Freediving Instructors and Trainers

[gaiadiver]

aloha - my ex pointed me to this cool freediving video on youtube

YouTube - FIT TO FREEDIVE

i know i will be in florida a lot of september for a shoot and i need to finnaly get some training in free diving. anybody out there take a course with martin stepanek before? do you have to be really good all ready for this course?

xxx

sanni

[jimqpublic]

I'll have to view the video from home- Youtube is blocked at work.

I took Perfomance Freediving's Intermediate class last year with Martin as one of the two main instructors. Here's a testimonial I sent to Martin based on his teaching:

Martin,
Congratulations on forming your own company. I consider myself privileged to have attended the PFI course in Malibu last summer with you and Kirk as instructors. As I started considering the upcoming summer and doing some diving I found the announcement of your separation from PFI on the web.

I think that no matter how compatible the goals and ideals may be, as you mature both personally and professionally it is only natural to look to change and self determination. I hope that you didn't have to burn bridges with PFI or they with you in the process.

Testimonial for your new endeavor:

An easy customer testimonial from me would be this: Before signing up for the class with Martin I had worn snorkel and fins only twice; had never been deeper under water than a 9' pool; and had probably never held my breath more than a minute. Four days after meeting Martin I had held my breath more than five minutes and descended 66 feet below the ocean surface.

The longer customer testimonial goes much deeper (though not farther underwater): I came to the course newly fascinated with snorkeling and wanting some safety training. The training did that but much more. My perceptions of the possible were exploded. My confidence and passion for life was renewed. I had never been much of a swimmer or all that comfortable in water. Many would consider a freedive class overkill for someone just wanting to get into snorkeling- but I felt a need to get good instruction. A few weeks later I went diving with a classmate who is a very experienced diver. After the dive my classmate mentioned that if he didn't know better he would have assumed that I had been diving for years due to my apparent ease and comfort in the water.

Martin Stepanek was the biggest surprise of the class. I expected him to be the physical model and demonstrate flawless form. He did that. What I didn't expect was his engaging speaking style in the long classroom sessions and in-water instruction- not what I expected from a jock who hadn't learned English until recently. The combination of personal humility with unmistakable expertise on the subject make him a great teacher.

Please feel free to let any prospective students contact me for a referral.

Jim

[gaiadiver]

thats it? nobody else? is this what a woman can expect from freedivers, to be ignored?

thank you jimq. sorry but your buddies seem to be total weenies. i can just see myself in a course with 10 guys who don't know what to do with a girl.

[cebaztian]

Originally Posted by gaiadiver

thats it? nobody else? is this what a woman can expect from freedivers, to be ignored?

Maybe cause its the same woman that called all freedivers enviromental hazards and blamed us all for the worlds climat changes in an other thread? ;-)

Sebastian

[jimqpublic]

Just because your post got only one response is no reason to make rude sexist comments. It is possible that part of the lack of response is because Martin just started his solo enterprise and has given just one or two classes as DiveFIT. Your question about level of experience before the class should be directed to Martin. Send him an email explaining your experience and ask which class would be the best fit for you. His address is "martin" at "divefit" dot com

From what I've seen of Martin, Kirk Krack of PFI, and the participants in my PFI class every one was treated with respect- whether male or female, beginner or advanced.

I've seen the same on this board 99+% of the time- except for the humor threads of course.
Jim

[trux]

Be warry of Gaiadiver - she is a known forum troll, so you better ignore some of her provocative comments. Just check out couple of threads where she posted in the past. Do not expect anything else than provocation and search of blame wars. For example this thread demonstrates it well: http://forums.deeperblue.net/general...-vs-earth.html

[gaiadiver]

Originally Posted by trux

Be warry of Gaiadiver - she is a known forum troll, so you better ignore some of her provocative comments. Just check out couple of threads where she posted in the past. Do not expect anything else than provocation and search of blame wars. For example this thread demonstrates it well: http://forums.deeperblue.net/general...-vs-earth.html

yeah right, women should just shut up and do what we're told, right? maybe i should cover myself, too, right, except for the eyes?

[demasoni]

Aloha Gaiadiver,

What's with the hostility and the attitude? Deeper Blue is one of the most tolerant forums I know of and more people not replying to your original post has nothing to do with the fact that you're a female. Are your trying to provoke people with your comments?

Anyways, I've taken a course with Martin when he was with PFI in Kona in '05 and it was first rate. Although I haven't taken a FIT course, I'm positive you can't go wrong - Martin is a great instructor. As far as your level of ability, FIT offers different levels of instruction catering to divers at various levels.

Mahalo

[Adrian]

Guys, not all that glitters is gaia, doesn't "her" sardonic cutting humor remind you of someone?

[trux]

Originally Posted by Adrian

Guys, not all that glitters is gaia, doesn't "her" sardonic cutting humor remind you of someone?

Yeah, exactly I pronounced the suspicion already in the thread http://forums.deeperblue.net/general...-vs-earth.html. If it is not him, it is his daughter. And when not that, then it is his spiritual daughter.

[jimqpublic]

I hope not. Why tilt a thread ugly when the original subject matter is a business you are associated with?

I like sardonic cutting humor, just not mixed in with my oatmeal. Plus, the person in question showed me how to properly clear a snorkel. That gets my lifelong devotion. I still tossed the J-tube and bought a Riffe Stable instead. Now I don't need to know how to clear a snorkel.

Jim

[shoutatthesky]

I have a suspicion gaia is the one and only master himself M.S. She/he seems very keen to recommend FIT as the best place to buy stuff. And nice of her to bring our attention to that little clip on youtube. Plus -

http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediv...ose-clips.html

http://forums.deeperblue.net/general...signs-pfi.html

Seems to point in the same direction.

[VaclavH]

Originally Posted by gaiadiver

yeah right, women should just shut up and do what we're told, right? maybe i should cover myself, too, right, except for the eyes?

Just shut up? Oh no, please, not at all..... but be vewy, vewy quiet......I'm hunting Gaiadiwew

And as for covering up? By god no, not at all .....uncover all you want.Take it all of. It's way more fun that way.
Vaclav

[VaclavH]

Originally Posted by gaiadiver

thats it? nobody else? is this what a woman can expect from freedivers, to be ignored?

thank you jimq. sorry but your buddies seem to be total weenies. i can just see myself in a course with 10 guys who don't know what to do with a girl.

Maybe it will come to you as a total surprise, but sometime you need to give people more time to answer since not everyone is checking the forums for your posts 24-7.
As for your original question, if you look at the FIT web site and look up the courses it will tell you exactly all the skills and equipment neeeded for the course. And yes the course is very good as Martin is one of the best freedivers in the world today and an excelent teacher. And if you send him an E-mail I sure he will be more than happy to answer your questions.

And last but not least, I'm sure the 10 guys would not want to do much with a girl......but with a women ?.... well that's a different story.
So who are you? Girl or .......

Cheers
Vaclav

[hunlee]

Gaia,
I'm a "woman freediver" (started when i was a girl ) and I have been diving for
more than six years. In the freediving community I have never been treated
with anything but respect and comraderie.
So trying to start a sexist war here is a total waste of time.
Do a course if you feel like it, but don't go expecting freedivers to fight your
somewhat silly battles, we're all way too tolerant and just like each other
way too much.
Rather just enjoy the water and the freediving attitude and mindset.