Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation

Baras, Canaman, Camarines Sur

Basic Swimming
(P.E 1)

De Luna, Mark Ed B.
BSMT 1A9 Student

Botor, Rhamvin I.
Instructor

Tuesday & Thursday

1-2pm | 2-3pm
 SWIMMING
Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly using
breaststroke. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In
1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was
formed

Ancient times

Rock paintings from the Cave of Swimmers

10,000-year-old rock paintings of people swimming were found in the Cave of Swimmers near Wadi
Sura in southwestern Egypt. These pictures seem to show breaststroke or doggy paddle, although it
is also possible that the movements have a ritual meaning unrelated to swimming. An Egyptian clay
seal dated between 9000 BC and 4000 BC shows four people who are believed[by whom?] to be
swimming a variant of the front crawl.
More references to swimming are found in the Babylonian and Assyrian wall drawings, depicting a
variant of the breaststroke. The most famous drawings were found in the Kebir desert and are
estimated to be from around 4000 BC. The Nagoda bas-relief also shows swimmers inside of men
dating back from 3000 BC. The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from 2800 BC contains a swimming
pool sized 12 m by 7 m. The Minoan palace of Knossos in Cretealso featured baths. An Egyptian tomb
from 2000 BC shows a variant of front crawl. Depictions of swimmers have also been found from
the Hittites, Minoans and other Middle Eastern civilizations, in the Tepantitla compound
at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii. Written references date back to ancient times, with the
earliest as early as 2000 BC. Such references occur in works like Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey,
the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other sagas, although the style is
never described. There are also many mentions of swimmers in
the Vatican, Borgianand Bourbon codices. A series of reliefs from 850 BC in the Nimrud Gallery of
the British Museum shows swimmers, mostly in military context, often using swimming aids.
The Germanic folklore describes swimming, which was used successfully in wars against the Romans.

Early modern era

Since swimming was done in a state of undress, it became less popular as society became more
conservative in the early Modern period. Leonardo da Vinci made early sketches of lifebelts. In 1538,
Nikolaus Wynmann, a Swiss–German professor of languages, wrote the earliest known complete
book about swimming, Colymbetes, sive de arte natandi dialogus et festivus et iucundus lectu (The
Swimmer, or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming and Joyful and Pleasant to Read). His purpose was
to reduce the dangers of drowning. The book contained a good methodical approach to learning
breaststroke, and mentioned swimming aids such as air filled cow bladders, reed bundles,
and cork belts.In 1587, Everard Digby also wrote a swimming book, claiming that humans could swim
better than fish. Digby was a Senior Fellow at St. John's College, Cambridge and was interested in
the scientific method. His short treatise, De arte natandi, was written in Latin and contained over
40 woodcutillustrations depicting various methods of swimming, including the breaststroke,
backstroke and crawl. Digby regarded the breaststroke as the most useful form of swimming.In
1603, Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan declared that schoolchildren should swim.
In 1595, Christopher Middleton wrote "A short introduction for to learne to swimme", that was the
first published guide recording drawings and examples of different swimming styles.
In 1696, the French author Melchisédech Thévenot wrote The Art of Swimming, describing a
breaststroke very similar to the modern breaststroke. This book was translated into English and
became the standard reference of swimming for many years to come. In
1793, GutsMuths from Schnepfenthal, Germany, wrote Gymnastik für die Jugend (Exercise for
youth), including a significant portion about swimming. In 1794, Kanonikus Oronzio de Bernardi of
Italy wrote a two volume book about swimming, including floating practice as a prerequisite for
swimming studies.
 Terminologies in Swimming

1. Deck and Lap

The pool is surrounded by a hard surface called a deck. When you
swim from one end of a pool to the other, the distance is
commonly called a lap, although a lap also can be be used to mean
the down-and-back distance that is twice the length of the pool.
2.Lane and Lane Line
When swimming, someone might assign you to a specific lane;
these lanes often are numbered. Your lane is your designated
swimming area. The lanes are separated by lane lines, or floating
markers attached to cables. These lines help calm the waves stirred
up by swimmers.
3.Flag
Flags are triangular banners featuring two or more colors and
hanging down over the lanes on lines. Backstroke flags are placed
at the end of each lane to let swimmers performing the backstroke
-- who have limited visibility -- know that they are approaching the
wall.
4.Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle
From the backstroke, which is performed lying on your back, to the
breaststroke, in which you keep your body on your breast,
swimming features numerous terms for various swim strokes. The
freestyle, or crawl, is the most common stroke, which you perform
on your stomach while alternating your arms and using a flutter
kick.
5.Diving and Relay
Other common terms include diving, a method of entering the
water by jumping in head first. Swimmers also often participate in
relay events, or races in which four swimmers each swim a quarter
of the total race distance.
 Swimming Styles and Strokes:
1.Freestyle/Front Crawl
The front crawl is likely the first swimming stroke you think of when you picture
swimming. It is commonly called the freestyle stroke as most swimmers choose to use
this stroke in freestyle events as it is the fastest.
To execute the front crawl, you lie on your stomach and propel yourself forward with
alternating arm movements in a sort of windmill motion that starts by pushing
underwater and recovers above water. Your legs should propel you with a flutter kick,
which is performed with pointed feet as your legs move up and down in alternation.
You take breaths in time with the strokes.

2.Backstroke
The backstroke requires similar movements to the front crawl, but it is done, as the
name suggests, on your back. Doctors often recommend this stroke to individuals with
back problems as it provides a great back workout.
To perform the backstroke, while floating on your back, alternate your arms with a
windmill-like motion to propel yourself backwards. Like the front crawl, your arms
should start the circular motion by pushing underwater and recovering above water.
Your legs should engage in a flutter kick. Your face should be above the surface as you
look straight up.

3.Breaststroke
The breast stroke is the slowest competitive swimming stroke, and it is the most
commonly learned stroke. It’s often taught to beginner swimmers because it does not
require putting your head underwater. However, in competitive swimming, swimmers
do submerge their head and breathe at designated points in the stroke.
This stroke is performed with your stomach facing down. Your arms move
simultaneously beneath the surface of the water in a half circular movement in front of
your body. Your legs perform the whip kick at the same time. The whip kick is
executed by bringing your legs from straight behind you close to your body by bending
both at your knees and at your hips. Your legs then move outward and off to the side
before extending and coming back together. This swimming technique is often
compared to a frog’s movement

4.Butterfly
The butterfly is an advanced swimming stroke that provides an excellent workout. It
can be more difficult and tiring to learn, but it is also a lot of fun. It is the second
fastest competitive stroke, and the favorite stroke of Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
To perform the butterfly stroke, start horizontal with your stomach facing the bottom
of the pool. Bring your arms simultaneously over your head and push them into the
water to propel you forward and bring them up out of the water again to repeat. As
you move your arms into the water, you will push your head and shoulders above the
surface of the water.
Your legs will perform a dolphin kick, which requires your legs to stay together and
straight as you kick them similarly to how a dolphin’s lower body and tail moves.
5.Sidestroke
This is an older swimming style that is not typically used in swim competitions, but is
still an important stroke to learn for safety reasons. It is most commonly used by
lifeguards when they rescue someone, as this stroke most easily allows you to pull
something along with you. It involves swimming on your side, as the name implies,
propelling yourself forward with a scissor kick and alternating arm movements. It’s one
of the easier strokes to learn, and can be a nice break from the more popular swim
strokes if you’re looking to add more variety into your routine.

6.Elementary Backstroke
This is a variation from the typical backstroke you see. It uses a reversed breaststroke
kick while your arms move in sync beneath the water. It’s called “elementary” because
of its simple technique that’s easy to pick up, and is often one of the first swim strokes
taught to new swimmers for this reason.

7.Combat Side Stroke

This is a form of the sidestroke that all US Navy SEALs have to learn. Efficient and
energy-saving, the combat side stroke is a kind of a combination of breaststroke,
freestyle, and, obviously, sidestroke. It reduces the swimmer’s profile in the water,
making them less visible while allowing them to swim with maximum efficiency–two
critical criteria for combat operations that require swimming on the surface.

8.Trudgen
This stroke evolved from the sidestroke and is named after the English swimmer John
Trudgen. You swim mostly on your side, alternating lifting each arm out of the water
and over your head. It uses a scissor kick that only comes in every other stroke. When
your left arm is over your head, you spread your legs apart to prepare to kick, and
then as the arm comes down you straighten your legs and snap them together for the
scissor kick.
 Equipments in Swimming

1. Swimwear - is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based

activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities,
such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit
can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations,
including swimwear, bathing suit, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming
suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie (short for "costume"), or swimming
trunksfor men, besides others.

2. Goggles -Goggles to protect the eyes from material in the water, while swimming. You
should wear a pair of swimming goggles because of all the pollen.

3. Swimming Caps - A swimming cap, swim cap or bathing cap, is a tightly fitted, skin-tight
garment, commonly made from silicone, latex or lycra, worn on the head by recreational
and competitive swimmers.Caps are worn for various reasons. Swim caps are sometimes worn
in an attempt to keep hair relatively dry or protect from chlorinated water, to keep the sun off
the hair, and when a cap is worn with ear plugs, in order to keep water out of the ears.

4. Pull Buoys - A pull buoy or leg float is a figure-eight shaped piece of closed-cell foam used
in swim workouts. Swimmers place the buoy between their thighs or their ankles to provide
support to the body without kicking their legs; this allows the swimmer to focus on training
only their arms and developing both endurance and upper body strength.

5. Kick Board - a buoyant, usually small board that is used to support the arms of a swimmer,
used chiefly in practicing kicking movements.