. Or gesticulating enough to get it back up above the surface. I would not have been able to learn to “swim” from point A to point B (with A still pretty close to B) without lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/97 "2012-06-29T21:00:21Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > The way I learned, you’re supposed to approach from behind so they can’t grab onto you, wrap your arm around from their neck to opposite arm pit. That way you’re not crushing their windpipe. > > But [here’s](http://www.wikihow.com/Rescue-an-Active-Drowning-Victim) an article from Wiki How that says you’re supposed to approach from behind and grab them under the arm pits and pull them toward your chest. > > They have the same basic effect; just one leaves an arm free and the other doesn’t. As a former lifeguard & Water Safey Instructor (the level that teaches lifeguards), I must say it’s much better to practice this first, with a ‘victim’ who is only playing a role in a controlled situation than with a real drowning person who is panicing. This is why Emergency Services & military drill constantly, so that Plan B is second nature when the situation turns to shit. The article doesn’t say anything about what to do when you are approaching them from behind & they suddenly turn around & lunge at you. Because of my training, I’ve learned the finer points of how to approach someone, how close to get, how to get away, etc. The goal is not to be a dead hero. It’s hardly rocket science, but it’s much tougher than looking good in a bathing suit while running down the beach, a la Babewatch; er, ah Baywatch. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/98 "2012-06-29T21:03:45Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Exactly. If I’m up to my neck I can do a bounce leap thing to the side, but I can’t do more than a few swimming strokes at a time. (I also can’t tread water very well and have never understood how it’s supposed to give you a “rest” in the water. It’s damn hard work and I start to sink after a few moments anyway.) All of that adds up to a fair amount of panic, but then factor in the fact that I’m desperate to avoid going under water and there’s no avoiding panic. Out of curiosity, how were you taught to tread water? I mean, which technique do you use? I know some people IRL who have told me that treading water is very difficult and tiring, and they all used the method where you move your legs like you’re “riding a bicycle”. I took a lot of swimming lessons as a kid and I was a pretty good swimmer, and I don’t like that method. Instead, I tread water with a motion like your legs are an “eggbeater”. My sister and I also took synchronized swimming lessons (me only briefly, and her for many years), and the “eggbeater” method is the one they use. It takes way less energy than “bicycling”, and I find I can tread water for longer and keep my head/shoulders out of the water far easier that way. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/99 "2012-06-29T21:32:54Z")
Neither the high school nor college I went to would graduate you if you couldn’t swim the length of the pool. Never heard of anyone not graduating because they couldn’t swim so I’m going to assume everyone can learn how if they’re motivated enough. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700/100 "2012-06-29T21:34:00Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Your swim instructor is wrong. > > [biology of drowning](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=bodies%20sinking%20in%20fresh%20water&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.operationtakemehome.org%2Fsar%2FFire%2520and%2520Rescue%2520Personnel%2FBiology%2520of%2520drowning.pdf&ei=yNTtT9LFJY2k8QT_v7mTAg&usg=AFQjCNEXRc3Grjas25ouK_SlLosP0eNpFQ) Spot on Doc! Now this IS a subject that I know VERY well. My first paying job (other than chores for allowance) was as a swimming instructor at age 12…I beacame a Boy Scout Lifeguard at 11 1/2 and for my “final test” pulled in a 225 lb instructor that was not giving me any breaks for being a 100 lb boy. I cannot remember a time that I could not swim. I swam competitively from the age of 5 well into college. When I started teaching swimming at age 12. Kids were the EASIEST to teach, as long as their parents were not around, parents seem to distract and impart their fears and predispositions. I have taught and seen kids as young as 1 3/4 functionally swim…Now adults are another issue entirely. The hardest ever was teaching a 200+lb very buff (muscular) black man to swim. Firstly, having not grown up swimming, he was preconditioned to fear the water. His bone/body density was also quite a challenge to overcome, he sank like a rock and that terrorized him. After quite a few lessons I was finally able to get him to “float” on his back by keeping his lungs very full and his arms and legs moving, not flailing.I was also somewhat supporting him with hands under the arch of his back. After that his confidence increased and he did eventually learn to swim quite capably. He would never win a race or swim the English Channel but he did learn to swim… I quite agree with **tdn** : NEVER attempt a water rescue unless you are 100% trained and in condition. I have done too many real rescues where the subject was clearly “out of their mind” with panic. They simply lose the capacity to think rationally. They will take you under unless you KNOW what you are doing. I was 100% successful with all rescues because the 225lb instructor from my first paragraph cut me no breaks when he taught me. One more quick amusing anecdote. My own MOTHER failed me in my Red Cross WSI (water safety instructor) course (the first time), not because I couldn’t or didn’t pass the test…she failed me because she knew I did not read the book. I read the book and went on to become a WSI I (water safety Instructor Instructor) People DON’T float…but can learn to! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-one-not-know-how-to-swim/626700.md?page=6)