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Reading a recent book, "Why We Swim", by Bonnie Tsui, I learned about this Japanese martial art. Nihon Eiho is Japanese style classical swimming that developed over hundreds of years. I see Japanese members here, so I was wondering if this is just a narrow niche hobby, or if it is something that people know about.
There is a great video where Keio Hayama demonstrates a whole series of unique strokes and combinations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBZ_otIQceY&t=11s
He wears a speedo for the demo, but apparently people also do it in Samurai battle armor. (how's that for impractical, forget board shorts!).

I've lived in Japan for almost 30 years and have never seen this. But keep in mind, I tend to just swim by myself at fitness clubs or in the ocean and have never joined any sort of swim club or team. Maybe Nihon Eiho does have a following and I just haven't seen it.

I checked out “Why We Swim" again to re-read the chapter on Nihon Eiho, and realized that it does capture my personal whys for swimming. Mizo no kokuro=mind like water. Zanshin=active awareness. These days, post samarai, it embodies an attitude that mellows with age; it is less about the battle than about the zen. There are annual competitions and demonstrations. The author of the book visits with advanced practitioners in Yokohama and Tokyo. The video link I posted above is from Keio University, Hayama swimming club, for open water swimming in Hayama Bay. And Nihon Eiho.

In 1898 there was a competition, held in Yokohama, where Japanese swimming elegant Nukite noshi handily won most races over westerners who were swimming trudgen. That was around the time when swimming as a science really started to take off, and Japan was part of that development. Nihon Eiho contributed to Japan’s dominance in the 1928 and the 1932 olympics in Los Angeles, especially in breast stroke.

Myself, I studied Japanese Wado-ryu Karate during my university years, and got to first degree black belt. That's part of my interest in this. Nihon Eiho too has schools, ryu, that emphasize different methods for different kinds of water, and instead of belts, they have caps from white to black.

Over the past few years I’ve been practicing the combat side stroke, as taught to Navy Seals. From online videos. It’s a great stoke, and one of my goals for the 2022 swimming season is to add in elements of Nihon Eiho, especially elements of situational awareness. CSS is a low-profile stroke, head and body largely underwater, whereas Nihon Eiho is largely heads up, looking to the side, ahead and back. It’s all about being nimble, feeling one with the water.

otter wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 18, 2022 11:24 am

Over the past few years I’ve been practicing the combat side stroke, as taught to Navy Seals. From online videos. It’s a great stoke, and one of my goals for the 2022 swimming season is to add in elements of Nihon Eiho, especially elements of situational awareness. CSS is a low-profile stroke, head and body largely underwater, whereas Nihon Eiho is largely heads up, looking to the side, ahead and back. It’s all about being nimble, feeling one with the water.

I learned a side stroke when I got my Red Cross swimmer's badge back in the Pre-Cambrian era. It was head-out-of-water-look-to-the-side, and if I'd progressed to Junior Lifesaver (which I didn't), I think it was a stroke used in that course for rescue, because you can still propel yourself, even with one arm and legs, while holding the water-logged rescu-ee with the other arm. Just a guess, though. .....I just watched your video link, and what I was taught was similar, though not as refined. We didn't spend much time on it in class. I rather liked it. I also like the link you provided. I found quite a few swimming sites from Japan. Aided by Bing translator, they were interesting and helpful. Thanks!!