September 1st, 2019 | Kimo Kealoha | Discover the Deep

#1 Biggest Mistake that Inexperienced Scuba Divers Make

Whenever I go diving, I'm always shocked to see people do this ONE THING that every Divemaster and Dive Instructor knows is wrong—but for some reason, they all forget to teach. I don't know why this is—I just know that it is. (That's right. I said that correctly.)

So here's the #1 most common mistake I see new divers making (and even a lot of divers who have dozens and sometimes over 100 dives under the belt)…it's…SWIMMING!

Yup. That's right. Swimming. You're not supposed to be swimming underwater when you're diving. And by swimming, I mean you're not supposed to be executing swimstrokes with your arms. That is not what diving is about.

Diving is about FLOATING. It's buoyancy, baby. You should just be floating underwater at neutral buoyancy. And the only "swimming" you should be doing is not "swimming" but just kicking with your feet and legs. That's it. You can do a basic scissor kick or frog kick (the two most common types of kicking underwater), but you should not be "swimming" with your arms.

Let me give you the reasons for this:

1. SAFETY. When you swim with your arms, it is highly possible that you can hit your dive buddy or any other diver in your vicinity with your arms/hands. And it is one of the most common ways for someone to have their dive mask knocked off their face during a dive. Now yes, even as a recreational diver, you should be trained on how to put your mask back on underwater and clear it. But, do you really want to? I mean, it's a pretty uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation to have your mask knocked off. And it will more than likely happen because some numbskull was swimming underwater on a dive. Don't be that guy. Don't be that diver. Don't knock people's masks off because you were swimming underwater.

2. AIR CONSUMPTION. There is no competition with others about air consumption. If you're an air hog—so be it. But it is best to at least try to learn how to consume less air. And the top two tips beyond breathing exercises to help you consume less air is to be calm and relaxed, and to minimize strenuous action. When you swim with your arms, that is actually a lot of violent underwater action causing your arm muscles to work extra hard which requires more circulation in your muscles which ultimately causes your circulatory system to consume more oxygen. In short, swimming with your arms will shorten your dive. So don't do it.

3. PANIC REDUCTION. Recreational divers in particular need to learn to be calm and mellow under the water. But its a fact that the first thing people do when they feel like they're falling or drowning is flail their arms about wildly. Just watch someone who doesn't know how to swim when they fall in the water. Or watch what someone does with their arms when they trip (they throw their arms out to stop themselves from falling). This same experience happens underwater. If you feel like you're losing control, you flail your arms out. This induces the "panic response" and causes you to feel like you don't have control. Well, guess what? When you swim with your arms out, you are just one movement away from inducing this panic response because your arms are already out. I've seen this more times than I'd like to count, but it happens when someone is swimming and they feel like they don't have control for whatever reason, and then they start flailing their arms and panicking. And it's all because they were swimming.

So in short—STOP SWIMMING with your arms. There is no need for it. Watch all experienced divers and you will see how they move along effortlessly with only their legs. Their arms are usually crossed in front of them or tucked tight against their body. And you will see them remain calm, cool, and collective the entire dive.

So remember this rule—don't swim with your arms! Please! Stop! Stop it! Stop the madness!

Because if you knock somebody's mask off on a dive because you were swimming with your arms, then don't get upset when they knock you upside the head when you come up for your surface interval. Because you deserve it! Seriously. You really do.