The Renaissance Swimmer Mindset
A Renaissance Swimmer strives to be competent in the pool and open water. They develop a deep knowledge of swimming and use swimming to support their strength, fitness, health and wellbeing. They swim to live better and make lifestyle choices that enhance their swimming. They use swimming to live their best life.
More importantly, like Renaissance-era thinkers, the Renaissance Swimmer wants to learn, is willing to experiment, and reflects on what they read and experience. They cultivate a spirit of adventure while being logical and open-minded. This is the Renaissance Swimmer mindset.
What will you learn?
After working through the Renaissance Swimmer Project, you will:
- Be fitter, stronger and healthier
- Be able to swim faster, further and in colder water
- Be more resilient and better equipped to achieve your goals
In addition, you will:
- Have a good all-round knowledge of swimming
- Know what efficient swimming technique looks and feels like
- Be able to stay safe (and keep others safe) in open water
- Know how to train effectively
- Be able to swim in a wide range of conditions, water types and temperatures
- Be able to use swimming effectively in other sports such as water polo, artistic swimming, triathlon or swimrun
As you progress through the Renaissance Swimmer project, you will find that developing your skills in one area of swimming will help another. Improving your front crawl will help you swim faster breaststroke. Cold water dips can help with recovery from tough training sessions. Building your endurance for a challenge will help you enjoy multiple daily swims on holiday. You will also have experienced that deliberately exposing yourself to physical stress through training or cold immersion helps build resilience against the pressures of life.
Learning for Life
The Renaissance Swimmer is not only a well-rounded swimmer. They also apply the lessons they learn from the water to their life. Beyond the obvious health and wellbeing benefits of swimming, you will become more courageous, resilient and adventurous.
Historical context
Renaissance Period thinkers looked back at the scientific and philosophical ideas developed in ancient Greece and Rome, rebelled against religious dogma and laid the foundations for modern scientific and political thinking. They believed a well-rounded individual should be proficient in physical pursuits – such as swimming – and intellectual ones.
For example, Thomas Elyot, in “The Boke Named The Govenour” (The Book of the Governor, published 1531) argued swimming was a useful but neglected skill, especially in war. He reports that Roman soldiers learned to swim in the Tiber and retells the story of Horatius Cocles who used his swimming skills to save Rome from Porsena. While single-handedly holding off Porsena’s army on the Sublician Bridge, he ordered the bridge be destroyed behind him. He then leapt into the water, fully armed, and swam to safety. Although more cynical versions say he drowned, the fact Elyot recounts the version where he survives shows his belief in the skill’s importance.
The Romans famously put a lot of value on the power of water. They developed extensive infrastructure to manage the water in their environment including long aqueducts to bring water into cities for multiple purposes, including supplying public baths. They also built baths around natural springs. As well as being social hubs and places to wash and relax, many baths had larger pools – or natatio – for swimming.
Ancient Greek writers reference swimming directly. In The History of the Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 BC), the exiled general and historian Thucydides describes how the crew of one ship saved themselves by swimming. A second example tells that the Thebans slaughtered many Thracians as they did not know how to swim and could not reach their boats.
The Renaissance era thinkers emphasised observation, experimentation, and a better understanding of the natural world. The most famous, Leonardo da Vinci, was a scientist, artist, engineer and inventor. For example, to create his groundbreaking and detailed anatomical drawings, he became resourceful at obtaining bodies he could dissect to understand their inner workings. This tenacity, and willingness to challenge existing understanding and norms, is partly why he’s still revered today.
Relevance to today’s Renaissance Swimmer
Likewise, the Renaissance Swimmer is intellectually curious, a keen observer and a ready experimentalist. They don’t blindly accept what’s told to them but experiment for themselves (although I don’t recommend digging up bodies to test your swimming theories on). They watch what others do and ponder how they can adopt what they see into their swimming. They ask not just: “How can I swim further or faster?” but also “How can swimming bring more joy and adventure into my life?”. They recognise that becoming a Renaissance Swimmer is a mindset and a journey, not a set of achievements to tick off.
By taking on the Renaissance Swimmer project and the challenges suggested, you will become a more versatile and accomplished swimmer. I encourage you to see swimming as vital to your overall wellbeing and identity. I’d like to inspire you to be adventurous, resourceful, occasionally unconventional or non-conformist, and always open-minded. I want you to look at maps and wonder “Can I swim there?”. I hope that as you become a stronger and more competent all-round swimmer, you will ask yourself how you can apply what you learn elsewhere. And once you can do all that, I hope you will help others to do the same.
Are you ready to become a Renaissance Swimmer?
Need more information?