Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui – a kind of love letter to being in the water
American Chinatown by Bonnie Tsui
Be Water, My Friend by Bruce Lee – The teachings of Bruce Lee
Guest: Bonnie Tsui (t:@bonnietsui) is a longtime contributor to The New York Times and California Sunday Magazine. She is the author of American Chinatown, winner of the 2009-2010 Asian/Pacific​ ​American Award for Literature, and author of Why We Swim
Host: Brett McKay (@brettmckay)
The earliest evidence of human swimming is about 10,000 years ago, from cave drawings in the Sahara of swimmers
Water is a source of food – shellfish, fish
Water is enjoyable recreationally
Humans don’t have an instinctive ability to swim- most other land animals do, even bats!
Most animals can swim from birth – however, humans have to be taught
Swimming is a cultural knowledge that is passed on each generation
In Southeast Asia, there are sea-nomad populations that have lived on the water for years
Adaptive changes
  • In sea-nomad cultures, children learn to swim before they walk
  • Free swimmers learn to hold their breath for a long time
  • Some sea-nomad people have great underwater vision through practice
Evolutionary changes
  • Baja people -their spleens are 50% larger than inland people in Thailand due to increased swimming
  • Their bodies evolved – spleens expel red blood cells so the body has more oxygen
Human brains respond to water
  • The sound of water boosts the brain’s alpha activity that’s associated with calmness
Human bodies respond to water
  • When you’re immersed in water blood circulation increases, dopamine levels go up and metabolism goes up
People feel great when they’re near it – water is a mood lifter
People respond to water – humans go to beaches like animals to a watering hole
For some athletes, water therapy changes their life- they start swimming after an injury and get hooked
Swimming is a low impact sport you can do your whole life
Swimming is a whole-body exercise
It takes you out of your normal state of being
Rhythm is huge in swimming– you pair breathing with your movement
Regular swim sessions can lower blood pressure
Cold water immersion stimulates and increases circulation and oxygen levels reaching nerves that lack circulation
There are cold water immersion rituals around the world, including Siberia
Swimming in cold water is highly sensory and can offer a sense of euphoria
In 2008, after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, people were allowed to use the swimming pools in his many palaces
One man started to teach swimming to soldiers, locals, contractors, and interpreters
They called themselves the Baghdad Swim team which grew to 250 members over two years
They got together a few times a week
In the water, they found a sense of calm and buoyancy
Some started out just treading water and became accomplished swimmers
The participants stayed connected to the sport—and each other—even after they left Baghdad
Romans and Ancient Egyptians saw swimming as a martial art
Archeologists have found old drawings of warriors battling in water – even in mythology
Samurai swimming – during the feudal period in Japan, coastal clans had to specialize in martial arts water techniques – ex) Swimming without ripples
These techniques are foundational traditions that continue today – and were supposed to be demonstrated at Olympics this summer in Tokyo
Swimming is the most-watched sport at the Summer Olympics
There is a community aspect to the sport
Henry David Thoreau swam every morning at Walden Pond – he said it was one of best things he did
Oliver Sacks – neurologist and naturalist
Zadie Smith – writer
YoYo Ma – musician
Swimming can help you lose track of time
Swimming allows you time with your thoughts, even meditation
The flow state is described in Bruce Lee’s Be Water, My Friend