At some point, many young girls and ladies dream about being a mermaid. There’s just something about these enchanted creatures that appeal to females as well as males all over the world. Although you can’t actually turn into a mermaid, you can still try swimming like one. With a good mermaid fin and some practice, you can learn how to swim like a mermaid and have a grand time playing Ariel.
1. Underwater Breathing Exercises
If you’re going to swim like a mermaid, then you’ll have to learn how to breathe properly underwater. If you are afraid of keeping your head underwater for extended periods of time or plugging your nose every time you put your head under the water, then how are you supposed to take those enchanting underwater photos, let alone swim underwater?
Many adults hate putting their face in the water, and kids are simply terrified of trying it at first. One way of dealing with this dilemma is by learning to do bobs. A bob is where you go under the water, blow out all the air then pop up to take a breath just before going back under the water. Doing this drill repeatedly will help make putting your head underwater effortless over time.
2. Open Your Eyes Underwater
Aside from breathing, another thing that most people hate is keeping their eyes open underwater. There are valid reasons as to why this is so like chlorine irritating the eyes and so on. However, if you want to swim like a mermaid, then you’ll have to get comfortable with keeping your eyes open while underwater.
You can start by wearing some goggles, and when you feel comfortable in the water, take off the goggles and see how it feels. And if your eyes get irritated, you can use an eye drop to help with the pain and discomfort.
3. Take a Freediving or Scuba Diving Course
Taking a freediving course will help you learn how to breathe and stay underwater for as long as possible. If you want to become a mermaid to swim with various sea creatures, this is one of the best things you can do. By being another sea creature, you’ll often be able to interact with underwater wildlife in a way that few others in the world can.
If freediving isn’t to your liking, then you can always take a scuba diving course instead. The benefit of scuba diving is that you’re able to stay underwater for much longer, and can enjoy the ocean for hours instead of just minutes, although of course, this won’t help much in training you to hold your breath underwater.
And if you don’t like any of the two above mentioned courses, then you can try snorkeling. Simply grab a snorkel set and swim.
4. Practice the Streamline
Streamlining is when you push off the wall underwater like a torpedo. This means that your arms are clasped together above your head with your biceps touching your ears. This is a must if you want to swim underwater. After you understand the basics and can do this maneuver properly, do the same with your arms down by your side and kicking to propel yourself forward.
You might also like: Tips On How To Float In Swimming
5. Practice Sculling
Aside from streamlining, another skill you’ll need to learn is sculling. Simply put, this means being able to float in a vertical position with your arms extended sideways at shoulder level, elbows slightly bent. You keep the water at shoulder level by quickly sculling back and forth with your hands. This is more difficult than treading which allows you to use your feet to help you keep afloat. But since mermaids don’t have feet (you’ll be wearing a mermaid fin, remember?) then you can only use your arms to float.
6. Learn the Dolphin Kick
Learning the dolphin kick is a must for anyone who aspires to swim like a mermaid. In the dolphin kick, both legs do a simultaneous whipping motion with feet pointed. This technique looks a bit like the tail movements a dolphin uses to move forward, hence the name. Needless to say, this is how mermaids swim underwater as well. There are several things to remember when executing the dolphin kick.
For instance, you’ll want to keep your ankles flexible. The more flexible your ankles are, the better the propulsion of your feet since this allows you to keep the top of your feet facing backward for a more extended amount of time. Also, you’ll want to loosen up and be as flexible as possible since the dolphin kick can easily cause pain in your lower back if you don’t have the flexibility.
7. Swim with a Monofin
You can’t be a mermaid without a tail. So once you get the dolphin kick down, it’s time to start looking for fins.
You may want to start with a monofin first. A monofin is typically used in underwater sports such as finswimming and freediving. It’s a one-piece piece of equipment that attaches to both of the diver’s feet. With this, only your feet are wearing the tail, as opposed to a mermaid’s tail or fin which covers pretty much of your lower extremities. Stick close to the side of the pool at first, so you can grab onto the edge and rest if you get tired. Once you’ve mastered the dolphin kick with the monofin, you can then slip on your tail.
8. Get a Mermaid Tail
After you get comfortable using a monofin, then you can start investing in a great mermaid tail. Mermaid tails can be made from fabric materials or silicone. If you’re just starting in this hobby or sport and are not sure how far you’d like to continue with it, you may want to consider getting a fabric mermaid tail first, which is less expensive than its silicone cousin.
For safety reasons, it is better to start practicing in the pool first. Do the drills repeatedly and once you feel comfortable, you can move on to the next step.
9. Jump in the Open Water
For the ultimate mermaid experience, try swimming in the open water. Swimming in open water where you can get up close and personal with the mermaids’ natural habitat is a different experience.
When you do decide to get into the ocean, you may want to revert to using your monofins first for safety reasons. They are much easier to remove compared to a mermaid tail if you ever get uncomfortable. Once you feel comfortable, then you can don your mermaid tail and swim away.
On that note, you should make it a point to never swim alone or without supervision. This is the number one rule to follow when swimming in open water with or without a mermaid tail.
10. Practice, Practice, Practice
Learning how to swim like a mermaid takes time, so be patient with yourself. Just keep practicing and doing the drills, and over time you’re bound to swim like a mermaid effortlessly.
Globo Surf Overview
Swimming like a mermaid may seem fun and exciting, but it is not without its challenges. However, it shouldn’t be that difficult either. Some water sports centers can teach you how to swim like a mermaid, or you can just follow the steps outlined above and practice on your own. Regardless, swimming like a mermaid is not only fun, but it can also be a rewarding hobby and a nice addition to your swimming repertoire.
Watergear Swim Guides:
- How To Wear A Nose Clip For Swimming?
- The Difference Between Short Swim Fins And Long Swim Fins
- How To Properly Put swimming Pool Cap
- How To Keep Goggles From Fogging Up
- Swim Essentials For Beginners
Source