Although the correct order should have been learning to swim, then dive..so what if I did them the other way round. In my case, diving a few times gave me that boast of confidence i needed. It made me feel that water is not that bad if i learn to do things right, that it actually is easy to let my body just act naturally in the water.
I was so worried that i wouldnt get it right that i kept giving excuses that i would only learn swimming if i get a personal coach. Of course i never did - its expensive!
But a couple of visits to the swimming pool and a few free lessons from a friend made me think owh maybe i can handle a grp lesson.
so i finally signed up last month when i saw an advert for a class that fits my schedule - 8pm every monday night at presint 6 swimmimg pool.
Love the lesson from day 1. Friendly coach, flexible enough ( money not burnt if i skip lessons), and affordable (rm100 every 4 sessions). Level of skills of ppl in the grp are all different..in fact i notice new faces each time. So the coach actually allocate time for one on one session according to each student's level, so if u're a fast learner, u proceed faster.
i've only attended 3x (skipped a few weeks) but did quite a lot of practice on my own as i want to use the session to learn new things. I skipped this week because i didnt get to practice last week, so it'd be such a waste of one session if i ended up repeating the same thing. So, skipped it and practiced twice on my own. Next week can use the 4th session to show coach what i can do now..and probably move on to the next step yey!
I was still struggling to get the right rythm on my 2nd last practice (on friday), breathing and moving too fast i got tired too fast. Could go beyond abt 15mtrs. And struggling at it. Semput mcm panjat bukit.
So today, i tried controlling my breath by holding it a bit when i'm kicking and only breathe out after that, enjoying the glide for a good second or two before pulling myself up for breath. Not good if you're looking for speed but hey, for now i just want to enjoy swimming and get it right. This seemed to solve two problems: getting out of breath too fast and sinking into the pool. Yey yatta!
by the end of my 2 hrs session, i could swim from one end to the other - melintang la of course, which i think is about 25mtrs.
Then i tried going by the lane (memanjang pulak) but only went to abt 30mtrs, by which pool depth is at 1.5mtrs instead of 1.2. abt neck level. It would be 2mtrs at the end if i swim to the end of the lane - which probably isnt a good idea yet. Boleh tenggelam dowh!. Maybe soon.
So anywayyyyy...i can now swim breaststroke with a bit more confidence and comfort! Dah x sakit leher and peha after swimming. Tomorrow is class session no.4, will show the coach and maybe, will start on free style!
Which to be honest am scared like hell to do!
Looks difficult!