Swim Vids - Becoming a Mermaid (Eventually)

**Ciriun** · 07-07-2015, 01:40 AM

I'm a little embarrassed posting these, but I've seen so many other brave people do it that I decided to try.

So far just two videos with my monofin from my swim earlier today. I took them myself by putting my camera (Olympus Stylus TG-4) on top of my folded sarong so it could see over the lip of the pool. You can kind of see me turning it on and off.

This is my 4th or 5th swim with the fin and I am not a strong swimmer, just a strong floater. Until I got the fin I had never dolphin kicked before and in fact could only doggy paddle and sort of breast stroke. I also never got the hang of that rotary breathing trick, hence why I'm either holding my head up or putting my face in the water for as long as I can.

Anyway, here are the videos in order from first swim of the day to last. (Please pardon my stupid faces. They are stupid and really embarrassing. Why must I make such stupid faces when I try to swim?)

**Mermaid Fenicia** · 07-07-2015, 03:12 AM

video is private

**IllynReaver** · 07-07-2015, 03:13 AM

Can't see the videos

they're set to private.

**Ciriun** · 07-07-2015, 01:37 PM

Oops, let me see if I can fix that. There has to be some way to set them so they show up where you post them but can't be searched. :/ I'm trying setting them to Unlisted, hopefully that is correct.

**Mermaid Fenicia** · 07-07-2015, 04:25 PM

they work now

**Ciriun** · 07-07-2015, 08:27 PM

Yay!

**IllynReaver** · 07-07-2015, 08:33 PM

Looks like you had fun! Keep it up!

**A_Koi_Mermaid** · 07-07-2015, 09:18 PM

You are about the same as where I am! I'm not the strongest swimmer and I didn't have much dolphin kick practice before my monofin. Surface swimming seems much harder to me than swimming under water. I had a little experience with the belly roll involved in dolphin kick thanks to belly dance and I think that helps in terms of knowing what your belly is supposed to do, and there are lots of videos on how to do belly rolls online.

Again though, I am a beginner too so I could be on the wrong track!

**Mermaid Jaffa** · 07-07-2015, 11:17 PM

Cute smile!

My swimming skills are the same as yours.
At first I thought if I started practicing with a tail at the second swim, that extra fabric would make me sink. Nope!

It only made me super tired super fast! I have 40 years experience of doggy paddle, and my breast stroke is terrible, I never did learn the breathing either! My dolphin kicking was thrashing about at the surface, hands battling the water to get underwater! Good thing I took it slow, learning at my own pace. Now I can do simple spins and turns underwater. Though I can only do back and front flips if I'm wearing my mask. I haven't got the hang of blowing bubbles at the right moment. And at my current stage, I can't swim and blow bubbles at the same time! I just don't have enough air.

Speaking of stupid faces, here's mine... You can see how I don't like my face on camera! I don't mind showing the swimming, just not my face! This was around January.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJDt2Zr2D8c

**Ciriun** · 07-08-2015, 12:05 AM

Thanks everyone! It's great hearing from others who are around the same skill level at swimming and mermaiding. I would love to do more underwater swimming but I, ah... can't yet. As in I have yet to master getting below the surface with my monofin on. Every time I try I just end up waving my fin in the air ineffectually while paddling as hard as I can with my arms. It is not graceful and I always worry the lifeguards will think I'm drowning.

And Jaffa, thank you for mentioning the smile. That very swim was the eye opening moment when I realized I pretty much don't smile in my day to day life. There I was making great progress towards being a "real" mermaid, a moment that should have been joyful and proud, and I only smiled because I was filming myself to post on the internet. I am now making a conscious effort to smile more for my own sake and not just others.

**IllynReaver** · 07-08-2015, 01:50 AM

Fellow floater here! I don't sink well either. I have to swim down and out to get to the bottom. Wish I had a video of me swimming to share.

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