Gain confidence: swim with a friend

If you are new to swimming it can be really daunting when your teacher suggests that you put in some practice in between classes. Even if all they suggest is going and getting used to walking around the pool or having a go at some breathing exercises, it can be step too far.

For Gerri Kirkwood and Jean Samuel, two Shaw Method pupils taking lessons to overcome long-standing anxieties in the water, the idea of solo practice was just not an option. “I was scared even to be on my own in the pool,” says Gerri.

So neither pupil was getting to practise what they had learned in their regular lessons, and it meant that they were making pretty slow progress.

This all changed two years ago, when they decided to go to the pool and practise together. Now they swim regularly and looking back can see how far they have come.

Jean Samuel had a lifelong fear of water and, until she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome, tended to avoid swimming at all costs. “It was only when all the doctors recommended swimming as the perfect exercise and told me that any other exercise was not a great idea that I decided that I had to learn.” By chance Jean sought out an Alexander Technique teacher to help relieve her symptoms. When they talked about exercise the teacher recommended Shaw Method as a way of swimming that would help relieve the fibromyalgia.

For Gerri, learning to swim had been a long held ambition and she tried many times over the years to learn without much success. “I tried at 30, 40, 50 and finally at 60 and a little bit, I started to have regular Shaw Method lessons,” she says.

Both Jean and Gerri experienced Shaw Method confidence building workshops, which were a great introduction. These group classes also proved that they were not the only adults who couldn’t swim.  Both met others at these sessions who wanted to get together to practise, but these good intentions came to nothing other commitments got in the way.

Some time later when they were having regular private lessons they were introduced to each other by their Shaw Method teacher. The teacher knew that they were at the same level and lived in roughly the same area. She was sure that they could help each other practise between lessons.

The two women hit it off straight away. They joined the club where they were being taught and were quickly meeting up once and sometimes twice a week between their regular Shaw Method lessons.

“Because we were having the same lessons with the same teacher and using the same method, we had a shared experience and we could try to teach each other a little bit,” says Gerri.

They were able to offer each other lots of feedback, and built up each other’s confidence to the point that one will now get in the water quite happily alone whilst waiting for the other to arrive.  What they also had was an understanding of how it feels when you are not confident in the water. Both women had previously gone to the pool with their husbands, but as the men had no experience of Shaw Method classes or being a nervous non-swimmer they could not really offer the feedback or support they required.

“If you go to the pool with someone who has swum since they were a child they don’t really understand what your problem is,” says Gerri.  As Jean recalls, “When I first had a lesson with Steven [Shaw] I didn’t even know how to stand up. Swimmers think that is crazy because they do it without thinking.”

Besides the feedback and confidence Jean and Gerri are able to give each other, it’s obvious that each is a key motivator for the other. Both women are very busy with their extended families and other commitments, but they plan their joint trips to the pool (and their lessons) in advance and look forward to them immensely.

“For me, swimming is pure indulgence,” says Gerri. “It’s my thing and I can say, I’m sorry I’ve got to go swimming now, I’m meeting Jean, and no body can object. It’s a sacred time, and it’s worth its weight in gold.”

Jean talks about how being in the pool means that everything else is “switched off”. Both friends clearly benefit from their sessions, physically and mentally, but for Jean the Shaw Method swimming, together with her ongoing lessons in Alexander Technique, has also made a great difference to her fibromyalgia. “I really think I would have been crippled without it,” she says.

Shaw Method teachers are very keen that their pupils practise between lessons as it is a time to reflect on what’s been learned in class, and to prepare for the next stage. But very often, without the beady eye of the teacher, it is impossible to know if you are learning new movements or just reverting back to old habits.

“You might feel that what you’re doing is right, but that’s not necessarily the case,” says Jean. “When you have a friend in the water with you they can look and say, actually this is happening and maybe you should try it like this.”

Naturally, Jean and Gerri would recommend finding a swimming buddy to all Shaw Method swimmers, not just beginners.  “I think you should pick someone who is at the same level as you, and someone who is having the same kind of lessons,” says Jean. “It is also good to find someone who lives close by and wants to go to the same pool as you,” adds Gerri.

Finding a swimming buddy means that you can get instant feedback on your swimming, not to mention support and motivation to actually go to the pool. It also means that you will progress much quicker and thus reduce the amount of lessons you need. So it’s a money saver too!

Our tips for finding a swimming buddy:

1. Attend a Shaw Method group class where you will meet swimmers who are at your level and/or learning the same stroke
2. Ask your Shaw Method teacher to recommend another pupil whom they know is learning the same practices
3. Post a message at our Facebook group – it’s full of Shaw Method swimmers who love to practise
4. Paste a comment below this article asking people to get in touch

Don’t forget to let us know how you get on.

To find Shaw Method group and private lessons near you visit www.artofswimming.com

Photo of Jean Sameul (left) and Gerri Kirkwood by Jane-Ann Purdy