Survival Swimming

[Music] looks like trouble with all that heavy clothing and hip boots on he's going straight to the bottom for good right wrong he's learned how to survive in emergencies like this by not panicking and by taking advantage of the air trapped in his boots and clothing he can comfortably stay afloat for a long [Applause] time most people can float to see how buoyant you are try this simple test take a breath and pull your knees up if your back comes to the surface like this you can float even people with minimum buoyancy can float in a vertical position like [Music] this by taking a deeper breath and slowly extending the arms and tilting the head back many people can float in a horizontal [Music] position the non buoyant swimmer can stay afloat by resting on his back and using easy movements of the arms and legs [Music] sometimes it's necessary for swimmers to keep their heads above water in order to signal for help or avoid danger in these situations treading is a useful survival skill there are three leg kicks commonly used the rotary kick the scissors kick and the breast stroke kick [Music] when using any of these kicks the arms maintain a downward skulling motion when it is necessary to stay afloat for long periods of time with minimum effort the survival floating technique is recommended a slow rhythm is established pressing the arms downward while exhaling and bringing the head above the surface just long enough to inhale between breaths the swimmer assumes a completely relaxed position a modification of the survival floating technique for non buoyant swimmers is this travel stroke slow and easy forward progress counteracts the swimmer's lack of buoyancy when it's necessary to swim fully clothed Strokes that that employ an underwater arm recovery should be used the S stroke is a good [Music] choice so is the breast stroke and so is the elementary backstroke using these Strokes makes it unnecessary to lift water soaked clothing out of the water and so reduces [Music] tiring the ability to quickly submerge and swim fully clothed underwater can often be useful in emergencies a modified breast stroke is [Music] efficient and so is a modified stroke on the side clothing that is closely woven will hold air and provide support when it is wet to inflate the shirt be sure the top button is fastened air can then be blown in between the second and third buttons or it can be splashed in the shirt Tails should be secured to prevent air from escaping the trapped air bubble now helps support the swimmers trousers provide even more flotation when they're used properly first remove the [Music] shoes then from a face down floating position slip one trouser leg off at a [Music] time the ends of the trouser legs must then be tied either separately or together inflation is accomplished either by splashing air into the open end or by flinging them over the shoulder the waistband is kept secured and underwater to prevent the trapped air from [Music] escaping our hunter is using combinations of all these survival techniques to stay afloat and as you can see the added weight of his clothing and gear does not make him sink the fact is clothing is actually helping him by splashing air into his jacket he's forming an air bubble that'll help keep him afloat and in cold water clothing provides extra warmth for the body delaying substantially the effects of exposure when you find yourself unexpectedly in the water follow these steps to survival don't panic use your clothing to help you stay afloat and use the survival swimming techniques you've seen here you'll stay afloat and stay alive [Music]