Reminds me of swimming lessons. I learned from a Red Cross course in my town when I was 5. I was like a fish in water! Always was a great swimmer.
Now, my mother never was taught how to swim, and she was terrified of water (that's why she enrolled me at 5 to take swimming). Also, hubs never learned how to swim either, and he tried to learn a little, a few years ago, but bailed. Just couldn't get the coordination together, and I think fear set in. Yup, it's a whole different learning curve for adults. I've seen the same type of scenario with skiing -- many kids pick it up so quickly, and have no fear.