TritonsGuard
08-23-2015, 12:17 AM
After looking through YouTube as well as a lot of threads here for a list movements one can do in a tail or monofin, I was only able to find very basic stuff. So I made of my own list. It is inspired by what I have experimented with in my monofin and from aircraft maneuvers. I want to categorize a list of advanced mermaiding movements so that new mers can better understand them and so that more experienced mers can better explain to each other what they will do in the water for play or professional. Right now I'm calling it "Aquabatics."
This list is in no way official. I have not been in the mer community long enough to put things in stone, and frankly, I don't know if anyone has or can be. You all probably have your own names for the things I have here, and this is not replacing it, but this is what I call it.
There are three groups: Maneuvers, Bubble arts, and Tricks.
Maneuvers are movements in the water that change your direction, position or speed. For example: dive or ascend. They are important to know, but are not tricks.
Bubble arts are manipulation of the bubbles blown from your mouth to make different shapes. These can be done with just your mouth or with the help of your hands. I do not have much talent for the Bubble arts, so helping me out in this area would appreciated.
Tricks are combinations of maneuvers to accomplish goals. A simple example is getting rings off the bottom of the pool.
List of Maneuvers
Gliding: moving through the water using only your momentum. No kicking.
Level swim: swimming in parallel with the surface. In short, just swimming straight.
Basic turn: you use slight changes in your kick and pointing your hands to change direction
Dive: any movement that is used to go deeper into the water usually done by pointing your hands or head towards the bottom of the pool. Does not have to start from a jump outside the water.
Ascend: any movement used to get closer to the surface. Can be done much the same way as a dive just going up.
flip: you do a somersault. If you use it to turn around it can be called a flip turn.
Roll: you roll by twisting your body on to your side or back without changing the direction you are going.
Banking turn: rolling onto the left or right side and then arching yourself turn. There are two types, banking in, and banking out. Banking in is when you're facing inside your turn, and banking out is when you are facing outside. Another way of describing it is if you were banking around a column. If your stomach is facing the column, you're banking in. If your stomach is facing away from it, you are banking out.
Chandelle (shan-del): A banking turn while also diving or ascending at the same time. Again banking around a column. If you were going deeper in the water as you circle the column, you are chandelling down. If you are rising, you are chandelling up.
Barrel roll: Chandelling sideways instead of up or down. The column example. Imagine the column is sideways in the water, and you are chandelling along it horizontally in a corkscrew like path. This is almost a trick as it is fairly difficult to do.
List of tricks. There are too many tricks, as well as ways they can be preformed, to list here, but here are a few.
Breaching: ascending with enough speed that when you reach the surface, a lot of your body comes out of the water
Porpoising: swimming level, then breaching while still keeping forward momentom, and then diving in to continue swimming.
The Roll Pass: two people swim towards each other. Once close, both roll and pass by.
Banking pass: same as the Roll Pass except they both bank at the point they pass each other.
Double pass: same as the Banking Pass, but continue in a circle for another pass in what will look like a figure eight.
The whirlpool: two or more people chandelle in the same circle and depth on opposite sides.
The Cyclone: two or more people chandelle along the same path one behind the other.
The Double Helix: a combination of the Whirlpool and Cyclone. It's best if there are at least four people, but can be practiced with three.
The Spiral: two or more people barrel rolling in the same circle on opposite sides.
The Vertex: two or more people barrel rolling along the same path one after the other.
The Horizontal Double Helix: a combination of the Spiral and Vortex. It's best if there are at least four people, but like the original Double Helix, it can be practiced with three.
End of list.
I hope I was descriptive enough.
This list is in no way official. I have not been in the mer community long enough to put things in stone, and frankly, I don't know if anyone has or can be. You all probably have your own names for the things I have here, and this is not replacing it, but this is what I call it.
There are three groups: Maneuvers, Bubble arts, and Tricks.
Maneuvers are movements in the water that change your direction, position or speed. For example: dive or ascend. They are important to know, but are not tricks.
Bubble arts are manipulation of the bubbles blown from your mouth to make different shapes. These can be done with just your mouth or with the help of your hands. I do not have much talent for the Bubble arts, so helping me out in this area would appreciated.
Tricks are combinations of maneuvers to accomplish goals. A simple example is getting rings off the bottom of the pool.
List of Maneuvers
Gliding: moving through the water using only your momentum. No kicking.
Level swim: swimming in parallel with the surface. In short, just swimming straight.
Basic turn: you use slight changes in your kick and pointing your hands to change direction
Dive: any movement that is used to go deeper into the water usually done by pointing your hands or head towards the bottom of the pool. Does not have to start from a jump outside the water.
Ascend: any movement used to get closer to the surface. Can be done much the same way as a dive just going up.
flip: you do a somersault. If you use it to turn around it can be called a flip turn.
Roll: you roll by twisting your body on to your side or back without changing the direction you are going.
Banking turn: rolling onto the left or right side and then arching yourself turn. There are two types, banking in, and banking out. Banking in is when you're facing inside your turn, and banking out is when you are facing outside. Another way of describing it is if you were banking around a column. If your stomach is facing the column, you're banking in. If your stomach is facing away from it, you are banking out.
Chandelle (shan-del): A banking turn while also diving or ascending at the same time. Again banking around a column. If you were going deeper in the water as you circle the column, you are chandelling down. If you are rising, you are chandelling up.
Barrel roll: Chandelling sideways instead of up or down. The column example. Imagine the column is sideways in the water, and you are chandelling along it horizontally in a corkscrew like path. This is almost a trick as it is fairly difficult to do.
List of tricks. There are too many tricks, as well as ways they can be preformed, to list here, but here are a few.
Breaching: ascending with enough speed that when you reach the surface, a lot of your body comes out of the water
Porpoising: swimming level, then breaching while still keeping forward momentom, and then diving in to continue swimming.
The Roll Pass: two people swim towards each other. Once close, both roll and pass by.
Banking pass: same as the Roll Pass except they both bank at the point they pass each other.
Double pass: same as the Banking Pass, but continue in a circle for another pass in what will look like a figure eight.
The whirlpool: two or more people chandelle in the same circle and depth on opposite sides.
The Cyclone: two or more people chandelle along the same path one behind the other.
The Double Helix: a combination of the Whirlpool and Cyclone. It's best if there are at least four people, but can be practiced with three.
The Spiral: two or more people barrel rolling in the same circle on opposite sides.
The Vertex: two or more people barrel rolling along the same path one after the other.
The Horizontal Double Helix: a combination of the Spiral and Vortex. It's best if there are at least four people, but like the original Double Helix, it can be practiced with three.
End of list.
I hope I was descriptive enough.