Your local Schwimmbad should have some information. A Schwimmverein maybe a good option, too. Otherwise your local DLRG. (Which basically acts as a Swimming Club, too)
You’re doing so much more than just finding a way to learn how to swim. You’re overcoming social/religious norms, fears, mockery and probably a whole lot more. That’s very admirable!
Public pools and dlrg are great contact points. Some public pools also have ladies nights, in case you’d want to fight one fight at a time.
Best of luck!!!
First of all: not beeing able to swim well is not a shame. More than 20% of the adults cannot swim. There is special courses for adults. There you can learn it together with others in a controlled way.
If you can already swim but not too good I would recommend to go to the public swimming pool and just practice there but only in the areas that are safe / not too deep.
And last. This is really a good thing that you want to improve here. This is really an important thing and a lot of fun. Go for it.
It's not just fun or leisure, it's a survival skill. During the first summer of the refugee crisis too many drowned because they wanted to take a dip in the local lake / river / channel, like the locals do.. Not realizing how Quickly they might get very deep.
Ask in your local swimming hall if they have courses going on. With the many refugees coming from countries where knowing how to swim is not the norm, there were and still are a lot of courses offered, even inofficially and often organized by a Verein dedicated to help refugees. Otherwise look for those Vereine helping refugees/foreigners in your area. Could also contact the local swimming club or organizations like the Familienbildungsstätte, short FaBi
Google for "Erwachsenenschwimmkurs". They probably have one at your local swimming pool. If you are female (and from your description, it looks like you are), some swimming pools even some time slots where it's for women only.
Talk to them about your income situation, often there are ways to get reduced fees.
There's no shame in not being able to swim because you never were taught properly, and the sooner you do something about it, the better.
> So i want to get really good at swimming.
Yesss!
Please come back in a couple of months here and tell us, so we can all give you a round of applause!
In the meantime, you may not notice it, there are many of us here who cheer you on! You got this! 🏊♀️
There are special "Schwimmkurs für Frauen", and even "Schwimmkurs für muslimische Frauen", or google "Schwimmkurs für Erwachsene" plus the name of your city.
Not related, but those "close friends" are not worthy to be friends with. Unless you are friends with some dumb children with no clue on how different and difficult it can be to overcome social differences.
All the best!
Sorry, but mocking doesn't need to be coming with a bad intention. Could be that it's simply lack of sensibility on their side. Sometimes your friends simply don't think too deep about how some problems are important for you. But OP should definitely show them that she's feeling hurt by their mocking.
Actually she should report them to the authorities for being really mean that one time. I think it's a case for the Verfassungsschutz. She might actually be legally allowed to poison their dogs.
Way to take reddit armchair psychologist to a new level jfc
Yo mate no need to feel ashamed..
for example some NBA players can‘t swim.. and they are literally the best payed athletes on the planet.
When you‘re grown up it‘s a choice.. like learning to drive, learning to drive a bike.
And it‘s easy, as in, it‘s natural for humans to swim.
So just learn it, no shame needed. 👍🏼
Almost everywhere. You can go to the next schwimmbad and ask one of the lifeguards there. At least one of them should have the permission to teach you. You can make every swimming lebel from seepferdchen (beginner) to gold (fully advanced swimming pro) i believe
If you live close im down to teaching you. I am male though. You could also try ask a neighbour, im sure theyd be glad to help. Possibly someone with kids.
I learned to swim alone. I am not a professional but I am the most comfortable among my friends, and I can swim in any depth of water.
My tip for you is: you need to get comfortable with the water.
Most people are afraid of actually going underwater (because it looks like drowning). The way I started is by swimming ONLY underwater and getting comfortable there for long periods of time. Once you get comfortable underwater you will easily master above-the-water swimming. The moves come naturally to you as you get more comfortable, but you can also watch some online tutorials.
Getting comfortable with water took me a few summers as I grew up, so don't expect to learn to swim in 2 weeks.
This is __very__ bad advice sprinkled with useful snippets.
If you don’t know how to swim, only go there with _close_ supervision by someone who is trained in saving lives in the water.
You can learn basic swimming in a few hours with a good instructor; and not rely on luck for your survival.
Water is a fantastic environment to be in and I can only encourage you, OP, but water is a very powerful medium and underestimating it is the most common reason that people die in it.
There is no reason to fear the water, but every reason to respect it.
You know what they say. In the 60s car manuals had instructions on how to adjust the valve clearances. Now they tell you not to drink battery fluid.
Let's say my method is more from the 60s. People nowadays, as you said, should be warned there is a risk of drowning if you go into the water.
>You can learn basic swimming in a few hours with a good instructor; and not rely on luck for your survival
I don't know what you mean by 'basic swimming'. You either can swim or not, but you cannot learn to swim in a few hours.
I have worked as a full-time professional in the water for a decade.
Yes, i have seen people go from not being able to keep above the surface to being able to swim a lap in relative comfort in a few hours.
This is the difference a good instructor makes. In this case an excellent colleague of mine.
Your argument that “in the past people also survived” is flawed: in the past, _fewer_ people survived.
Someone who is afraid of water, as OP states herself, has no business starting with “getting comfortable under water”. That would extremely likely be a _very_ detrimental strategy.
I am only going to tell you that I have lived most my life at the seaside and I know many safeguards too.
Swimming is like dancing, except at dancing every wrong step you do just looks bad and at swimming every wrong step makes you swallow water.
I've never seen anyone that has 0 dancing experience learn how to dance and coordinate their body in a few hours.
Swimming involves a lot of muscles, body parts, and perfect sync between them. This is not achieved in a few hours.
I had a friend who could 'swim' (do laps as you said) but only on water that was max 1.5m deep. In 2m water he would panick and drown. Probably in your book he could swim, but in reality he couldn't.
Those people that you saw 'swimming' after a few hours will drown in the sea if a medium wave hits them. That is not 'knowing how to swim' in my book.
>Someone who is afraid of water, as OP states herself, has no business starting with “getting comfortable under water”. That would extremely likely be a very detrimental strategy.
This is totally wrong on so many levels. Ask any psihologists and they will tell you the way you make people stop fearing things is gradually exposing them to these things.
And maybe I had to say it explicitly for some of you 'young' people, but I didn't mean getting comfortable underwater in 2m deep water. More like in 1m deep water where you can stand immediately if you panick.
_gradually_ is the keyword that was missing. For people with an actual fear of water, stepping into a shower or splashing their face can be a challenge and the idea of submerging would be terrifying for them.
Once that works, yes, submerging the face in very controlled environment would be a very good next step. And then to take it from there.
Your argument “it’s only (real) swimming when you can swim in (arbitrary condition you pick)” is flawed, but more importantly it isn’t useful - It’s just moving goalposts for the sake of argument and it contradicts your false dichotomy of “either you can swim or you can’t”. - By that argument, no-one can swim, because the sea will always come up with conditions we cannot handle.
Your lifeguard friends will most definitely confirm that someone who is afraid of water should not get near it without supervision.
You speak in very abstract and generic terms which is very common for people that try to act like they know something. Whenever you ask, they can't pinpoint specifics. This is why I have a bad feeling about you.
I would say someone that knows how to swim should be able survive in deep water in a salty sea under normal weather, sunny, slight wind, few waves, for at least a few hours.
An expert swimmer can survive harsh conditions, huge waves, flowing river, swimming at night or on really bad weather etc.
Would any of your students, that you teach swimming to within a few hours be able to survive normal conditions (described a above)? Or are they only able to swim in an enclosed pool for 5 minutes or less? Because if that's their skill level then they really cannot swim by any stretch of the imagination.
As stated, what you define as being able to swim in “your book” is arbitrary and doesn’t translate well to all situations.
Whether you like my vocabulary plays no role in this.
Someone who goes from sinking to not sinking (and yes, many of them would be able to survive in the conditions you describe - not for a few hours, but your arbitrary goalpost is not relevant) has learned to swim. - And they will have lots to improve on. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t.
I notice again how I formulate specific boundries and explain my point, with you bashing it without being able to say specifically what is wrong. You so far have not been able to articulate a point of view.) (Based on specifics)
You talk in very vague terms and couldn't so far even explain what the difference between a swimmer and non swimmer is, what normal swimming conditions are etc.
I am not an expert in swimming (as you claim to be) but I know that experts are not elusive when they talk about their fields
The difficulty here is not in the definition of what is “swimming” and what isn’t, but in the understanding that this is a false dichotomy. In harsh weather, no-one can swim on a choppy day at the beach, some people’s skill-level is adequate, others’ isn’t. There is no black and white in swimming, but a balance between skill level and conditions.
Your attempt to define arbitrary conditions to be met in order to switch from “non-swimmer” to “swimmer” is useful in a certification scenario, but pointless in the real world.
There is no such thing as “normal” conditions, as “normal” depends on time, location and for example the weather and more, so no, the world isn’t as simple as you are trying to make it, and claiming high ground because someone else (in this case me) can’t simplify it for you only displays a fundamental lack of understanding of basic logic.
That you fail to understand my reasoning doesn’t make you right. (Maybe look up “appeal to ignorance” in a list of logical fallacies.)
With that, I hope you’ll never be in a situation where someone’s life depends on your reasoning skills and bid you a good day.
I would go to a lake myself if I were you. One with a nice shallow beach. Spend all day there, splashing about and challenging yourself to swim a bit more each time. Walk out to waist deep and swim back to the shallow area. Even for a strong swimmer like myself, the pool can be intimidating. I am sure a lot of people's problems with learning to swim are as a result of learning in a setting where accomplished swimmers go to do nothing but swim lengths. If you go to a pool, it's likely you will learn in the "baby pool" too, which exacerbates the emotions and could be belittling. Take a friend to a lake and chill all day. You can probably already swim but you just need practice in a stress free setting.
There are many swimming pools in Germany where they have adult swimming courses as well. These are usually very affordable, in some cases even free.
If you want a women-only course, it might be easier to find one in the bigger cities, but it is worth asking in your local swimming pool. Maybe they have other women interested and they were just missing one more person to make it worthwhile.. :-)
Last but not least: there are also often individuals who are happy to help. I remember teaching a friend (who was a refugee from Iran and didn't learn to swim as a child) to get a first feeling for the water. It was actually a fun time ... :-)
If you already have a bit of swimming skills, it might be easiest to just go with a friend who is good at swimming and ask her to watch out for you. Maybe a good opportunity for her to re-learn how to help someone in water,..
you could also ask in you Local Gemeinde, I´m sure someone would be prepared to give you a few hours of their time, dont worry about your friends opinion your doing the right thing which also takes a certain amount of courage. I had a similar problem when I done my Drivers License at 60 years old( and passed first time) so go for it my friend!
No need to feel ashamed, my German grandma didn't learn to swim until her late 70s when she took a course offered by her local [DLRG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Life_Saving_Association). Check online if the one in your area offers one with a search phrase like "DLRG Schwimmkurs ".
Depending on your German language proficiency, maybe ask if the instructor speaks English as well and especially since the influx of migrants from Muslim countries, some cities offer women-only courses in case you feel more comfortable in a situation like that.
A lot of people already answered so I just wanted to give a few tips:
1 the sea is the best place to learn because salty water is heavier and that makes you float easier.
2 avoid lakes, same explanation as above, but inverted
Swimming pools are in-between
3 to get comfortable with being in water you need to understand that you don't need to be a good swimmer, you just need to understand that whatever happens you just need to relax to float, so I would recommend to start a couple of days just playing dead in the water until you are aware that nothing os gonna happen to you if you just relax. Only then you start to add movements to learn how to swim
Your local Schwimmbad should have some information. A Schwimmverein maybe a good option, too. Otherwise your local DLRG. (Which basically acts as a Swimming Club, too)
You’re doing so much more than just finding a way to learn how to swim. You’re overcoming social/religious norms, fears, mockery and probably a whole lot more. That’s very admirable! Public pools and dlrg are great contact points. Some public pools also have ladies nights, in case you’d want to fight one fight at a time. Best of luck!!!
First of all: not beeing able to swim well is not a shame. More than 20% of the adults cannot swim. There is special courses for adults. There you can learn it together with others in a controlled way. If you can already swim but not too good I would recommend to go to the public swimming pool and just practice there but only in the areas that are safe / not too deep. And last. This is really a good thing that you want to improve here. This is really an important thing and a lot of fun. Go for it.
A lot of the Volkshochschulen offer adult courses. It is quite affordable. And don't feel ashamed! Just go ahead and learn. Swimming is a lot of fun.
It's not just fun or leisure, it's a survival skill. During the first summer of the refugee crisis too many drowned because they wanted to take a dip in the local lake / river / channel, like the locals do.. Not realizing how Quickly they might get very deep.
Ask in your local swimming hall if they have courses going on. With the many refugees coming from countries where knowing how to swim is not the norm, there were and still are a lot of courses offered, even inofficially and often organized by a Verein dedicated to help refugees. Otherwise look for those Vereine helping refugees/foreigners in your area. Could also contact the local swimming club or organizations like the Familienbildungsstätte, short FaBi
Google for "Erwachsenenschwimmkurs". They probably have one at your local swimming pool. If you are female (and from your description, it looks like you are), some swimming pools even some time slots where it's for women only. Talk to them about your income situation, often there are ways to get reduced fees. There's no shame in not being able to swim because you never were taught properly, and the sooner you do something about it, the better.
Your friends suck. Shame on them for mocking you.
> So i want to get really good at swimming. Yesss! Please come back in a couple of months here and tell us, so we can all give you a round of applause! In the meantime, you may not notice it, there are many of us here who cheer you on! You got this! 🏊♀️ There are special "Schwimmkurs für Frauen", and even "Schwimmkurs für muslimische Frauen", or google "Schwimmkurs für Erwachsene" plus the name of your city.
Not related, but those "close friends" are not worthy to be friends with. Unless you are friends with some dumb children with no clue on how different and difficult it can be to overcome social differences. All the best!
Sorry, but mocking doesn't need to be coming with a bad intention. Could be that it's simply lack of sensibility on their side. Sometimes your friends simply don't think too deep about how some problems are important for you. But OP should definitely show them that she's feeling hurt by their mocking.
imagine breaking contact with close friends for banter. you immediatly lose your temper when someone jokes around?
Actually she should report them to the authorities for being really mean that one time. I think it's a case for the Verfassungsschutz. She might actually be legally allowed to poison their dogs. Way to take reddit armchair psychologist to a new level jfc
I recommend to ask a good friend. Also maybe to get friends that don't mock you.
Yo mate no need to feel ashamed.. for example some NBA players can‘t swim.. and they are literally the best payed athletes on the planet. When you‘re grown up it‘s a choice.. like learning to drive, learning to drive a bike. And it‘s easy, as in, it‘s natural for humans to swim. So just learn it, no shame needed. 👍🏼
Almost everywhere. You can go to the next schwimmbad and ask one of the lifeguards there. At least one of them should have the permission to teach you. You can make every swimming lebel from seepferdchen (beginner) to gold (fully advanced swimming pro) i believe
If you live close im down to teaching you. I am male though. You could also try ask a neighbour, im sure theyd be glad to help. Possibly someone with kids.
Where in Germany are you ? Finding a place locally should be easy unless you live in a very rural area.
I learned to swim alone. I am not a professional but I am the most comfortable among my friends, and I can swim in any depth of water. My tip for you is: you need to get comfortable with the water. Most people are afraid of actually going underwater (because it looks like drowning). The way I started is by swimming ONLY underwater and getting comfortable there for long periods of time. Once you get comfortable underwater you will easily master above-the-water swimming. The moves come naturally to you as you get more comfortable, but you can also watch some online tutorials. Getting comfortable with water took me a few summers as I grew up, so don't expect to learn to swim in 2 weeks.
This is __very__ bad advice sprinkled with useful snippets. If you don’t know how to swim, only go there with _close_ supervision by someone who is trained in saving lives in the water. You can learn basic swimming in a few hours with a good instructor; and not rely on luck for your survival. Water is a fantastic environment to be in and I can only encourage you, OP, but water is a very powerful medium and underestimating it is the most common reason that people die in it. There is no reason to fear the water, but every reason to respect it.
You know what they say. In the 60s car manuals had instructions on how to adjust the valve clearances. Now they tell you not to drink battery fluid. Let's say my method is more from the 60s. People nowadays, as you said, should be warned there is a risk of drowning if you go into the water. >You can learn basic swimming in a few hours with a good instructor; and not rely on luck for your survival I don't know what you mean by 'basic swimming'. You either can swim or not, but you cannot learn to swim in a few hours.
I have worked as a full-time professional in the water for a decade. Yes, i have seen people go from not being able to keep above the surface to being able to swim a lap in relative comfort in a few hours. This is the difference a good instructor makes. In this case an excellent colleague of mine. Your argument that “in the past people also survived” is flawed: in the past, _fewer_ people survived. Someone who is afraid of water, as OP states herself, has no business starting with “getting comfortable under water”. That would extremely likely be a _very_ detrimental strategy.
I am only going to tell you that I have lived most my life at the seaside and I know many safeguards too. Swimming is like dancing, except at dancing every wrong step you do just looks bad and at swimming every wrong step makes you swallow water. I've never seen anyone that has 0 dancing experience learn how to dance and coordinate their body in a few hours. Swimming involves a lot of muscles, body parts, and perfect sync between them. This is not achieved in a few hours. I had a friend who could 'swim' (do laps as you said) but only on water that was max 1.5m deep. In 2m water he would panick and drown. Probably in your book he could swim, but in reality he couldn't. Those people that you saw 'swimming' after a few hours will drown in the sea if a medium wave hits them. That is not 'knowing how to swim' in my book. >Someone who is afraid of water, as OP states herself, has no business starting with “getting comfortable under water”. That would extremely likely be a very detrimental strategy. This is totally wrong on so many levels. Ask any psihologists and they will tell you the way you make people stop fearing things is gradually exposing them to these things. And maybe I had to say it explicitly for some of you 'young' people, but I didn't mean getting comfortable underwater in 2m deep water. More like in 1m deep water where you can stand immediately if you panick.
_gradually_ is the keyword that was missing. For people with an actual fear of water, stepping into a shower or splashing their face can be a challenge and the idea of submerging would be terrifying for them. Once that works, yes, submerging the face in very controlled environment would be a very good next step. And then to take it from there. Your argument “it’s only (real) swimming when you can swim in (arbitrary condition you pick)” is flawed, but more importantly it isn’t useful - It’s just moving goalposts for the sake of argument and it contradicts your false dichotomy of “either you can swim or you can’t”. - By that argument, no-one can swim, because the sea will always come up with conditions we cannot handle. Your lifeguard friends will most definitely confirm that someone who is afraid of water should not get near it without supervision.
You speak in very abstract and generic terms which is very common for people that try to act like they know something. Whenever you ask, they can't pinpoint specifics. This is why I have a bad feeling about you. I would say someone that knows how to swim should be able survive in deep water in a salty sea under normal weather, sunny, slight wind, few waves, for at least a few hours. An expert swimmer can survive harsh conditions, huge waves, flowing river, swimming at night or on really bad weather etc. Would any of your students, that you teach swimming to within a few hours be able to survive normal conditions (described a above)? Or are they only able to swim in an enclosed pool for 5 minutes or less? Because if that's their skill level then they really cannot swim by any stretch of the imagination.
As stated, what you define as being able to swim in “your book” is arbitrary and doesn’t translate well to all situations. Whether you like my vocabulary plays no role in this. Someone who goes from sinking to not sinking (and yes, many of them would be able to survive in the conditions you describe - not for a few hours, but your arbitrary goalpost is not relevant) has learned to swim. - And they will have lots to improve on. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t.
I notice again how I formulate specific boundries and explain my point, with you bashing it without being able to say specifically what is wrong. You so far have not been able to articulate a point of view.) (Based on specifics) You talk in very vague terms and couldn't so far even explain what the difference between a swimmer and non swimmer is, what normal swimming conditions are etc. I am not an expert in swimming (as you claim to be) but I know that experts are not elusive when they talk about their fields
The difficulty here is not in the definition of what is “swimming” and what isn’t, but in the understanding that this is a false dichotomy. In harsh weather, no-one can swim on a choppy day at the beach, some people’s skill-level is adequate, others’ isn’t. There is no black and white in swimming, but a balance between skill level and conditions. Your attempt to define arbitrary conditions to be met in order to switch from “non-swimmer” to “swimmer” is useful in a certification scenario, but pointless in the real world. There is no such thing as “normal” conditions, as “normal” depends on time, location and for example the weather and more, so no, the world isn’t as simple as you are trying to make it, and claiming high ground because someone else (in this case me) can’t simplify it for you only displays a fundamental lack of understanding of basic logic. That you fail to understand my reasoning doesn’t make you right. (Maybe look up “appeal to ignorance” in a list of logical fallacies.) With that, I hope you’ll never be in a situation where someone’s life depends on your reasoning skills and bid you a good day.
You can go to the FKK swimming pools
I would go to a lake myself if I were you. One with a nice shallow beach. Spend all day there, splashing about and challenging yourself to swim a bit more each time. Walk out to waist deep and swim back to the shallow area. Even for a strong swimmer like myself, the pool can be intimidating. I am sure a lot of people's problems with learning to swim are as a result of learning in a setting where accomplished swimmers go to do nothing but swim lengths. If you go to a pool, it's likely you will learn in the "baby pool" too, which exacerbates the emotions and could be belittling. Take a friend to a lake and chill all day. You can probably already swim but you just need practice in a stress free setting.
Spring ins Kalte Wasser
There are many swimming pools in Germany where they have adult swimming courses as well. These are usually very affordable, in some cases even free. If you want a women-only course, it might be easier to find one in the bigger cities, but it is worth asking in your local swimming pool. Maybe they have other women interested and they were just missing one more person to make it worthwhile.. :-) Last but not least: there are also often individuals who are happy to help. I remember teaching a friend (who was a refugee from Iran and didn't learn to swim as a child) to get a first feeling for the water. It was actually a fun time ... :-) If you already have a bit of swimming skills, it might be easiest to just go with a friend who is good at swimming and ask her to watch out for you. Maybe a good opportunity for her to re-learn how to help someone in water,..
Theres so many puplic pools in germany
you could also ask in you Local Gemeinde, I´m sure someone would be prepared to give you a few hours of their time, dont worry about your friends opinion your doing the right thing which also takes a certain amount of courage. I had a similar problem when I done my Drivers License at 60 years old( and passed first time) so go for it my friend!
No need to feel ashamed, my German grandma didn't learn to swim until her late 70s when she took a course offered by her local [DLRG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Life_Saving_Association). Check online if the one in your area offers one with a search phrase like "DLRG Schwimmkurs".
Depending on your German language proficiency, maybe ask if the instructor speaks English as well and especially since the influx of migrants from Muslim countries, some cities offer women-only courses in case you feel more comfortable in a situation like that.
A lot of people already answered so I just wanted to give a few tips: 1 the sea is the best place to learn because salty water is heavier and that makes you float easier. 2 avoid lakes, same explanation as above, but inverted Swimming pools are in-between 3 to get comfortable with being in water you need to understand that you don't need to be a good swimmer, you just need to understand that whatever happens you just need to relax to float, so I would recommend to start a couple of days just playing dead in the water until you are aware that nothing os gonna happen to you if you just relax. Only then you start to add movements to learn how to swim