
Pushed, Not Taught: Why Fear-Based Swimming Lessons Don’t Work
November 21, 2025
How I Help Adults and Children Learn to Swim with Confidence
January 23, 2026By Coach Eric
Recently, I had the chance to join a local ocean swim group at North Cottesloe Beach, Perth, and it turned out to be one of the most eye-opening experiences of my swimming journey.
Even though I've trained countless hours in the pool and have swum in many of our local lakes and seas, the open sea fronting the Indian Ocean along Western Australia's coastline is a completely different experience. It's colder, stronger, and far more unpredictable. It reminded me that learning to swim isn't just about technique, but about resilience, awareness, and mental calmness.
Â
The Cold Shock Reality
The first surprise was the cold water. Even with a wetsuit, my chest tightened and my arms and legs felt heavy. That instant cold shock can trigger panic if your mind isn't steady.
The key? Stay calm and breathe.
I eased in gradually, took deep breaths, and let my body adjust before pushing off. That brief moment of stillness made all the difference between anxiety and control.
Â
Reading the Waves and Currents
The swells at North Cottesloe were powerful. It's far much stronger than what we experience back home in Malaysia. Every wave carried force, and the backwash could pull you in unexpected directions.
To manage that:
- Hold enough air when you surface and stay flexible with your breathing rhythm, because the next wave can hit before you're able to take a proper breath.
- Keep scanning the horizon to anticipate the size and direction of incoming waves.
- Stay loose after impact. Fighting the water drains energy; glide with it, then recover your rhythm.
Open-water swimming is a constant dialogue between your body and the ocean.
Â
Lessons for the EVO Tribe and All Adult Swimmers
At Swimin12, we've seen how adults often approach swimming with hesitation — some even overcoming lifelong water phobia. That's why our Adult Evening Swim Squad (a.k.a. EVO Tribe) on every Tuesdays is designed to give swimmers the space, structure, and community they need to build real-world confidence.
EVO Tribe is for adults who have completed the Learn to Swim program and are ready to refine their skills, build endurance, or progress into open-water and masters-level swimming. It is also for amateur swimmers who want to stay consistent, train more regularly, and grow within a supportive community.
My experience in Perth reinforced a few important truths:
- Mental calmness is everything. Train your mind to stay composed under surprise waves, sudden tugs, or disrupted breathing patterns.
- Acclimatize to water temperature. Splash your face first and chest before starting; it helps reduce the intensity of cold shock.
- Manage your breathing. Real-world conditions can interrupt your rhythm. Practice staying relaxed and maintaining control, even with slightly longer or delayed breaths.
- Stay alert and flexible. Keep scanning your surroundings; no two waves behave alike, and conditions can change quickly.
- Never swim alone. Connect with local swim communities who understand tides, currents, and coastal characteristics.
Â
Why This Matters
Many drowning incidents happen because people panic, overestimate their readiness, or underestimate nature's power. Learning to swim is not just about strokes, but about reading the environment and managing fear.
Our goal at Swimin12 is to create swimmers who are not only capable in pools, but also prepared for real-world water situations — whether that's a lake, river, or ocean.
The ocean humbled me, but it also reaffirmed what we teach:
"Confidence doesn't come from strength alone — it comes from awareness and calm."

Coach Eric, Swimin12
Coach Eric is an Ironman Langkawi finisher and passionate open-water swimmer. A Certified Learn-to-Swim Coach and Open Water Swim Coach, he specialises in helping adult swimmers build endurance, refine technique, and gain confidence in all water environments. He also coaches the Swimin12 EVO Tribe programme, guiding swimmers towards higher performance and sustainable progress.
With over 16 years of experience in corporate talent development and coaching, Eric brings both discipline and empathy to his teaching. He has completed major open-water events including Oceanman, and the Perhentian Island Challenge.
About Swimin12
Swimin12 is Malaysia’s leading water phobia specialist swim school since 2009, helping both children and adults overcome fear and build real water confidence. Our certified coaches teach swimming across all environments - pool, river, and sea.










