Apnea Academy Instructors Course

[naiad]

I can't even do 1 breath every 1 stroke!

I will try again and see what happens, as something must be going wrong and I don't know what.

Glenn, thanks for the link - those are the best swimming exercise videos I've seen.

Lucia

[Narsil]

Originally Posted by appyguy

I am basically a hard out spearo. Where I live in New Zealand there is no access to proper training and very little interest in structured apnea training.

Sounds like a great course appyguy. Love to hear more.

Like Mullins said, freediving is alive and well in NZ. Clubs in Auckland and Wellington, with people active in Christchurch as well. A lot of the local freedivers, myself included, seem to have migrated from spearfishing or still do it actively (shot my first Warehau on the weekend).

If you want a pool session next time you come south, to meet a few Wellington freedivers / spearo's PM me. You can find our club training times on http://www.lazyseal.co.nz/

Cheers

[jome]

I'm not much of a swimmer either, but it sounded like the level required could be achieved with reasonably easy with a little dedicated training.

I like the kind of approach, where an instructor is required to be able to do things that are not directly related to diving. He is responsible for the students, who may do incredibly surprising and stupid things. Maybe one of them goes into some panic attack just when you're removing your fins etc. You must be prepared to move efficiently through the water with what ever means are available. And I also like the philosophy that you must demostrate perfect technique, because they will be imitating your every move. So true...(for the bulk of students, not talking about the star students who seem to find their own way). I'd hate to have a student drown on me just because I never bothered to learn to swim...

Anywho, I'm sure the exercieses in Umberto's book are well thought and have some meaning, but most of them are not exactly "self study"-material. It's not something one can easily pick up from a book, IMO. But not that many AA-courses being held in Finland either

I've come to realize that there are many different "schools" of diving, and each has some good things and some I don't agree with. But I still would like to get trained in all if possible. Maybe I won't learn anything new, maybe nothing will change, but at least I get to see the way others approach diving.

It was a joy watching the French dive in Nice a coupe of weeks back. How they just love the water and are comfortable in it. Most of them don't read deeperblue, or even speak english or are very aware of our little "scene", they have their own thing going with the weird monofins and all...And even though there was several WR level guys on boat, no one went deeper than 30m I think, but they still had a blast. It's very hard to put into words, but something just clicked in my head and I saw "our way" in a totally different light. This is where opportunities for deep diving are too few, so every time we see water that is deeper than our PB, we're crunching down there, scared half dead.

Anyway, I'm sure I would have a lot to learn from Umberto and his gang, who have had access to water every day for decades and dedicated their lives to apnea. Despite being the most avid internet geek diver, I have dived (diven? help me out here so very little compared to them...I might able to recite from memory exercises for learning the Frenzel, but there are some things people have been doing for decades I haven't even thought of...

I think one good example is William not using a lanyard for an 81m dive. To the AIDA school, that must seem suicidal and crazy! Even personally, I don't agree with that...But who say's using a lanyard is the only way to be safe...It's a good one, to be sure, but there are other ways too...(edit: hmm, seems it's ok even by AIDA rules...Didn't know that...But just goes to show ya, there's always something to learn

[bluecape]

Hi all

Was just getting amped to try and set things up to do Umberto's instructors course, but have just read on his site that it only happens every 2 years.
So may plan my trip anyway to go to Sharm in november to do his freedivers course instead, and then possibly instructors the following year.
Most...well virtually all..of my freediving has been spearing / photography stuff, so exposure to CW and apnea in warm, clean water, as well as the Static and all related freediving techniques may be very beneficial anyway.

So any other DB members keen for the november freediving course with Umberto's academy on Novermer, Red Sea??

Jeff

[Ricochet]

Hmm.. a course in November sounds great. I wanted to participate in a course for quite some time now, but courses are rarely seeded.
Got any further infos? I couldn't find any at the official page.

I've got more than enough leave days left to spend

[glennv]

Most people in the instructor course had previously done a one week stage (as he calls it) in Sharm or Italy with Umberto.
These are very intense (10 + hours / day of which 5+ wet hours) freediving workshops that give you a very good idea about the Umberto way of things and to me where a very valuable addition to my freediving skills in general. Also gives you lots of opportunities to play with VW/no-limit sleds etc.
I did 2 of them before the instructor course.
If you do it , one important tip : Get in shape !!!! otherwise after 3 days you will be burned out with this tough program.

[Cliff Etzel]

you guys are kidding right??

You freedive but don't know how to swim? Shit - I do between 400m - 800m breast stroke 2-3 times a week to keep my upper body in shape and to maintain my cardio fitness - it's required to do 400m no fin swim for my divemaster - have gotten it down to around 12 minutes - trying to get it to 11min right now due to points for the swim.

Anyone who asks me to teach them freediving has to swim a minimum of 200 meters and tread water for 10 minutes before I teach.

Umberto is right - it makes you a part of the water - not fighting it...

[jome]

I think 200m is a reasonable minimun requirement - in fact I think it's the legal definition of "being able to swim" here.

Of course I can swim - but then there's swimming and swimming. At my speed, I'll be passing the recreational grannies left and right - but still, I manage block some some real swimmers from doing their thing.

But I only swim breast stroke reasonably - never really bothered with the others. I've done a "swimming Cooper's test" a few times for fun and I think I got 550-600m - I guess that's half decent...

Anyway...I don't know how professional swimmers keep sane. Even running in circles seems like playing chess compared to just starting at that line for an hour. It's always my head that gives up first when I try to do long swims

But now what did any of this have to do with the topic. No idea...I'll get me coat.

[naiad]

I have tried soooo hard to improve my swimming, and I just can't do it. Breast stroke is no problem, I can do 2000m. I can also tread water reasonably well. It's front crawl that I have trouble with. I get too tired.

Originally Posted by jome

Anyway...I don't know how professional swimmers keep sane. Even running in circles seems like playing chess compared to just starting at that line for an hour. It's always my head that gives up first when I try to do long swims

Me too. I just can't bring myself to do it. If I don't have anyone to go swimming with, I don't do any serious swimming. Even CO2 tables seem like fun compared to being cold, tired, lonely and bored.

Lucia

[glennv]

Have you tried waterproof MP3 players
You are right, just swimming lanes is madness. Toooooo boring.
That's why i picked up this swim fitness class. After 1 hour of hell you are glad it's over , but anything but bored

[naiad]

It's the lane swimming that drives me mad. I like swimming if I have lots of space to myself, and I don't have to go round in circles or stay at a particular speed.

It's true that if you can find a class or group of people to train with, it is much easier to get some serious training done. I am willing to push myself very hard, but only if I can see an incentive, and things like lane swimming, exercise bikes and rowing machines are so boring and frustrating that there is no incentive to go on for more than a few minutes.

I started a thread on freediving and swimming ability...
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?p=597236

[Kars]

Jome, perhabs they do not look at the line?

I would recomment seeking a better technique while one is swimming, where to put ones hands, which path the hands follow, head position, feet, back, legs, breathing etc. There is so much to improve and to feel.
And remember that the true technique lesson starts when it starts to become harder stamina wise.

When I'm training, I do chestcrawl for some distances, where I breath little, once every 6 strokes, about 3 times a 50m lane. Like Glenn said, great for Co2 training. I use it as warming up for my monofin training.
I agree that an instructor one has to able to show a very good technique and oneness with our favourite element, water. I'm flabbergasted that world class divers have so much specialised that they couldn't show a decent underwater breaststroke?!
Like Glenn suggested one can learn a good stroke it fairly quickly, making it perfect is a whole other story though.

About the way different people approach the breathhold sport, I love to get to know what others see and love, it may deepen my love for it even further!
Could we say Umberto's mainly approches Freediving as an Art, seeking the perfect harmony with the blue?

You're right Jome, it's hard not to try for self improvement when -at last- an oppertunity of deep water comes

ciao, ciao!

Kars

[Cliff Etzel]

Originally Posted by jome

I think 200m is a reasonable minimun requirement - in fact I think it's the legal definition of "being able to swim" here.

Of course I can swim - but then there's swimming and swimming. At my speed, I'll be passing the recreational grannies left and right - but still, I manage block some some real swimmers from doing their thing.

But I only swim breast stroke reasonably - never really bothered with the others. I've done a "swimming Cooper's test" a few times for fun and I think I got 550-600m - I guess that's half decent...

Where I train, they have certain lanes for more experienced swimmers than others - really helps when doing dynamic Apnea with fins and then switching to regular swimming.

The swim I require isn't timed - just need to show that you can actually do it.