1940s stock footage - learning how to swim 1

Bathing and swimming are America's number one outdoor sport. Every year 100 million Americans of all ages, shapes, and sizes seek recreation on the nation's beaches, along the shores of its lakes and rivers, and in its pools. Yet of these 100 million who love the water, only one in 10 can swim skillfully, and nearly half the remainder cannot swim at all. On the beach, they are towers of strength. But in the water, all they can do is wade and dunk. They sun, they play ball, they do tricks, but most people have never known the full benefits and pleasures of swimming because they've never had a chance to learn. If you wish to learn and will use this film as your guide, you can be well on your way. One of the best and most enjoyable ways to start is to find a group who wants to learn, find a safe place in which to learn, and a trained water safety instructor. These three fine young girls, Betsy, Bubbles, and Betty, with their instructor, Bob, are all excellent swimmers. Long ago, they learned there is little pleasure in just getting wet. To To with, it's a good idea to get wet a little at a time. Never mind those stories people tell about how they were tossed overboard and had to swim. It's always best to walk out into shallow water and get used to the feel of it. By experimenting, you'll also discover that if given a chance, the water will support you. That's right. Sit down on the bottom and lean back just as you would in your own bathtub. See how easily the legs rise from the bottom and seem to float? Just relax. Take it easy. This time, Bubbles and Bob experiment in water that is waist-deep. Here's where you as a beginner will do most of your learning. Bit by bit, she's getting more accustomed to the pressure of the water on the chest and to the support offered by the water. This is all a part of conditioning your muscles, of adjusting yourself to the coolness of the water. If you'll just practice these little experiments, you'll learn a great deal which will help you in your swimming later on. See how Bubbles tries to lift her feet off the bottom and how her own natural buoyancy tends to hold her up. Already she's finding out, just as you will, that if she gives the water half a chance, it will support her weight. She is also learning something of keeping her balance. Don't underestimate the importance of these first steps. They're basic in learning how. After you have become adjusted to the water, the next step is to learn how to control your breathing. Practically all breathing in swimming is done through the mouth. Without proper breathing technique, you'll never become a good swimmer. Now it's Betsy's turn to demonstrate series of steps by which breath control in swimming is acquired. First, you must learn how to hold a breath when the face is buried in the water. You'll find that when the face is laid flat, no water enters the nose. This should be repeated a number of times until you can hold your breath underwater for at least 10 seconds. Look straight down at the bottom, and the water won't run up your nose. Obviously, Betsy can hold her breath longer than you will on your first try, but with a little practice, you too can become just as proficient. Wipe the hands smartly down over the eyes, nose, and mouth to clear away excess water. See how Betsy inhales through the mouth? Then, with the mouth closed, she buries her face flat in the water and holds her breath. Now, doesn't that look easy? You try it yourself. The next step is to learn to exhale underwater. You see, in several swimming strokes, the face is underwater at least half of the time. That's why you must learn to inhale through the mouth above the surface, and exhale through the mouth beneath the surface. In other words, blow bubbles. See how Betsy's blowing bubbles beneath the water? It's not difficult to do, and it's very important. It is necessary to learn how to breathe rhythmically if you are to swim more than a few feet in the limits of one breath. You see, in many styles of swimming, particularly the crawl, the face is carried alternately above and below the surface of the water. In the cycle of one stroke, there is relatively little time to breathe. Hence, the necessity for rhythmic breathing as Betsy is doing here. The is taken in just above the surface by rolling the face to one side then the face is rolled under and the air is exhaled in a steady stream of bubbles. This should be practiced until you can take 20, 30, or more breaths without breaking the rhythm. Until you can master the art of taking in an adequate supply of air within the cycle of a stroke, you always will be limited in endurance. If you have trouble breathing through the mouth only, it is sometimes a good idea to use something to help you. In this case, Betsy is using a face plate, sometimes known as a diving mask. You see her nose is now covered. She can't breathe through her nose if she wanted to. So, automatically she breathes through the mouth. If you don't have a face plate, use a nose clip or you can even hold the nose with thumb and finger. See how easily the action becomes almost automatic. The face rolls above the surface, the mouth takes in the air, then rolls under and lets it out. Just forget you have a nose while you're in swimming. When you're in the water, you have very little use for it. It's really dangerous to swim with your eyes closed because you never know what you're going to hit. With the face plate on, everything's crystal clear. What she sees is an underwater fairyland with every detail clearly visible. The plate is very comfortable because there's no water in the eyes. This is the easy way in which to get used to the idea of seeing underwater. Of course, you can't swim with a face plate all the time, so let's get used to the natural way. When Betsy submerges and opens her eyes, things are not quite as clear. They're just a little blurred, but she can distinguish objects of any kind and know what they are. This is very important because swimming with the eyes open avoids collisions and enables you to see where you're going. Remember, water without soap in it will never hurt the eyes. Too often, beginners believe that to stay on the surface requires a lot of motion, a lot of thrashing around in all directions. Actually, it requires no effort at all. All right, Betty, you get out there with Bob and show us how easy it is to learn how to float. If possible, always start in extremely shallow water where you can easily touch bottom. Then, if anything goes wrong, you know you're safe. Most people have the mistaken idea that the moment they take their feet or hands off the bottom, they will sink. By holding her breath and stretching out on the surface, she is immediately supported by the water and has no tendency to sink. Betty is in a prone floating position. This skill is essential because this is the position you will have to assume when you learn to swim on the front. If you are still convinced that the water will not hold you up, perhaps you'd like to see an interesting demonstration known as Ben Franklin's egg trick. Drop an egg into the water a little in front of you and allow it to settle on the bottom. Then submerge and try to reach the egg. Whereas you thought it would require effort to stay up, you find that you need effort to get down. Franklin said also, and this shows that he knew safety as well as swimming, "Always face shallow water while