Bad Swimmer O.O

[theMerFanc]

So...it turns out I'm a pretty shitty swimmer.

I basically grew up in a pool, I practically had gills - the joke I heard almost daily. I swam all the time. Then I got SCUBA certified and it basically all went downhill. I got used to seeing through goggles and breathing with a tank and swimming with fins and all of my natural skills basically vanished. Then I didn't go swimming or diving for a good long while. Fast forward to a year or two ago when I bought my Finis Rapid and swam with it like it was a live vest. I was able to do basic dolphin kicking and I can stay afloat and get out of it and all that safety stuff but I've always had buoyancy issues and the plastic floated a lot. I found a cheap fin and tail sleeve on Wish that I've been trying out in my fancy new apartment pool and they basically don't propel me at all. At least no more than when I don't have a fin.

That was when I came to the realization that I am crap at swimming. Have you ever seen a mermaid doggy paddle? Because that's how I get around the pool the best. I have no idea how to become a stronger swimmer or if I even really need to. While I would totally love to get a big fancy silicone tail someday and do gigs, I'm not sure that's a realistic goal for me so should I even keep it in my sights? Is it worth trying to learn to swim better or should I just keep lounging in my $30 Wish tail and fin (that honestly doesn't look that bad)? How does an adult even go about learning to swim stronger?

These are technically rhetorical questions. I'm mostly just ranting here. Ok good night yall.

[Mermaid_Mari]

You could get private lessons or just practise more. I would recommend not swimming with a tail or monofin until you’re more confident as it drastically increases the risk.
Also please please don’t buy tails from wish again. Nearly all of the tail skins are stolen designs and the monofins snap super easily, those tails hurt the artists in the community so if you decide to continue mermaiding please invest in a trustworthy company that isn’t profiting off other companies work


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[Ransom]

Seconded. A monofin and tail shouldn't be in the picture till you're water-confident again in your human self.

Doing gigs as a mer needs a completely different skill set beyond that -- negotiation, working with kids, crowd management, lifesaving and lots more, and your costume adds another layer of complication. It's a great long term goal, but don't jump the gun.

I suggest finding a coach in your area to start off. All the best!

[Kwilena]

See if anyone does mermaid swimming lessons in your area, they were a tremendous help for us!

[MermaidKalypsa]

I think the fact you got it from Wish might be your problem. I'd say go back to using your Rapid and get some diving weights. I'm super buoyant, I need like 6-8 pounds to keep me from floating up since my tail also has scuba knit that adds to my already positive buoyancy.

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[Echidna]

^I second that.
You can only dolphinkick correctly underwater, so floating up doesn't do you any favors.

Practice with weights and fins/monofin and once you're strong in that, swimming in a tail should be no big problem.

[theMerFanc]

That makes me feel better. There is actually a dive shop right next to my new work. So thats probably not great for my wallet XD