Swimming and Typing
Earlier today I had my very first formal swimming lesson. For those of you who’s parents took you to learn to swim when you were a little child, count yourself lucky! I never had that opportunity. Whatever limited swimming skills that I have acquired I have done so through an ugly trial-and-error process. It’s obvious to me though that, if I’m going to live on the water, those rough skills just aren’t going to cut it.
Fortunately for me our local YMCA offers swimming lessons for adults. I joined the class today, one lesson behind everyone else. My three classmates (pool-mates?) and I began with some obviously important exercises, most notably blowing bubbles. Rebecca actually kidded me before I left this morning that I would be blowing bubbles. Apparently she has been through this process! This may appear from what I just wrote that the above exercise, and the ones to follow, were easy. Au contrair! Although Coach Bob said that I was doing well, in my mind, I was struggling.
Here is where the swimming and typing parallel comes in. On several occasions I have taken a stab at learning to type. In spite of the fact that I do a lot of work on the computer, I, like many, have never taken typing lessons. And I have learned to more than hold my own with my two finger, hunt and peck method. I bet that I can do better than 40 words per minute. With the computer-driven typing tutors I have tried my speed drops to 17-18 words per minute. Of course, had I stuck with the practice, using proper typing methods, I would have no doubt been able to surpass my two-finger skills, and I would have learned to do it without staring at the keyboard. But, when pressed for time, like I often am, I always dropped the practice to go back to what I knew best.
In today’s swimming lesson, prior to any instruction, the coach told me to just go swim for a bit and he would watch me. Without too much trouble I swam the length of the (large) pool and back, an accomplishment for me! While tying to use today’s new knowledge, after only 12 strokes or so, I was totally gassed. Of course I know why, and I am not discouraged. There is a huge similarity to learning to swim and to learning the martial arts skills that I have been teaching for more than two decades. Unlike the typing, I am motivated to work at this until I improve!
Hey! Congratulations! Yes, I think we take the “ability” to swim as kids quite for granted. {sniff…} Yer growin’ up so fast!
🙂
Well done Mike. Keep it up!
Good luck, learning anything as an adult is scary. To be young and fearless again. I grew up with a overwhelming fear of the water. With a older brother on the high school swim team I also joined the swim team to overcome my fear. It helped, a little, but I never made the team, but at least I learned to dive from the block and learned I could swim the length of the pool if I had to. But I was still afraid of the water. I even declined to snorkel when I had the opportunity to do so in Key West. My daughter was working as a snorkeling instructor on the Catamaran Fury, I’d tell the crew “I never get in water that I can’t see the drain.” But a few years later she managed to teach me to snorkel in St. Thomas. I’m hooked!!! It’s SO easy! It opens up a whole new world, and makes you feel young and fearless!
I hope you do well in your classes and I can’t imagine going to the islands and not snorkeling, so find yourself a good snorkeling instructor too.
And if you ever have children, get them swimming at a very early age… mine started around 3-4 (I didn’t want them growing up with my fears) and they are both strong ocean swimmers. As a parent it gives you a little peace of mind.
Thanks. I actually like to learn, and I am a pretty good student (I think). I love to snorkel but know that I could be so much stronger. This will definitely help.
It’s easiest to teach kids to swim before they walk. That’s how I learned, and now, I spend a lot of time working with people who are afraid of the water, helping them to become comfortable in the water, so that they can learn to swim. Around here, since we live on Lake Erie, one of the graduations requirements at our local high school is to learn to swim.
That’s very interesting about the high-school graduation requirements!
When you live on the lake and most people fish for a living, or guide those who fish for fun, it’s a safety issue! I live on Lake Erie. As in RIGHT ON. Most summers, I live on my boat.
I guess I would be like Ricky in Trailer Park Boys, struggling to get my grade 10, if I lived in your town:)
You likely need to be Canadian to get the Trailer Park Boys reference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_Park_Boys