Seasoned instructors: Advice for helping an adult learn to go underwater without holding their nose?

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Katie L

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Brooklyn, New York
# of dives
50 - 99
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?
 
She needs to learn how to close her soft palate. Most people know how to do that automatically, but a lot don't. There's quite a few videos on youtube on how to practice it.
 
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 would just let your friend do the class without extra prep. People feeling that they need to hold their nose is not uncommon. Most just get over it pretty fast in pool training. Stuff like this is what OWD training is for.
 
I learned to swim as an adult... and I still don't like having my nose uncovered underwater. I learned while in the army... and as much as it sucked, for me it came down to just keep doing it. I get water up my nose. It sucks... a lot. But as long as I don't inhale it it won't kill me. It will just suck until I blow it out.

Respectfully,

James
 
First, let me apologize for not being a "seasoned instructor." You wouldn't have used those words if you wanted every clown like me on SB to offer their advice. Nevertheless ...

I learned to swim as an adult... and I still don't like having my nose uncovered underwater. I learned while in the army... and as much as it sucked, for me it came down to just keep doing it. I get water up my nose. It sucks... a lot. But as long as I don't inhale it it won't kill me. It will just suck until I blow it out.

Respectfully,

James
Similar here. As a kid, I swam with my head above water. I did not like having my head submerged. I knew that wasn't the correct way, but I didn't care. It was not until I took the OW scuba course as an adult that I decided I needed to learn to submerge my head. With swim goggles, I just worked at it in a pool until it wasn't a problem. That got me through the OW course, but I only learned to swim laps with a reasonably correct stroke when I started aiming for more advanced dive training--then I hired a swim coach.
 
First, let me apologize for not being a "seasoned instructor." You wouldn't have used those words if you wanted every clown like me on SB to offer their advice. Nevertheless ...


Similar here. As a kid, I swam with my head above water. I did not like having my head submerged. I knew that wasn't the correct way, but I didn't care. It was not until I took the OW scuba course as an adult that I decided I needed to learn to submerge my head. With swim goggles, I just worked at it in a pool until it wasn't a problem. That got me through the OW course, but I only learned to swim laps with a reasonably correct stroke when I started aiming for more advanced dive training--then I hired a swim coach.
Thanks, I guess it is also helpful to hear from people who have learned it as an adult, specifically for the Open Water course!

I was just saying that because I was anticipating a lot of comments like "if you can't submerge your head then maybe diving isn't for you" or whatever. I've seen awesomely patient instructors work with panicking people who have issues clearing their mask in their OW course, and based on my own experience teaching kids, I figured there have got to be some tried and true methods out there for something so common, so I'm wondering what those are.

The goal of doing a little swim practice before the OW course is just to help her feel less "green" and more confident going into it about swimming a distance and treading water. I knew how to clear my mask before my OW course, just from snorkeling and stuff, so if I can take a potential stressor off the table, the course will probably be much more fun.
 
... is just to help her feel less "green" and more confident going into it about swimming a distance and treading water. I knew how to clear my mask before my OW course, just from snorkeling and stuff, so if I can take a potential stressor off the table, the course will probably be much more fun.
Just be careful and don't overdo it. Sometimes when friends or spouses want to 'help', it drives the students nuts and gets them more nervous and stressed out than if they were just working with the instructor.
 
I'm not an instructor, but I was a reference librarian :)

short answer:

long answer:
 
Have your friend use just a snorkel (no mask) and put her head in some water and just breath through the snorkel. This will teach her breath with her mouth and not her nose. I'm not an instructor but when I was assisting with open water classes we had students do this when they were having troubles.
 
Practice mouth breathing on land and chin to chest while underwater. Need to make “muscle memory “ breathing underwater like learning anything else new. I alway told this type of person they need to learn a new motor skill vs going all therapist on them. If they can’t overcome…
 

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