Survival Swimming Skills

Survival swimming could potentially save your life, making it one of the most important skills you will ever learn.

Japanese police statistics show that over 80% of people who drown are fully clothed, even good swimmers. They were simply unprepared, never learned survival swimming skills to save themselves or practiced swimming in clothes. Japanese swimming lessons now make sure all swimmers learn this. Are you trained to survive?

What is survival swimming?

Survival swimming has been adapted for civilian use from tough military ROTC training. During lessons you learn to be prepared for dangerous situations in open water. Training exercises simulate real emergencies and teach how to deal with them. This can be quite tough at times. Are you going to save yourself so you can rescue someone else?

Who is survival swimming for?

Do you work in a marine environment? Do you intend to go out on adventures and want to learn survival techniques in the water? Are you ready to get started with an intense training in the pool? Then survival swimming is for you.

Learn Survival Swimming before Lifesaving

Survival swimming comes before lifesaving skills. There is no point in attempting a rescue and then add yourself to the casualty list because you couldn't cope. When you go on outdoor adventures it is essential that you know how to handle any situations that may arise, enable you to perform an effective self rescue and live to tell the story. The objective is to be able to swim and survive in any condition, even fully clothed. See our Lessons for details.

Teaching Survival Swimming

Teaching survival skills is important, but often neglected or ignored by leisure centres or swimming clubs. Yet this skill may save your life one day. Over 80% of drowning victims didn't learn survival swimming to save themselves.

The main goal of our programme is to teach you the basic requirements, so you pose no danger to yourself or your team during most operations in and around water. The objective is to be able to swim and survive in any condition for a prolonged period, even fully clothed, perform tasks and negotiate obstacles while in the water.

Swimmers who complete the entire programme should know how to do at least the following actions:

• Use personal safety and water survival techniques.
• Assist other swimmers in difficulty.
• Swim fully clothed underwater.
• Maintain buoyancy in full gear.

It is unrealistic to expect that everyone will be a proficient swimmer. However, they can be trained to participate safely in lifesaving and survival training conducted in aquatic environments.

Survival swimming lessons are fun for both students and teacher, as they are much more varied than swimming up and down in pool lanes. Use inflatable boats, rescue ropes, a wide variety of clothing, and other accessories to enhance the lessons. Ongoing training for advanced survival swimmers includes resistance swimming, endurance training and boat handling.

Promote survival swimming in the pools and in the local area to increase swimmer numbers. Develop creative and innovative classes following our survival swimming programme. Deliver great customer service by providing personal attention and care to all swimmers.

Reader Comment

Water Safety

by Martina, visiting Osaka, Japan

As part of an exchange programme for swimming and lifesaving teachers I went to Osaka to observe and participate in their swimming classes.

This session was focused on water safety. The students had an opportunity to ‘fall’ into the water with all their clothes on. They were all so surprised at how much heavier they felt when they came out of the water.

Students were led through several different exercises including somersaults, back floats with life jackets on, and proper safety steps to take before you jump into the water.

It was a unique class that the students really enjoyed. We are halfway through our swimming classes and are already so impressed with the improvements in strength and confidence we are seeing in the students. Keep it up, lifesavers!