Katie L
Contributor
Hi friends! I'm helping someone prepare for their Open Water course, and we're going to be hitting the local pool soon for some swimming/water treading practice in advance of the course.
I learned that despite spending a lot of time in/around the water growing up, she's not comfortable being submerged without holding her nose and gets water up it very easily. I think she got used to doing strokes where your head stays above water, or just always wore a mask and/or nose clip.
I taught kids swim lessons years ago, so I'm comfortable with the teaching the basic lead-up that a young child would get to learn freestyle (blow bubbles --> retrieve an object in shallow water blowing bubbles --> kicking while holding the wall --> kick board swimming with face down --> rotate head --> add arm strokes) BUT I feel like this is a very different thing for an adult to learn than it is for a kid. The instincts have had many years to solidify, and I don't remember what it was like to not be able to do it.
I recently had her just dip her head in some water while blowing bubbles from her nose while we were in a hot tub, and she still had water go up the nose.
What roadblocks do you usually see when you work with new divers that might panic when water goes up their nose? How do you pinpoint where the disconnect is, and what process do you use to make it feel instinctual? I think "blow air out of your nose the whole time" might be too simplistic, and she's convinced that she won't have enough time underwater if she's blowing out her air constantly. Which makes sense, because I feel like I barely have to blow any air out of my nose unless I'm going upside down and doing a somersault. I remember teaching people to "hum" instead of blow, but what else?
What are your best tips?
I learned that despite spending a lot of time in/around the water growing up, she's not comfortable being submerged without holding her nose and gets water up it very easily. I think she got used to doing strokes where your head stays above water, or just always wore a mask and/or nose clip.
I taught kids swim lessons years ago, so I'm comfortable with the teaching the basic lead-up that a young child would get to learn freestyle (blow bubbles --> retrieve an object in shallow water blowing bubbles --> kicking while holding the wall --> kick board swimming with face down --> rotate head --> add arm strokes) BUT I feel like this is a very different thing for an adult to learn than it is for a kid. The instincts have had many years to solidify, and I don't remember what it was like to not be able to do it.
I recently had her just dip her head in some water while blowing bubbles from her nose while we were in a hot tub, and she still had water go up the nose.
What roadblocks do you usually see when you work with new divers that might panic when water goes up their nose? How do you pinpoint where the disconnect is, and what process do you use to make it feel instinctual? I think "blow air out of your nose the whole time" might be too simplistic, and she's convinced that she won't have enough time underwater if she's blowing out her air constantly. Which makes sense, because I feel like I barely have to blow any air out of my nose unless I'm going upside down and doing a somersault. I remember teaching people to "hum" instead of blow, but what else?
What are your best tips?