What is mermaiding, and who can do it?

Mermaiding is swimming with your legs held together in a tail, moving like a mermaid. For some people it is a fitness sport. For others it is a performance art, a way into underwater photography, or simply the most joyful hour of their week.

This guide covers where mermaiding came from, what it actually involves, who it suits, and how people learn it safely.

An old story, a young sport

Mermaids in stories

Half-human, half-fish figures are some of the oldest characters in storytelling. PADI notes that the earliest known mermaid stories date to around 1000 BC, in Assyria. European and Asian traditions each have their own mermaids, and they often look quite different from the modern picture, especially in the shape of the tail.

Weeki Wachee: the first mermaid shows

Mermaiding as a live performance began in Florida. According to Florida State Parks, a former US Navy man named Newton Perry opened an underwater theatre at Weeki Wachee Springs on 13 October 1947. It was built into the limestone about six feet below the surface and seated 18 people.

Perry's clever trick was a free-flowing air hose fed by a compressor. Performers could take breaths from it between moves, so they seemed to live underwater with no visible equipment. He trained young women to perform underwater ballets, and even to eat and drink on cue.

The shows grew fast. In 1959 the American Broadcasting Company bought the spring and built a 400-seat theatre set into its side. By the 1960s the park employed 35 mermaids, who gave eight shows a day, and up to half a million people visited each year. Weeki Wachee mermaids still perform today, and former mermaids have had their own show since 1997.

From show to sport

For decades, professional mermaids worked mostly in attractions like Weeki Wachee. A 2022 Fox News report, with the Associated Press, describes how that widened in the early 2000s, as conservationists and visual artists began swimming in tails with sea life and at events. Affordable fabric tails and monofins then opened the activity to everyone.

Today there are mermaid schools, groups and conventions in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines and China. Mermaiding has world records too. In April 2021, 110 performers at Atlantis Sanya in China set the Guinness World Record for the largest underwater mermaid show.

Training has grown up with it. Mermaid Federation International (MFI) was founded in 2015 by Alan Lam, a freediving instructor from Hong Kong, to build a professional mermaid education system. PADI, the world's best-known diver training organisation, also runs a mermaid programme of its own.

What mermaiding involves

The tail

A mermaid tail has two parts. The monofin is a single fin that holds both feet. The skin is a fabric or silicone cover over your legs and the fin. Our guide to tails and monofins explains the types in detail.

The movement

With your legs together, you swim with a wave that runs from your chest, through your hips, to the fin. This is called the dolphin kick. It feels strange at first because the power comes from your core, not your knees.

Breath-holding

Much of the beauty of mermaiding happens just under the surface. That means short, calm breath-holds, always with someone watching you. Done properly, it is safe and peaceful. Done carelessly, it is where the real risks lie. Read Breath-holding and shallow-water blackout before you try it anywhere.

Ways people enjoy it

• Fun and fitness. Swimming lengths in a tail, playing, and building strength.
• Performance. Poses, routines and shows at events, aquariums and on stage.
• Photography. Underwater portraits, on your own or with a professional photographer.
• Water skills. Diving down calmly, and at advanced levels, freediving in a tail.
• Ocean care. Many mermaids see themselves as ambassadors for the sea. See Respecting the water.

Is it good exercise?

Mermaiding is a form of swimming, so it shares swimming's benefits. Royal Life Saving Society Australia lists them: swimming raises your heart rate and builds endurance, works nearly every muscle group, and develops the deep core muscles that are easy to neglect. Because the water supports your weight, it is also kinder to your joints than running.

The dolphin kick leans heavily on your core, back and hips. Most of our students feel it there the next day.

To be honest, we know of no large studies of mermaiding itself. Treat it as swimming, with an extra helping of core work and a lot more fun.

Who can do it

Adults, first and foremost. Most of Aliyah's students are adults, many of whom have wanted to try this for years. Age is rarely the barrier people fear. What matters is being comfortable in the water and being healthy enough to swim.

Men too. Mermen take exactly the same courses. PADI uses "mermaid" as a word for every gender, and so do we.

You do not need to be athletic. Our first mermaid courses take place in water where you can stand, and need no swim test. Read How well do I need to swim? to see what each level asks.

Children are welcome where a course allows, usually from age 6. Each course lists its minimum age. Parents will find more in Mermaiding for children.

Check your health first if you have a heart, lung, ear or seizure condition, or anything else that could affect you in water. See Health checks before you start.

Why it must be learnt properly

A tail ties your legs together. You cannot kick out of trouble, tread water normally, or stand up quickly unless you know how. Royal Life Saving Society Australia warns that tails and monofins can increase the risk of drowning, and notes that some public pools in Australia have banned them.

None of that means mermaiding is dangerous when it is taught well. It means three things matter:

1. Learn with an instructor, in a pool, before you swim in a tail outside lessons.
2. Never swim in a tail alone. Someone must be watching you, and only you. See Never alone.
3. Build up in order: the shallow end first, then deeper water, then breath-holds, and only then performance or open water.

The two paths at The Dancing Mermaid

Aliyah teaches two certified mermaid paths, and underwater dance. Lessons are mostly one-to-one, in a pool in Singapore.

MFI Mermaid

MFI, Mermaid Federation International, was built for mermaiding as a performance art, and safety is part of how it teaches, from the first lesson:

• Rescue skills are tested at Advanced (M1) and Master (M2) level, including a rescue tow, alongside a written exam passed at 75% or above.
• A health declaration comes before any course.
• A safe depth. Aliyah keeps mermaid work within a safe depth for the pool being used.
• Safety specialties exist in their own right, such as Guardian of Mermaid Safety for those who watch over performers, and Photographer of Mermaid Safety for underwater shoots.
• A real community. Aliyah and MFI's community perform at events across Asia. MFI's public instructor list names around 190 instructors in 14 countries.

Aliyah is an MFI Mermaid Instructor and sits on MFI's Technical Committee.

PADI Mermaid

PADI, the world's best-known diver training organisation, runs a mermaid programme in four steps:

• From the shallow end to freediving. Discover Mermaid starts where you can stand; Advanced Mermaid teaches basic mermaid freediving.
• Open to everyone. You do not need to be a scuba diver or freediver first, only to have basic swimming skills.
• At your own pace. PADI's courses are performance-based: you move on once you have mastered a skill, not when the clock runs out.
• Safety from the start. PADI instructors teach skills and guidelines meant to prevent problems and reduce risk.
• Recognised internationally. PADI's mermaid certifications are recognised wherever PADI is.

Aliyah is a PADI Mermaid Instructor (PADI No. 524890).

Not sure which?

That is normal. Read Choosing a safe mermaid school or instructor, or ask us. We will help you choose a first step that fits you.

What to do next

• Find your level: How well do I need to swim?
• Know what to expect: Your first mermaid class
• Learn the gear: Tails and monofins
• See the courses: MFI Mermaid, PADI Mermaid, Underwater Dance