# Do you know how to swim?



## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

Not a fan of it, don't know how to, only did it in HS swimming class 5 times, got out of it by an excuse from the doctor-- told her my ears hurt when I go under water, she knew I was lying but still wrote it, 

I don't know how to swim and I don't know how people are able to float on their backs, I tried it and it didn't work, I hate water going in my ears, I don't like going inside water where other people went inside, saliva, urine, it's like showering with water that other people used, gross. I would only swim if it's 1. indoors and 2. I'm the only one who can use the pool, 

it's kinda embarrassing though of watching videos of babies swimming, stupid kids showing off


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## Luna Sea (Apr 4, 2012)

I love swimming. I wish I lived near a lake or the sea so I could swim all the time without worrying about money or people. The feeling of being in the water's one of the best things in the world.


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## Winds (Apr 17, 2011)

Never learned to swim, can't catch the rhythm of the stroke.


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## Aphexfan (Jan 12, 2011)

Yes ^-^


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## One Man Wolfpack (Aug 11, 2011)

Yeah, I don't swim though because I'm too self consious to take my shirt off. Last year on holiday with my family we had a pool and I would keep my shirt on in it even though it was 40°C (100°F).


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## Lasair (Jan 25, 2010)

Yes, I love swimming I swim almost everyday at the leisure club


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## Ali477 (May 7, 2012)

Im having swimming lessons atm


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## hannahm (Jun 9, 2012)

I love swimming if i could afford to I would go everyday. Something about being in the pool totally relaxes me


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

Yea, i've always loved swimming.


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

I can't swim properly because at about 5 metres I need a break. It's an important skill and I need to learn it!


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## MoonlightSky (Mar 24, 2012)

Yes, just about. Not well at all though.


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## sansd (Mar 22, 2006)

Not properly. I can't do the strokes.

I wouldn't put my face in the water for a long time. That probably got in the way of sort of learning how to swim when we had lessons at school. Even in high school, though, when I would put my face in the water, I didn't get it, but by then everyone else already knew how so there wasn't a focus on learning. They basically just told us to swim. I'd try to do what they told me to, and by the time I needed air, everyone was on the other side while I was only halfway across. I can't open my eyes in the water and can't even open them after coming up without wiping the water away, so that also gets in the way. I go crooked and end up hitting the wall when I do get to the other side.

I can float on my back. I couldn't as a kid.


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## Lmatic3030 (Nov 3, 2011)

A swimmer i am not


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## matmad94 (Jun 8, 2012)

I love to swim but not in the sea as I have a random fear of jellyfish haha


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## RmZ (Mar 8, 2011)

As a kid I could swim well but I tried for the first time in years recently and nearly drowned xD


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## lyric (Aug 21, 2011)

Nah, never learned.


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## northstar1991 (Oct 4, 2011)

Yes and it's one of my favorite things to do.


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## Evo (Jan 1, 2012)

Yes


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## SoWrongItsRight (May 9, 2012)

Yes! Went swimming today and got fried.


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## Tentative (Dec 27, 2011)

Yeah. Swimming is amazing. Learnt how to swim when I was 5. Too bad I haven't done it in so long. :|


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

I never learned the first step in swimming which is to float. I'd always freak out and panic at the thought of being on my back in water... the water gets in my nose, then I think I'm drowning. So no, can't swim.


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## Luka92 (Dec 13, 2011)

Yes, but I can't swim fast.


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## AlazarRamir (Jun 26, 2012)

Like a fish. Helps that I live on an island country.


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## Owl-99 (Mar 7, 2012)

I only swam the English channel


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## Joe (May 18, 2010)

I used to be a good swimmer when I was younger, im not so good now though but I still can do it (Doing almost no exercise for 5 years means I have no stamina or strength).


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## Nekomata (Feb 3, 2012)

Yeah, I kinda do. I'm not awesome at it but I know the basics, and that's what matters at the very least.


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## Mirror (Mar 16, 2012)

I know how, but not effectively.


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## nitro eh (Jul 18, 2011)

I love swimming! If I ever travel anywhere I make sure the hotel im staying at has a pool. Actually in about a week from now im going to B.C and we're renting a boat for the day to have some fun swimming and tubing with my family, cant wait


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## shelbster18 (Oct 8, 2011)

Yes, but not that great.


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## Stormclouds (Mar 8, 2011)

I can swim, but not very well.


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Yes. But I'm not good at the breathing technique.


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## meepie (Jun 20, 2010)

Yes and I learned a lot of the strokes too in preparation for a swim team but I never joined.  I had some red cross level thing I passed too. I think I got to level 2 . I would love to swim again but my fear of public pools gets higher as I get older.


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## MindOverMood (Dec 12, 2009)

Michael Phelps Jr.


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## Jinxx (May 10, 2011)

Yeah. Been swimming for 10 years.


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

I love swimming and can easily spend hours in the water. I find it so peaceful. I pretty much taught myself. I can do backstroke and freestyle, but not any of the other strokes. I can swim pretty well underwater. 
I hate that I'm so far away from the ocean. If I lived in a coastal state, I'd probably take up water sports like scuba diving.



carambola said:


> . I can't open my eyes in the water and can't even open them after coming up without wiping the water away, so that also gets in the way. I go crooked and end up hitting the wall when I do get to the other side.


A lot of people can't tolerate their eyes being open underwater or have the urge to wipe them after reaching the surface. I can't open mine in a pool because the chlorine burns. Goggles come in handy and allow you to see everything with total clarity.


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## sansd (Mar 22, 2006)

Meli24R said:


> Goggles come in handy and allow you to see everything with total clarity.


I've only ever had one pair that didn't leak all the time. Most I had were useless.


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

carambola said:


> I've only ever had one pair that didn't leak all the time. Most I had were useless.


Some probably aren't very good quality. It may be difficult for some people to find a pair that fit their face shape too.

Most speedo goggles I've tried worked pretty well for me. 
I think these are the ones I'm using now (not 100 percent sure because either the brand name wore off or it was never there in the first place) I got them about a year ago and don't like to use anything else now. 
Goggles that have that thick rubbery lining surrounding the lenses tend to stay suctioned to my face a lot better. They look kind of dorky, but they're comfortable and I don't think they've leaked once.


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## Amorphousanomaly (Jun 20, 2012)

I don't swim, pools are like crotch soup. Totally nasty.


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## rgrwng (Aug 25, 2011)

i think i voted incorrectly. i do not swim, and i get really scared when i am neck deep in water. my brain goes haywire, and i think i am going to drown, when i am completely safe. i am 6'4, so i can usually just stand in the deep end of theirs. still is a scary experience though.


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## IcedOver (Feb 26, 2007)

Yes, I can swim. The best swimming I've done has been in heated hotel pools on vacations. I've never mastered the rhythm of swimming on my front on top of the water; I guess it's called the breast stroke. I can do the side stroke well, but I can swim best when totally submerged in the water. The last time I swam was exactly ten years ago. I'm a little afraid to do it because sometimes the pressure of the water on your head is a little much if you go deep. I'm scared that perhaps I've changed physiologically in the interim and that the pressure might cause something to rupture internally. That's a stupid fear, but whatever.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

Sometimes I wish I had been born with gills


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I'm not sure anymore. Haven't swam in many years. I used to be able to when I was a kid but I don't think I ever had proper lessons. I used to swim in my mom's friend's pool a lot (she was my grandmother in a way).

Public swimming pools are gross and the ocean scares me. I wouldn't want to go in the ocean without a float. The ocean was a bit better in Japan than here in California. It was much warmer and the shallow area was larger. Never saw the ocean in Brazil.

The other problem I have is that I'm moderate/severely near sighted, so I guess I have to use goggles or something. My eye sight was fine until I was 10.

They had an article in the NY Times about how many people in NY do not know how to swim even though they are surrounded by water. They don't teach swimming in schools much at all anymore

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/n...-that-could-save-lives.html?_r=1&ref=swimming



> That pond is no more dangerous than any other body of water, except that it is often inundated with young people who don't have the slightest notion of how to swim, and head past the No Swimming signs to follow a trail away from lifeguard-protected areas to leap from rock shelves. Particularly among people of the male persuasion, common sense has no chance against an opportunity to be publicly, foolishly brave. They land in pools where the depth is close to 30 feet, Mr. Harder said. Under those circumstances, not being able to swim becomes a big problem.
> 
> From 1996 through last summer, 15 people drowned there, and 12 of them were visiting from one of the boroughs of New York City, state records show.
> 
> "Almost all of them were young males," Mr. Harder said. "Males, ages 15 to 30, or so."





> Drowning is almost entirely preventable. Basic survival skills that can keep anyone alive in almost any kind of water long enough for help to arrive don't require someone to be able to swim like Michael Phelps. They can be taught to people of any age, and to those with severe physical limitations. Most people who drown are either little children or teenagers; males and African-Americans are far more likely to drown than others. In most years from 1987 to 2010, between 100 and 200 people drowned in New York State.


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## Dark Alchemist (Jul 10, 2011)

Swimming is an amazing feeling. Not to mention something that could save your life.


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## kilgoretrout (Jul 20, 2011)

I guess not. I failed basic swimming lessons twice in grade school. I've gone to pools a bunch of times after that but I always struggled with the laps.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I depends on your definition of "knowing how to swim." I managed to "swim" in HS gym class. I can float. I can swim very poorly.


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## punksparkyrock (Dec 5, 2011)

I can't swim but I really want to learn


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## straightarrows (Jun 18, 2010)

NO, there was a swimming pool in my school (8~9th grade),, but I thought they will make fun of my body!!    SAD!!

not strange, most people here don't know how to swim!!










becasue of the high pollutionno no one swim here!!! 2 years ago a young girl died!!(sewage water thanks to the 5 starts hotels!!!)


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## gusstaf (Jan 1, 2012)

I should hope so, seeing as I worked as a lifeguard and swimming teacher for three years.


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## saltyleaf (Dec 30, 2011)

MobiusX said:


> I don't know how people are able to float on their backs, I tried it and it didn't work, I hate water going in my ears, I don't like going inside water where other people went inside, saliva, urine, it's like showering with water that other people used, gross. I would only swim if it's 1. indoors and 2. I'm the only one who can use the pool.


lol til this day i cannot "fully" float on my back & i never understood how other ppl did it. i can swim but i feel the same way you do about getting into water w/ other ppl. as a kid i didnt care much but now im completely paranoid about the germs and whatnot. last time i went swimming was probably 5/6 years ago.


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## BKrakow (Jul 8, 2010)

can someone please explain to me how one can not know how to swim? not trying to be rude, I'm legitimately curious. swimming seems like kind of an instinctual thing...like, you just move your arms and legs a bit to keep yourself up. seems like something you could easily figure out if you had to. or is it that people who have never been taught end up panicking in the moment and flailing and tiring themselves out?


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## Elixir (Jun 19, 2012)

AlazarRamir said:


> Like a fish. Helps that I live on an island country.


^^^ Same


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## Queen of Spades (Mar 17, 2012)

Nope.


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## AceRimmer (Nov 12, 2008)

I'm good at almost drowning.


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## DefendAll (Jul 12, 2012)

no but i will learn one day!


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## Noun (Jul 20, 2012)

I can float and swim backstroke (very slowly). That's pretty much it. 

I can never get the hang of trying to breathe while swimming. I always stop swimming when I need a breath.


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## Marakunda (Jun 7, 2011)

Of course I do, learned at like 6 or so?

I'm pretty good at it actually, and it's enjoyable, a shame my SA doesn't allow me to go to pools and water parks anymore...


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## MaxPower (May 1, 2012)

I know how to, but I'm not the best or even good at it


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## Evalina (Jul 29, 2012)

Had first lessons at age 3, and have been competitively swimming since age 10. Forced into it by my dad even after I stopped enjoying it, and now I'm learning to love swimming again like I used to before I was made to go to practice against my will. Deep down I know I still love the water, and the Olympics this year are motivating me, so I've decided I will be optimistic and try to do my best in the new season.


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## RUFB2327 (Sep 28, 2008)

Yes, I taught myself when I was around 8 I think. Never understood how people can't swim unless they just never tried. It's not hard at all.


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## hello world (Jul 9, 2012)

Yup. Took swimming lessons when I was young


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## ty44 (Jul 29, 2012)

I love leisure swimming, but I wouldn't even get close to a race. Also I can't swim in salty water because when Im looking for jelly fish and the salt gets in my eyes, I forget to breathe.


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## flarf (May 13, 2010)

i'm terrified at the prospect of having to reveal my hideous body in a public place


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Yeah. My parents did the whole "throw the toddler in the pool" thing, and apparently I didn't drown.


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## atlex (Jul 23, 2012)

Why should I? I am not a fish


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## AwkBoy (Jun 7, 2012)

I learned how to swim, but it's been years since I've touched the water. I just hope swimming is like riding a bike, once you learn it you never forget how to do it.


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## FireIsTheCleanser (Aug 16, 2011)

Nope. I've never been to a pool, been to a lake only a few times and been to the ocean a little bit more times than a lake but I was too afraid of drowning to ever learn.


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## Karuni (Jun 26, 2011)

I never learned how to properly swim. I can only doggie paddle. Barely.

I've only gone swimming a handful of times over the years, and I actually haven't gone in several years. I don't like swimming. The last time I did, I almost hyperventilated just standing in 3 ft of water. :/ I can't bear the thought of others seeing my body exposed either.


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## kosherpiggy (Apr 7, 2010)

yes , but thats only cuz i taught myself. i didn't have the attention span to learn when i went to ymca


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## alittleunwell (May 27, 2012)

sanria22 said:


> I never learned the first step in swimming which is to float. I'd always freak out and panic at the thought of being on my back in water... the water gets in my nose, then I think I'm drowning. So no, can't swim.


To me, the first step is to learn how to tread water. If you can do that, you can swim. And when you can tread water, it will (mostly) take away the fear of drowning. I'm still not so good at floating, sometimes I can and sometimes not.

I never learned as a child, but taught myself how to swim as an adult. I'm not _totally_ comfortable in the water, but I love it. Go figure. :um I've got goggles and a nose clip and ear plugs so water doesn't go anywhere it's not supposed to. LOL.


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## losinghope (Mar 29, 2011)

I love swimming and being in the water, i was i lived by a lake that had my own private beach a couple other people are fine cause i would be nervous going in deep water alone. Or I would love to have a pool in my back yard. Ahhh i wish.


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## alittleunwell (May 27, 2012)

BKrakow said:


> can someone please explain to me how one can not know how to swim? not trying to be rude, I'm legitimately curious. swimming seems like kind of an instinctual thing...like, you just move your arms and legs a bit to keep yourself up. seems like something you could easily figure out if you had to. or is it that people who have never been taught end up panicking in the moment and flailing and tiring themselves out?


It's easy once you figure out the bit about treading water.  I never had an opportunity to learn when I was a child, and honestly, no one ever told me I could stay afloat just by moving my feet a bit. I had to teach myself. Oddly, my mother apparently wasn't able to tread water at all, although she did swim a bit. I even tried to show her once I got the hang of it, but she didn't seem to be able.

I think fear of the water is the main reason most people don't learn. And no, I don't think it's always instinctual with everyone. Once when I was a kid I was at a pool and strayed too close to the deep end. I slipped and went under. I had absolutely no self preservation to get out -- my mother had to pull me up by my hair. _Then_ I was scared and coughing up water. I can remember staring at the bottom of the pool almost hypnotized. That experience gave me a fear of being in over my head.


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## Matomi (Sep 4, 2011)

Of course, even though I haven't went swimming in over 8 years.


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## visualkeirockstar (Aug 5, 2012)

Yes, and thats why i rather swim where nature provide for us, lakes and rivers.


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

this baby is pissing me off, look how cocky he is, showing off, even knows when to hold its breath, even swims backwards, who does he think he is?


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## John316C (May 1, 2011)

yeah i swim A LOT. even deep into lakes. its great.


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## KYJE (Aug 11, 2012)

Have no idea how. I'd probably find a way to drown in the shallow end.


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## Brad (Dec 27, 2011)

Yep. I'ma lifeguard.


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

Well yes,I learned to but probably can't swim all that well anymore...


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## Whatev (Feb 6, 2012)

Last time I swimmed was when I was small, sure if I saw a shark behind me I'll remember again.


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## Amethyst Forest (Jul 29, 2012)

Yes, my parents made sure I took swimming lessons at a young age, and then they had me on a kids' swim team for several years so I could learn the different strokes. I like swimming but I haven't been in a couple of years.


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## PickleNose (Jul 11, 2009)

I do. But I haven't been swimming since I was 17. I'm not that enamored with stripping down to something that looks like boxer shorts and swimming in bleach flavored water.


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