"putting them in a lock" is incredibly risky. It requires you to be strong enough to do it - if you misjudge the relative strength of the panicking person comp

"putting them in a lock" is incredibly risky. It requires you to be strong enough to do it - if you misjudge the relative strength of the panicking person compared to yourself, they're going to latch on to you, and you may not be able to free yourself,and now you're both in trouble. The technique I described requires no such guesswork. If you do it properly (something that can be learned), you won't get into trouble, regardless of the relative strength of the two parties. The security of the rescuer is paramount in this situation. Why take the risk of misjudging the strength of the rescuee, when you can avoid having to guess? You're running into the Dunning-Kruger effect here - you don't know what you don't know. Believe me, as someone that has been extensively trained in lifesaving, there are techniques that are safe and effective, and these techniques never rely on force. How could it be otherwise - we'd be condemning strong people to just die - "Jeez, sorry mate, I see you work out in a gym, and are probably stronger than every lifesaver on the beach, so I guess it's just bad luck for you!".