Post here if you can't swim

Why did you never learn? Overprotective parents?

• My mom said she almost drowned when she was a girl. If she had died I wonder who I'd be?

• I learned in the 1970's, but I remember always feeling anxious at the pool during the lessons and I never went into deep water. I don't think I'm good at it and would drown now since I haven't gone swimming in decades.

• Face it the REAL reason you 'mos can't swim is when you were kids you had moobs and were ashamed to take your shirt off.

• I taught myself how to swim and then later took lessons.

• I was born without legs.

• Most of the world records broken in the Gay Games over the years have been in swimming.

• No 'mo broke any records. Michael Phelps would beat any 'mo. Of course he wouldn't beat a 'mo the way you would want him to.

• I learned to swim as an adult. I was really self conscious as a kid and got out of swimming class. I just told my teachers I didn't want to do it. My mom couldn't swim either and never pushed it with me. I wish she had. Learning to swim was one of the best things I've ever done.

• I grew up on a lake and could swim basically from the time I could walk. So, I always thought most people could swim. Became a lifeguard and swim instructor in high school and college, which taught me what a difficult process it is for a lot of people and how absolutely terrifying it is for people. Have been very proud to help people learn to swim. I always think of knowing how "to swim" as not necessarily knowing the different swim strokes so that a person could swim for exercise (though that is certainly part of it), but knowing how not to drown - the ability to tread water, dead man's float, even the basic ability to know to hold ones breath when they go under and how to come back up to the surface. You'd think it would be instinct to hold your breath, but many people will freak out and open their mouth immediately and swallow water. It's such an important skill, yet so many people don't know how. And, it's something that's not always easy to learn. Obviously, some people take to it better than others.

• I can't swim. Can't afford to join a pool, so I probably never will.

• Is it true that if you throw a baby in the pool it will automatically know how to swim? I read somewhere that swimming is an instinct, but you lose it as you age.

• Hmmm...guess there aren't too many parents willing to test that theory. Most Cats hate water but are good swimmers. I guess both the hate and the ability are instinctive.

• I fell through the ice on a pond when we were skating when I was around 6. When under the water and under the ice. Somehow I managed to pull myself out. Nobody could get me near the water after that. Flash forward 20 years, while hiking in Yosemite during Spring near the Merced River, I slipped on some loose rocks and fell into the river. Water was rough and I got washed downstream who knows how far. Lost my glasses, ruined several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment. Life flashed before my eyes. Thought I was going to die..I was alone. Nobody saw what happened. Somehow I managed to grab onto a branch and pull myself out. I must have been in shock.. I remember a little girl tugging on her mother and saying " Mommy, that man is all wet." I drive around Yosemite Valley a dozen times, trying to figure out how to get back to the cabin I rented outside the park. Couldn't see since my glasses were gone. I have no recollection of even considering trying to get help. Made it back to the cabin and collapsed. Woke the next day and I was cut and bruised from head to toe. It's a wonder that I can even take a shower. I moved to the desert 7 years ago. I don't like water.

• I grew up in Minnesota, on lakes and started swimming around the time I could walk. Have swam all my life. Grandparents lived on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and would spend a month there every summer in the Gulf swimming growing up. Live in SoCal now and have a wetsuit and actually go swimming in the ocean when I want to blow off steam. The freedom of swimming in lakes and oceans is amazing. I can't stand swimming laps in pools, so boring and I hate chlorine. And most pools are filled with piss. I can't imagine not being able to swim. It's so freeing.

• I was terrified of the water but my mother forced me to take lessons at the local high school when I was eight. As soon as my mother caught wind of my crush on the teenage swim instructor, she stopped taking me.

  Still%20willing%20to%20learn%20with%20the%20right%20teacher...

• I, too, could swim about a soon as I could walk. Family used to joke that I was part dolphin, as it was nearly impossible to get me out of the water in any circumstance (swim lessons, private pools, at the beach, whatever). I feel sorry for people who can't swim. Swimming is so incredibly enjoyable. It's truly physically pleasurable (when the water's clean and at a decent temperature) and a great exercise for anyone, no matter what shape they're in.

• I grew up in Seattle where the swimming season is short and the open water is cold, and we didn't know anyone who had a pool either. But I was afraid of water anyway because my mom's older brother drowned when he fell through the ice on a frozen lake and was trapped underneath. That story haunted my dreams and I NEVER wanted to get into ANY body of water. R13, I'm glad you survived. Your experiences have freaked me out.

• Hello? I thought the thread was for people who can't swim? What's with all the swimming nazis posting how 'sorry' they feel for non-swimmers? Start your own fucking thread.

• You can't control how people reply. We'll reply as we see fit.

  Sorry%2C%20that%27s%20life.

• We're trying to encourage those who are afraid of swimming or never tried to do so cause it's awesome.

• r3 Has an innie for a penis.

• The other children failed to share my love of synchronized swimming, so I hung up my daisy bathing cap and called it a day around the age of six.

• You don't encourage people to take up a scary activity by bragging about your own proficiency at said activity - it doesn't work. Even worse, it makes you sound like an egotistical, self-aggrandizing bore.

• R23, jumping out of airplanes is a scary activity. Swimming is a natural sport that most people are exposed to. Those that aren't have parents that either did not want them to or did not give them access to. Most of the people who have posted that didn't learn to swim didn't because a parent or relative drowned. How is not teaching them how to swim going to help that? Teaching them how to swim will PREVENT drowning.

• Never been able to swim. Tried to learn at the Y when I was a kid and again in 8th grade when it was required to pass gym class. My legs don't kick straight was one critique that I got, so I'm sticking with that.

• I can, but not terribly well. I had swimming lessons as a kid, too, but I can't really swim with my head under the water.

• Geez, I go on vacation for a few days and DL gets overtaken by morons. What R26 and his ilk fail to understand is that swimming is not a 'natural activity' for people who can't swim - it's frightening as shit.

• [quote]I feel sorry for people who can't swim. And I'm sure they're so grateful for you pity, you condescending little 'mo

• I'm R8. I learned to swim as an adult, so there's hope for most of us. I nearly drowned as a kid. My brother pulled me out of the pool while the stupid lifeguard looked on like an idiot. Maybe he would have dove in if my brother hadn't been there. So there's hope for those who had traumatic experiences. I'm also a barely average swimmer. I can do the forward and backward strokes and that's it. I can swim laps and do okay in a placid ocean (though I still get nervous and will not swim out there without people close by). So again, there's hope. You don't have to be Michael freaking Phelps but you can learn to be competent. I was in a class with other adults and know how hard it is for those with certain fears. There were one or two, who never learned to swim properly because they couldn't put their face or head under water. So the instructor made do with getting them to swim/paddle as best they could and to be able to tread/float. Basically they went from being able to do nothing in water to being able to move about. And at worst, survive. There were also one or two, who were never able to jump into the pool. We had a couple of sessions where we practiced diving in properly and those fearful of this practice were allowed to do their own thing--slowly entering the pool via the ladder. In short, if you can't swim--you can still learn as an adult. And you can learn to do what best works for you. There's no pressure for you to be Dara Torres.

• [quote]I feel sorry for people who can't swim. [quote]>> And I'm sure they're so grateful for you pity, you condescending little 'mo Actually, bitch, I'm a girl. And you're an ignorant cunt.

  r16

• I can barely swim, but not well enough to have fun doing it. Always regretted not being comfortable enough to do it easily, since it seems like such a great way to exercise. Now I'm 64 and it's too late.

• I hope a "'mo" comes along and kicks R7's ass. Who is this homophobic poseur?

• Funny but true story. When I was about 10 years old my dad wanted me to get over my fear of water and learn to swim. He paid a lifeguard at the pool in our apartment building to teach me. This pool was mostly frequented by old ladies sitting around the poor tanning and gossiping and not so much swimming. Anyway, I was terrified of letting go of the side of the pool or closing my eyes in the water. The second I'd let go of the side of the pool I'd immediately grab for it. The lifeguard, a blond guy maybe in his early 30s, decided I should turn away from the side of the pool so I couldn't grab for it. He held onto my forearms as I floated and said he wouldn't let go. Well he let go. My eyes were closed. I panicked and reached out to grab for something and pull myself up. What I ended up grabbing turned out to be his swim trunks and as I pulled myself up, his swim trunks came down. As I got myself back to a standing position in the pool I heard applause and the old ladies laughing. When I opened my eyes I realized the lifeguard was bare, front and back with his trunks probably down in the water around his ankles, frantically trying to pull them up. Later that day he refunded my father's money and told him I will never be able to learn to swim. I'm not 59 and I never have learned.

• Mom sent us to lessons as kids but they never "took." The neighbor kid drowned in Lake Michigan the week before our swimming lessons started so we were always terrified during our lessons. Our city flooded a few years ago and we had to evacuate in boats. I wasn't scared then because my partner is very athletic.

• That should be I'm noW 59, lol.

  r33

• I grew up near the ocean but never learned. Neither of my parents swam, and at one point they decided less than half-heartedly to enroll me too late in a couple lessons at the local Y. By then, however, I had a fairly solid fear of water and came away a couple Saturdays later having learned nothing more than how to float (sort of.) My father toyed with the idea of having a pool built, but it seemed pointless: two adults who didn't swim, one of them deathly afraid of water, and a kid who half wished he could swim but couldn't be bothered to learn. I wish I did swim, but then again, even as idle wishes go, it's quite low on the list.

• [quote] and came away a couple Saturdays later having learned nothing more than how to float (sort of.) Consider yourself lucky. I heard of a situation a the Y where kids spend the first month doing nothing but dunking their heads.

• r37 that sounds about right. When I went to the Y I was about six or seven. Their method of instruction was to dump kids in the deep end and let them teach themselves "sink or swim style" I still remember being duped down their against my will and flailing around for help with the instructor shouting at me "ya want out? ya want out?" Worked for my sister, didn't really take for me though.

• R8, I've heard that's how new recruits in the Navy (and maybe other legs of the Armed Forces?) are taught to swim: thrown overboard and left to sink or swim.

• [quote]Our city flooded a few years ago and we had to evacuate in boats. I wasn't scared then because my partner is very athletic. If you panic in the water it doesn't matter how athletic your partner is (or how good of a swimmer) because it will be almost impossible to get you out of the water. Don't panic or they won't be able to rescue you.

• Another non-swimmer. I had severe anxiety and bi-polar II. I was also not in a supportive environment at home, and I also was thrown into the deep end at the Y.

• Most people who drown over-estimate their ability and go out too far or get drunk and hit their heads or something. It used to be bad luck for a sailor to learn how to swim, and if the ship went down in the ocean, no where to swim to anyway. Don't worry if you can't or won't swim. Who cares? I learned, as a teenager, and hated it. Not too crazy about the shower but I force myself. Water in your face, nose, ears, sucks! And the chlorine's nasty and gives some people asthma (or worse)

• Another non-swimmer. I have a fear of drowning. Was dumped in the surf as a little kid and swallowed water. Having said that, I do know how to float so I'm not totally hopeless.

• It appears R43 got laid last night and thus isn't as cunty as she was at R18/R23/R27. Good for you, bitch.

• I think it is child neglect if a parent doesn't make sure their kids have at least basic swimming skills.

• I'm flattered that you care so much, R44. As for being 'cunty', you are aware that this a gay gossip site, right? I was just trying to fit in.

  R43

• I was thrown into a lake at age eight by an uncle. My father rescued me. For years I couldn't take a shower with the water hitting my face.

• i tried for years to learn to swim. did not work. i firmly believe my bone density was/is part of the problem. the only time i've ever been able to float is in the ocean when in Hawaii. (no i wasn't fat all that time -- in fact very skinny when first trying to learn)

• It's fun to doggie-paddle & splash around, but I can't really swim. Not sure why I never learned. It's funny because we lived a mile from the ocean on the east coast, then on the west coast we had a swimming pool. Guess my parents just weren't very "hands-on" in that department. I'd like to learn, though. Maybe someday.

• R24, I love to swim, love the water. My son, a Taurus, never liked the water and from the time he could talk he said it is unnatural for humans to be in the water. I did not feel the same way, but some are comfortable and some not. Like some freak at spiders and snakes and some don't understand why. That's what makes the world go 'round.

• "Post here if you can't swim" Here I am! The Wood that doesn't float!

  Natalie

• R50, what does your son being a Taurus have to do with anything? I'm a Taurus, and was even born in the Chinese Year of the Ox, so I'm like a double dose of bull - and I'm the dolphin at R16!

  r16

• I'm going to take lessons at UCLA. I tried to learn as a kid, but was overthinking it.

• Have taken lessons but still can't swim and I have an ideal swimmer's body even at 65. Terrified of deep water and tense up.

  Nestor%20Williams

• I never learnt because the few times i tried i fell sick after exiting the pool

• My father was a competitive swimmer, and had seen kids he knew as a child drowned. He made it his mission to make sure us kids could swim as soon as we were able. I could swim by the age of 2 or 3, and I joined a swim team when I was just 5. I really feel swimming is a fundamental skill that every child should be required to learn. I just cannot get my head around the notion that some adults cannot swim. It seems to me like you are always going to be at unreasonably at risk of death or severe injury.

• [quote]Is it true that if you throw a baby in the pool it will automatically know how to swim? Not if it's strapped into a car seat.

  Susan%20Smith%20

• I was actually kicked out of swim lessons as a child because of outright refusal to learn. I'm now 29 and have no idea how to go under, tread water nor am I comfortable in water deeper than about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) (my feet MUST touch the ground or full panic sets in as I can't tread water or go under). If I get thrown in, have to jump, etc, I wouldn't come up alive. I suppose I should attempt to take lessons but I really just don't care for the activity and would rather take the avoidance route. I'll just have to hope I never fall in/get pushed in/have to jump into any body of water. Hockey (ice hockey), I got that down! :-)

• lol r57

• R13, your story is horrifying. I am so sorry for that horrible experience you endured, and to think that you were alone! I am glad you're happy living in the desert now. I don't blame you.

• I cant

• I can float on my back and dog paddle. I can't do much else (not even tread water). I tried for years as a child (my parents didn't swim) and am very uncoordinated, I guess. I didn't grow up near a place to take lessons and haven't had an interest as an adult.

• I can't swim and neither can my two sisters. Our parents swam -- so it wasn't that -- but for some unfathomable reason, they decided not teach their three children how to swim. I remember being in a pool at my uncle's house when I was a little kid an almost drowning. Same thing when I was 13. I'll get in the water now, but my feet absolutely have to touch the bottom of the pool or I panic. I love going to the beach, but I rarely venture into the ocean, and when I do it is not very far in. I do wish that I knew how to swim. I know that I can take lessons as an adult, but I haven't put forth the effort to find the classes and attend.

• I'm black

• I can swim to the extent where if I was in an average-sized pool, I won't drown. But I struggle getting my body to go where I want, which I blame on being tall, somewhat gangly and definitely uncoordinated. I have to be really focused to swim correctly, if I'm not 100% concentrated then I'm going to have a lot more problems.

  Francis

• I love being in the sea and I can swim to a limited degree. It's enough to stop me from being afraid of water and enjoy myself.

• My brother and I took swimming lessons and we both were never in the water before. My brother too was just like me, a bit afraid. At first, it seemed like I'm better to adapt. But, my brother learned quicker and I really did try me best. It just seems so difficult for me. My father thinks that I'm really bad and says that I'm not even improving. I did try my best but,

  Anonymous

• There are people who can't swim? Seriously?

• Us poor nonswimmers dont wanna hear about how awesome ur life is because u grew up with awesome people to teach u how to swim. So yeah go start youre own fucking threads!

• Yes asshole. Not everyone is as cool as you.

• I fell through the ice on a pond when I was skating. Was probably around 6- or 7 at the time. My parents couldn't get me near the water after that. I've been petrified of water--well going under water--since then. It also didn't help when a couple of stupid friends decided to throw me in a pool when I was in my teens. I tried a few times to muster the courage to take an adult swim class, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Thankfully, I now live in the desert.

• I, myself, cannot.