[Chad Carney]

At DEMA I talked with many freedivers involved in leading the way with education, safety and medical research for the sport.

Kirk Krack of Performance Freediving International and Emma Farrell, author of the new book "One Breath", were both interested in the Ascent BC Belt to assist in training and increase safety.

Kirk has trained over 1,500 freedivers and Emma taught 300 just last year.

I think a diver's perspective depends on education.

There will always be a small fringe that will push any technology to the edge.

My buddy Art Pinder told me about the skin diving gear they used back in the early forties. I quoted him and a line from a book he gave me in Spearfishing Magazine this month. It read, Swim fins became available around 1940 but were initially met with resistance, wrote Hope Root in his 1955 book “Spearfishing and Skindiving on the Florida Reefs.” Root recalled “The beach boys (life guards) would not use them at first because they did not work with the old frog kick. They were leg-killers.” Art Pinder said “We swam barefoot and scissors kicked underwater until the early forties, but we learned the flutter kick was better with swim fins.” Root wrote that within a year the arguments against swim fins were forgotten.

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

Chad