Surfacing? And another swimming question.

[Thalassa]

I swam today for the first time in my monofin, and while I loved it I ran into a few difficulties. I'm not good at swimming, my normal mode of swim is doggie-paddle. XP When surfacing for a breath I found myself doggie paddling and dragging my tail behind like so much baggage. There has got to be a better way to surface, right?

Also, I've seen pictures/movies of mers swimming/floating backwards with head above water. How do you do that? I know theres a technique you can do with your hands to tread water, does that help?

In addition, I seem to be able to stroke down with my feet well, but then not able to make them come back UP again. As a result, my movement is sort of...awkward. Any tips? Do I just need to make my core stronger?

Last thing: I found myself standing on my monofin a LOT. In a monofin that's okay. In my tail, I'm afraid I'll ruin it. How do you "rest" upright (like, to talk to people) in a pool that's not deep enough for you to just tread water? Do you bend your knees and tuck your tail up, or what?

EDIT: I wanted to open this up just in case others had basic swimming questions they wanted to put in, and because I didn't want to start a whole new thread with every question I have (don't want to spam the forum). Hope that's okay!

[Spindrift]

Hang on to the sides, maybe?

[Thalassa]

But in a shallow pool, if I hang onto the side my feet still drift down so I'm almost standing. Is that okay? I'm just really worried I'm going to ruin my fluke when I get it.

[LittleTreasure]

I think swimming in a monofin takes a lot of practice, but you can make it work! It really involves a lot of work from your core, rather than your feet. To make that natural wavy dolphin kick the movement should start from your chest and core (I think that's what I feel when I do it, but hey, maybe I'm doing it wrong).

When trying to swim on my back I just use my arms and try to do the same dolphin-kick move as I do on my belly underwater. It doesn't make you move very fast but it's good exercise at least.

To avoid standing in my tail too much I try to keep the fluke off the bottom...I bend my knees upwards like I'm kneeling, and keep myself afloat by doing wavy motions, back and forward, with my arms. Sometimes I'll flick the monofin too with my feet so I stay more above water.

[Mermaid Photine]

I can tread water in my Wave, but I find I travel backwards a bit. I kick down and move my arms in circles to keep my head above the water. If I am in shallow water, I'll just let my fin trail behind me. It feels rather mermaid-like.

[AniaR]

I appreciate where you're coming from, I wasnt the best swimmer before my tail and also found myself doing the doggi paddle! I find when you want to surface if you're someone who can float with air in your lungs then simply stop moving and angle your face up. That's what I do and my face just goes right to the surface. When you're taking a break it's totally fine to tread water with your arms so you're not dragging/scraping your tail around.

I only recently (2 years ago) learned to float on my back with my head out. You have to have a full breath of air and let your ears go under and STOP moving.

for the awkward movement stretch your hands out in front of you under water and make a the wave motion with them. They will help guide your entire body into making the correct motion :)

[Maple]

To be very honest, I would recommend getting some basic swimming lessons. Even a couple lessons will be able to help you immensely and better prepare you for using your monofin. My husband at the ripe age of 30 got some swim lessons, because he wanted to learn to dive and I couldn't be happier. I've been in water since I was a few months old and swimming independently since I was 3. I was also a competitive swimmer for a few years!

I do have some answers for your questions though!

Surfacing - When I pop up for air, I keep moving. This means I swim lazily along the surface with my head out (usually my chin is still getting pretty wet/fully immersed) and breathe while I do through my nose or mouth. If I surface and don't move, I bring my arms in front of me and 'scull'. This means I cup my hands and move my arms back and forth to help keep me afloat while on my belly. If my tail droops, I normally move a bit and try to keep my butt high or out of the water a bit.

Floating on your back - If you have air in your lungs, you will float. What's keeping you up? A combo of full lungs, comfort in the water, and sculling.

Using the tail - the tail motion is an undulation: it comes from the hip, not the knee. Your power should be coming from your core and your hips with your legs actually doing very little work. Raina's method is good - start by having your arms out in front of you, and doing a 'body wave' motion with them. That wave will travel down your body and start you on the right path! Also, pop on youtube and look at fin swimmers and free divers. They have amazing form! I copied them and I can get great power out of my fin with barely any effort, relatively speaking...though I watch the speed of the pros with envy!

Resting upright - I have 3 solutions. One is to cling to the side of the pool, which is the easiest and takes no effort. Second is to scull, which takes a moderate amount of effort. The third is 'tail treading' - tuck in your knees with your fin sticking down, and use your ankles and calf muscles to move it back and forth occasionally while sculling. This is what I do but my legs get tired pretty quick! Try not to rest your fin on the bottom - you'll scrape up the fin and when you have a fluke, you'll scrape it up too or potentially rip it if it's fabric. Trust me - I've scraped up my Rapid and put a hole in a tail that way!

Here's a video on sculling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHt4J6nJvo

And fin swimming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzBBaOSsUaM&feature=related

Hope this helps!

[Thalassa]

Thank you all for the tips! This is really helping. I had basic swimming lessons when I was 12, but had a little difficulty because I was in a class of 5-year-olds that didn't understand just because I'm bigger doesn't mean I can swim well enough to keep you up if you hang on to me. Thus, when they panicked I was the first thing all 6 of those kids latched onto. XP I'm hoping to be able to save up and get some instruction specifically on the dolphin kick and treading water, but that's a bit in coming. ^_^ I definitely swim faster than I ever have in a fin, though, so that makes me very happy!

[Coradion]

If you guys want I can put up some videos later this week of different water treads and stroke techniques for swimming in monofins. I was a competitive swimmer for 13 years it's a finesse sport and if you don't have background in butterfly the ability to be fluid in a monofin with the added weight of a tail can be hard.

[Thalassa]

That would be great, Coradion!

[Mermaid Jewel]

When I'm just floating, I just kinda flick my tail a little and paddle with my hands. It keeps me floating but not for long!

[Thalassa]

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who gave me advice! I went for my second monofin swim session last week and all of your hints helped TREMENDOUSLY. I finally feel like I don't look as if I'm drowning when I swim, and my surfacing is definitely getting better! My sister (who was sitting at the edge of the pool...she was reading and discussing a book on autism with me and then she'd critique how I was doing XP) said I was definitely looking more "mermaidish," so yay! I've decided that for now my default "rest position" will be to swim to the side and rest there, flexing my "tail" so my fluke doesn't touch bottom.

Still working on swimming backwards and barrel rolls, but they're coming! ;-)

[malinghi]

Still working on swimming backwards and barrel rolls, but they're coming! ;-)

Fun fact- the term barrel roll is often misused to refer to something turning on its major axis while moving forward. Barrel rolls are really more like tracing a spiral pattern, as if you were moving along the inside of a barrel.

http://balsabusters.warp0.com/barrelr.jpg

[Thalassa]

Interesting, malinghi! At this point I'd be happy to be able to do either of the above. XD

[malinghi]

If you guys want I can put up some videos later this week of different water treads and stroke techniques for swimming in monofins. I was a competitive swimmer for 13 years it's a finesse sport and if you don't have background in butterfly the ability to be fluid in a monofin with the added weight of a tail can be hard.

If you get a chance, that would be much appreciated.

[Thalassa]

Okay, another set of interesting questions inspired by my practice today (didn't want to start another thread, and please if others have questions feel free to ask them):

How do you, personally, get out of the pool? Sit on the steps and "scooch" yourself up? Hoist yourself up by your arms? Have your mertender lift you?

Do you tend to do long, sweeping movements with full-body bend or short, quick movements? My sister tried my fin and she went much faster (although splashier) using short and quick reps, but I usually favor long deep bends (ish, not sure how to describe the movements but hopefully you get my drift). I thought this was interesting.

[Mermaid Miel]

I normally hoist myself out, and my local pool has these convenient seats/steps that help with that (and provide a comfy spot to stop and chat while still being "In" the water. In my city's pool I have sometimes had to get out of my tail before I can use the Shelf style ladder to get out. Which isnt fun.

When I am Mermaiding I like to take my time and simply enjoy being in the water. I know I can swim faster, but speed isnt as important as having fun and feeling comfortable in the water. (I also don't want to over-exert myself and have an asthma attack in the middle of the deep-end XP)