Republic of the Philippines

KHADIJAH MOHAMMAD ISLAMIC ACADEMY

COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY
Marawi City

RESEARCH PAPER IN
MGEC 3C
(First Aid and Water Survival)

Mohanief D. Habib
BS Criminology III

March 23, 2022

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Water Survival 1

Treading Water 2

Drown Proofing 3

More Drown Proofing 4

Underwater 6
Shallow Water Blackout 7
Ear Clearing 8
Buddy Breathing 10
Buddy Brick Drills 11
Underwater Knot Tying 12
Other Swimming Drills 13

ii
 WATER SURVIVAL

Water survival training is training individuals or groups with a high probability

of encountering a life or death situation in water. Typically practiced by rescue
units, elite military units, and aircraft pilots who may have to ditch over water, this
type of training also presents a demanding variant to traditional fitness training.
Water survival training not only provides enhancement in many components of
fitness (endurance, stamina), but also provides a much needed skill for
overcoming water obstacles from a stream crossing to an amphibious landing.
The likelihood of panic induced by the water is extremely high, which is why it's
important to build confidence and train individuals to react correctly when they
find themselves in situations where water survival is imperative. Not only do soldiers
and rescue units need to concern themselves with water survival; it is a fact that
70% of all people live within one hour of a body of water.

1
 TREADING WATER

Treading water involves a person staying in a vertical position in the water

while keeping his or her head (at least) above the surface of the water. Treading
water provides the person an opportunity to keep the head from becoming
submerged; since it doesn't provide sufficient thrust to propel the individual in a
specific direction, it is used mostly to stay afloat and to conserve energy that
might be wasted by trying to swim to another location. Generally, any method
used to do this is considered treading water, however, some methods are more
efficient than others. Drowning non-swimmers will often splash and kick in an effort
to stay above the surface but their lack of technique along with the shortness of
breath and panic cause them to tire quickly and not be able to stay above the
surface for long. More experienced swimmers often find their own method of
staying above the surface. Some methods include sculling and flutterkicking, and
other techniques of staying above the surface. The most common method,
however, is the eggbeater kick. The eggbeater kick is an efficient way of stay
afloat, and allows for use of the hands for things like first aid, rescue, or holding
objects. It is the preferred method of treading water, and it's done by alternating
rotation of the legs, with one leg rotating clockwise and the other rotating
counter-clockwise. The hands may or may not be used to aid the legs.

2
 DROWN PROOFING

Drown Proofing refers to

several techniques designed
to facilitate water survival
under normal to extreme
circumstances.

DROWN PROOFING TECHNIQUES:

Bobbing is a technique used to stay alive when the

hands and feet are bound. Even if one doesn't
anticipate ever being in a situation like that, this is a
great technique to learn and use to build
confidence and proficiency in the water. The
principle behind bobbing is to expel all the air in the
lungs during descent, and upon reaching the
bottom, pushing off hard to make the ascent to the
surface so you can quickly take a gasp of air, once
again expelling it on the way down. Some people
also like to expel just enough air so they can make
the descent, then expel the rest on the way up.
There's no set time as to how long you choose to
stay at the bottom. You also want to stay relaxed,
and not bend the legs, which would cause drag. BOBBING
Bobbing is most often initiated by jumping into the
water to get momentum started. Many people
panic during this exercise, which is why you should
build up to it (i.e. don't bind people with rope).

3
 Dolphin Kick is another technique used while the hands and feet are
bound, which allows you to maneuver through the water.

DOLPHIN KICK

MORE DROWN PROOFING:

There are other techniques that

might enhance one's survivability in
the water. The first one was created
by Fred Lanoue, swimming coach
at Georgia Institute of Technology
from 1936 to 1964. The principle
behind his method is that most
people have a small amount of
positive buoyancy which enables
them to float, but not enough to
keep the entire head above the
water. By floating upright, with the
face submerged and only lifting
the mouth and nose above the
surface when it is necessary to take
a breath, it is possible to survive
indefinitely, with minimal
expenditure of energy.

4
Just hang in the water with your mouth and nose just below the surface, like a
kitten being carried by its mother. Simply lift your mouth and nose barely out of
the water just enough to get a breath and lower it back down. It is permissible to
use a slight scissor kick or both the hands and feet to stay balanced, but too much
of a stroke will disrupt the whole thing. Another method includes using the Battle
Dress Uniform as a flotation device. You do this by taking off your pants while
treading water and filling them up with air to use as a flotation device.

5
 UNDERWATERS

Underwaters are nothing more than gliding underneath the surface of the
water. Subjects should focus on increasing lung capacity and practice increasing
efficiency. Efficiency is going 25 meters in fewer strokes. Ideally,they should be
able to go 25m on 5 or 6 strokes. Good stroke techniques to use are a modified
breast stroke for the hands and either a frog kick or a dolphin kick with the legs.
Sight should be focused at the bottom of the pool while staying alert to avoid
crashing into the wall. Relaxation is important; it will enable conservation of
oxygen. If the body is tense or flailing through the water, the muscles will consume
oxygen that could be put to use increasing the length of the underwater. ALWAYS
MAKE SURE A LIFEGUARD OR BUDDY IS PRESENT WHEN DOING ANY UNDERWATER
DRILLS. Once the goal of 5 or 6 strokes in 25m is achieved, then try increasing the
distance. 50m is the gold standard.

6
 SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT

A common occurrence during underwaters is shallow-water blackout,

which is a loss of consciousness caused towards the end of a breath-hold dive in
shallow water (usually less than 16 feet). The cause of this cerebral hypoxia, or a
lack of oxygen to the brain.

7
 EAR CLEARING

The most frequent problem in pool training and during the first few diving
sessions is ear damage (barotrauma) as a result of inability to equalize pressure
between the middle and outer ear. Equalizing this pressure is also called clearing
the ears, and the process is incredibly simple to master. It is possible to burst the
eardrum if equalization is not done. A burst eardrum will not only damage hearing,
but cold water in the middle ear will cause vertigo by chilling the inner ear. Vertigo
could induce extreme nausea and vomiting. There are many ways to clear the
ears; it makes the pressure in the middle ear become the same as the outside
pressure, by letting air enter along the Eustachian tubes, as this does not always
happen automatically when the pressure in the middle ear is lower.

METHODS OF EAR CLEARING:

Valsalva Maneuver - is the most commonly taught technique. It was
created by a 17th Century physician named Antonio Maria Valsalva; it is
done by pinching the nose shut and GENTLY blowing as though attempting
to blow air out the nostrils. Blowing too hard can cause inner ear damage.

Frenzel Technique - created by a German physician named Herman

Frenzel, and was used by German Stuka bomber pilots in WWII because

8
they needed a method of hands-free equalization. It is done by placing the
tongue on the roof of the mouth, as far forward as possible. While the
tongue is held in place, the back of the tongue is gently moved upward.
Often a "click" sound is heard internally as the tongue is moved. This action
does not constrict the Eustachian tubes or over-pressurize the middle or
inner ear, and it allow for use of the hands. It is the safest, most effective
way for divers to equalize the pressure in he middle ear. It does, however,
take practice to master.

Toynbee Technique - discovered by an English physician named Joseph

Toynbee. It is done by pinching the nostrils and swallowing.

9
 BUDDY BREATHING

The idea behind buddy breathing is for the two to share a snorkel. This is
usually done with instructor harassment, so both must work as a team to maintain
positive control of the snorkel, otherwise the "shark" will swim with it and not allow
you to take breaths with it. In this drill, the instructor will provide harassment to the
two participants while they take turns getting air from the snorkel. Each
participant will have a hand on the snorkel at all times to prevent the cadre from
taking it.

10
 BUDDY BRICK DRILLS

Buddy brick drills involve two people moving a brick or object from one
end of the pool to the other. Both individuals work as a team to move the brick
across the bottom of the pool from one end to the other. At all times, one of them
must have a hand on the brick and the brick must remain on the bottom.
Therefore, when one comes up for air, the other is moving the brick, and cannot
come up for air until he is relieved by his buddy.

11
 UNDERWATER KNOT TYING

The purpose of underwater knot tying is to train individuals to perform specific,

detailed tasks while underwater. The idea is if they can tie rope into various
configurations, they have successfully demonstrated the ability to maintain
awareness, perform a detailed task, remain calm, and have developed the lung
capacity to facilitate those things. In cases where no rope is available, you can
substitute the activity with ditch-and-don drills, where the individuals ditch their
gear at the bottom of the pool in a calm, purposeful fashion, or descend down
to the bottom to retrieve and don their gear before resurfacing. Other things
include configuring bricks in a certain pattern before resurfacing.

12
 OTHER SWIMMING DRILLS
One other thing commonly included in water survival training sessions is additional
PT (physical training). The idea is to produce a different stimulus aside from that of
the swimming, which imitates more closely real-world scenarios which may
present themselves. It also increases the difficulty. The concept is simple: the
subject will swim from one side of the pool to the other, get out, do a prescribed
exercise, then reenter the pool, and repeat. Exercises range in intensity and type,
either to fatigue the muscles or to rapidly increase the heart rate. One
consideration is that wet tile may not be conducive to some exercises. Safety must
be taken into account. It is commonly believed that the best water training is a
combination of PT, survival training (drownproofing, etc), underwater training,
sprints, and honing technique.

13