Survival swimming, a swimming style that increases the chances of survival in emergency situations on rivers, lakes, and seas.

What is survival swimming?

"Survival swimming" is considered an extremely important swimming skill, especially for those working in the maritime or rescue industries. The main purpose of this skill is to help swimmers adapt quickly when incidents occur at water.

Four core techniques of survival swimming

Downproofing - buoyancy for survivalDeveloped by instructor Fred Lanoue at Georgia Tech in the 1940s, it became a mandatory subject there.

This technique allows the swimmer to relax their entire body, bending slightly into a "C" shape, keeping their body suspended just below the water's surface, only surfacing to breathe before sinking back down.

Studies have shown that the average person can stay afloat in this way for hours, even more than 24 hours if they remain conscious.

Survival breaststroke - breaststroke with head floatingThis is a variation of the breaststroke used in training by the U.S. Department of Defense. The focus of this swimming style is to keep the head above water for observation and easy breathing, instead of bobbing up and down like in traditional breaststroke.

Sidestroke - swimming on your sideCommon in US Army (TC 21-21) and Marine Corps military training. The swimmer tilts their body, using arm kicks and a scissor kick; the upper arm controls direction, while the lower arm provides propulsion.

Head-up front crawl - swimming freestyle while keeping your head afloat.Similar to the survival breaststroke, it maintains high speed while keeping the head above the face, and is recommended in many rescue training programs.

Application tailored to specific situations.

Survival swimming expert Trev Hollenbeck (USA) emphasizes the importance of choosing the right technique according to the situation.

WhenThe boat capsized.The most important principle is to stay close to the boat, hold onto a buoyant object, and wait for rescue. In this case, drownproofing is the best option to avoid sinking and wait for the nearest buoyant object. If you must swim, use a survival breaststroke or sidestroke to conserve energy.

When we meetstormsAnd in strong currents, use survival breaststroke and sidestroke. However, it's best to start with drownproofing to stabilize your breathing, then switch to survival breaststroke for slow, steady movement. When speed is needed, you can switch to sidestroke.

Under favorable conditions and when swimming to shore is necessary, experts recommend using a head-up front crawl if clear direction and speed are key criteria. However, this is only recommended for rescue personnel or sailors who are accustomed to handling situations on rivers and lakes.

Two golden rules to remember.

Two crucial elements in an emergency are: trying to hold onto a floating object and, if swimming is necessary, keeping your head above water. While keeping your head submerged reduces drag in competitive swimming, it can be dangerous, leading to choking, disorientation, and collisions with obstacles – extremely risky in strong currents, waves, and debris.

Experts note that the above guidelines are only basic training for survival swimming skills. In reality, there are countless other influencing factors such as temperature, clothing, and wind speed. However, to be prepared for worst-case scenarios, those who already know how to swim should equip themselves with these variations of swimming techniques as an essential life-saving skill.