Introduction

When we all became swimmers, we would have attended classes to learn how to prevent ourselves from drowning. On top of having good swimming and breathing techniques, there are other techniques to ensure we can survive in the water too. These drownproofing techniques are often practiced in the military, to train soldiers to survive in any water condition and in cases of loss of limb mobility. The five techniques are : bottom bounce, floating, dolphin kicks, doing flips and item retrievals.

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Just as the name suggests, we would bounce in and out of the water, to breathe. In cases where we have lost mobility in our limbs, the most efficient way to survive as long as possible is to be efficient, limiting movements so our body do not require so much oxygen while controlling our breathing. What we meant by bouncing here is not the typical small hops. The bounce we mean here would be to sink all the way to the bottom and push straight up with our legs to surface to breathe. 

Floating is one of the harder moves out of the five techniques. Floating does not mean we relax while facing up and float on the waters. In this case, once again, even with loss of mobility in our limbs, we can survive. The most important point here is to be able to stay near the water surface to breathe with minimal effort.

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Dolphin kick with arms tied

This method is sometimes called travel. It is an extension of the technique of float. It is used in cases where we have our legs and arms tied together. On top of us just squirming and kicking our feet in one spot, we are now moving in the water. We are supposed to kick our feet and move forwards while staying in the float position. This is done using the dolphin kick technique of the butterfly stroke. It is important to coordinate our kicks and our breaths so we do not tire ourselves out and is done with minimal effort. This comes in handy when we encounter dangerous situations where we can survive for the longest possible time. A common way to practice would be to practice the dolphin kick without using our arms, keeping our arms behind our backs.

Flips are also pretty challenging for some of us. What is meant by flipping here is that we do both forward and backward somersaults in the water. Likewise, with arms and hands tied, this is done by sinking to the bottom and pushing ourselves off the ground. We then kick to propel ourselves one whole round while being submerged in the waters fully. Prior to doing the somersaults, we would usually do a few bottom bounces to catch our breaths first. It is important to have a lifeguard or someone to look after your safety while doing these exercises.

Item retrieval is one of the techniques which require us to gain momentum before doing so. We would usually do some bounces before proceeding with item retrieval. This can be done in a few steps. First, we would do some bottom bounces to catch our breath and locate the item. Next, sink all the way to the and get into a kneeling position. Then, lower our upper body to reach the item and grab it with our teeth. Lastly, recover to the standing position and resurface to breathe. It is important to take note that throughout the whole exercise, our hands have to be clasped behind our backs.

Are you ready to learn some drown-proofing techniques? SwimRay has a specialised Accident Survivor and drown-proofing syllabus that will equip you with the necessary skills to survive in any water condition! Enquire now about private swimming lessons!