Martin Stepanek Crushing it October 3-9, 2011. Egypt

[byronq]

Well said, Trux! Martin, like all top divers, receives our support and wishes for safety first, and success second.

Best of luck to Martin on accomplishing his future goals!

 

[Johan Andersson]

From the description, it sounds like it could be a case of alternobaric vertigo. It is elicited by asymmetric pressure equilibration between the middle ears. The pressure imbalance produces an unequal stimulation of the balance organs in the right and left inner ears, followed by a sensation of imbalance. It occurs primarily during ascent and may, in severe cases, cause disorientation and vomiting.

 

[Jouskari]

Oh no, This must be a really hard decission for Martin. A big hand to him for putting safety first.

Besides we might even get learn something new if Martins check-up shows something special and he shares it with the community.

 

[Kars]

To me that's the hardest decision.

Great respect to Martin!

I hope he gets back in the game soon, 125m is a great number.

Love, Courage and Water!

Kars

 

[rddk]

i'm really sorry for martin but he got the rite decision. Saefty is the first thing

 

[fcallagy]

Big decision from a big man. Mucho respect imagine the pressure on you when you are there with sponsors safety divers and judges tech divers etc. Wise man and a good sign of maturity for our sport.

 

[jome]

Respect! To me making this decision is a bigger achievement than a dive to 125m.

 

[efattah]

Sorry to hear about the the turn of events -- best wishes for the next event...

 

[trux]

Some interesting details about Martin's accident from himself and his doctors: Martin’s statement « World Record challenge

 

[Simos]

Must be frustrating for Martin of course but it is the best news he and everyone else could have hoped for after the incident.

LOL at the 'recreational' depth...

 

[flamencoguru]

Of course we are all content Martin's health is ok and that all turned out well. I think the bigger message here is that he continues to follow his convictions in believing and practicing safe freediving well within "one's abilities". Even he knows when to call it a day...

Remember, if you're alive and well, there's always another day to dive. That's what it's all about!

P.S.. I agree, 90m recreational!!! Ha!!! Too Funny!!!!

Peace, Errol

 

[Simos]

Anyone knows whether he'll be going for it again any time soon?

 

[wes]

I took my first freediving course from Martin 5 years ago when he was still with PFI and he explained the advantages to using his mask was that so much air was required to put into the mask on the way down that on the way up this air was available "all fresh" for the return up that he will suck back out of the mask. Maybe someone can do the math on DB though I believe its more than 2 liter or surface air in a sphera at 125m, maybe 2.5 liter.

So another idea why narcosis is not issue for Martin is maybe because he uses a mask and not noseclip. With the extra air in the mask would be that much less air in his lungs so maybe is less nitrogen loading at depth (kind of like FRC dive then). Anyone compare other divers that use mask to 100m for narcosis?

Cheers Wes

 

[Simos]

I took my first freediving course from Martin 5 years ago when he was still with PFI and he explained the advantages to using his mask was that so much air was required to put into the mask on the way down that on the way up this air was available "all fresh" for the return up that he will suck back out of the mask. Maybe someone can do the math on DB though I believe its more than 2 liter or surface air in a sphera at 125m, maybe 2.5 liter.

So another idea why narcosis is not issue for Martin is maybe because he uses a mask and not noseclip. With the extra air in the mask would be that much less air in his lungs so maybe is less nitrogen loading at depth (kind of like FRC dive then). Anyone compare other divers that use mask to 100m for narcosis?

Cheers Wes

Well the volume it needs in theory is a bit nuts indeed, it is roughly 2.7 litres (Sphera internal volume is around 200ml if I remember right so times 13.5 is around 2.7 litres).

But this assumes that you will continue equalising the mask all the way down to 125m, which I somehow doubt is what Martin does but I am really just shooting in the dark. The Sphera does compress a lot though so you really wouldn't have to continue equalising it beyond some point...

I think one of the issues for most people would be equalisation - unless you have massive cheeks, the mask should present an issue with those doing early mouthfills.

If I am not mistaken, Martin does not use a mouthfill but rather some sort of air scavenging Wes? (possibly some unpacking?)

 

[flamencoguru]

Well the volume it needs in theory is a bit nuts indeed, it is roughly 2.7 litres (Sphera internal volume is around 200ml if I remember right so times 13.5 is around 2.7 litres).

But this assumes that you will continue equalising the mask all the way down to 125m, which I somehow doubt is what Martin does but I am really just shooting in the dark. The Sphera does compress a lot though so you really wouldn't have to continue equalising it beyond some point...

I think one of the issues for most people would be equalisation - unless you have massive cheeks, the mask should present an issue with those doing early mouthfills.

If I am not mistaken, Martin does not use a mouthfill but rather some sort of air scavenging Wes? (possibly some unpacking?)

The Sphera mask has an internal volume of about 76ml. Martin does do a mouth fill. He does it around 65m. I believe he can do it even deeper.... Major diaphragm and chest flexibility.

Interesting point about the narcosis... I'll have to pick at his brain...

 

[Ol Dirty Diver]

Well the volume it needs in theory is a bit nuts indeed, it is roughly 2.7 litres (Sphera internal volume is around 200ml if I remember right so times 13.5 is around 2.7 litres).

But this assumes that you will continue equalising the mask all the way down to 125m, which I somehow doubt is what Martin does but I am really just shooting in the dark. The Sphera does compress a lot though so you really wouldn't have to continue equalising it beyond some point...

I think one of the issues for most people would be equalisation - unless you have massive cheeks, the mask should present an issue with those doing early mouthfills.

If I am not mistaken, Martin does not use a mouthfill but rather some sort of air scavenging Wes? (possibly some unpacking?)

I think this estimate of the Sphera internal volume is a bit high, as I've generally heard that the classic scuba masks were 200-250ml, while our modern freediving masks are closer to 100ml. For what it's worth, the new OMER Zero Cubed mask is being advertised as 99ml; I've used it lately and it feels comparable to a Sphera. Therefore, your estimate of how much air he is using to compensate his mask may be twice as much as reality.

I've been fortunate to get to work with Martin some from taking his courses in Hawai'i and becoming an instructor for FII, but I can't admit to knowing the full details of his strategies. But, for what it's worth, he definitely teaches and emphasizes the mouthfill in his Level 3 course (which I would expect to closely follow his own strategies). But, as much if not more so, he emphasizes working on chest flexibility, which would help both with the mouthfill (allowing him to do it later if he does it) as well as reverse packing to "top it off" if he does that. It would really be interesting to see some quantification of just how flexible his chest is, as well for some of the other top divers (such as Trubridge, who supposedly stretches 2 x 40min a day, and of course Nitsch).

I guess a way to measure this would be to look at total lung capacity or functional vital capacity (after packing), and residual volume. Indeed, in the FII L2 course we teach that the FVC:RV ratio is a great indicator of depth potential, which can be improved with proper stretching. Martin shares that his TLC is 8L, with packing 12L (not sure about his residual volume, but I'm sure that's well below average as well). If we compare these numbers to the "average" man's (TLC 6L, RV 1.2L or 20%) and assume conservatively Martin's RV is the same, he could go 12L/1.2L = 10atm = 90m before reaching "failure depth" (depth beyond which it's nearly impossible to equalize without advanced techniques), while the average man could only go 6L/1.2L = 5atm = 40m. So I am saying that Martin, due to his tremendously flexible chest, may be able to go 90m or more without even resorting to the mouthfill.

 

[Simos]

I think this estimate of the Sphera internal volume is a bit high, as I've generally heard that the classic scuba masks were 200-250ml, while our modern freediving masks are closer to 100ml. For what it's worth, the new OMER Zero Cubed mask is being advertised as 99ml; I've used it lately and it feels comparable to a Sphera. Therefore, your estimate of how much air he is using to compensate his mask may be twice as much as reality.

I've been fortunate to get to work with Martin some from taking his courses in Hawai'i and becoming an instructor for FII, but I can't admit to knowing the full details of his strategies. But, for what it's worth, he definitely teaches and emphasizes the mouthfill in his Level 3 course (which I would expect to closely follow his own strategies). But, as much if not more so, he emphasizes working on chest flexibility, which would help both with the mouthfill (allowing him to do it later if he does it) as well as reverse packing to "top it off" if he does that. It would really be interesting to see some quantification of just how flexible his chest is, as well for some of the other top divers (such as Trubridge, who supposedly stretches 2 x 40min a day, and of course Nitsch).

I guess a way to measure this would be to look at total lung capacity or functional vital capacity (after packing), and residual volume. Indeed, in the FII L2 course we teach that the FVC:RV ratio is a great indicator of depth potential, which can be improved with proper stretching. Martin shares that his TLC is 8L, with packing 12L (not sure about his residual volume, but I'm sure that's well below average as well). If we compare these numbers to the "average" man's (TLC 6L, RV 1.2L or 20%) and assume conservatively Martin's RV is the same, he could go 12L/1.2L = 10atm = 90m before reaching "failure depth" (depth beyond which it's nearly impossible to equalize without advanced techniques), while the average man could only go 6L/1.2L = 5atm = 40m. So I am saying that Martin, due to his tremendously flexible chest, may be able to go 90m or more without even resorting to the mouthfill.

You are probably right about the sphera, I did see 150ml quoted in the past but I think it was someone here that had measured the flow and it was closer to 200ml - anyway, whatever the case it's a lot of air lol

I think Will can go down to 0.5 RV but I could be wrong, I'll try to dig out the thread that he had posted about this. In any case he did do 100m+ dives without mouthfill so definitely doable and I am sure Martin should be able to do more than 90m.

 

[trux]

Yes, it was me who measured the Flow Sommap mask - you can read about the mask here: http://forums.deeperblue.com/freedi...new-excelent-freediving-mask-sphera-like.html

The Flow has 200 ml when put on without pressure, and 36 ml when pressed hard against the face. It means the compression ratio of 5.6, which is on my mind unbeatable by any other mask I know.

I did also measure the Sphera. When put on lightly, it has the volume fo 130 ml, and when you press really hard you get it to 50 ml. That makes for the compression ratio of 2.6. Not bad, but nowhere close to the Flow.

I measured both masks multiple times. I do it so that I put on the mask submerged, then raise the head, let drop or dry the water from the exterior, and pour the water from the mask into a container. I repeat it 10 times and then measure how much water I have in the container (with just one filling the error would be too great). Of course, the method is subjective, since the inner volume also depends on the shape of your face and the size of the nose, so the value may slightly differ from person to person.

So when you put on the Spehra just regularly, tighening a bit, but not too much, it can have the inner volume indeed somewhere around 100 ml,

 

[Simos]

Yes, it was me who measured the Flow Sommap mask - you can read about the mask here: http://forums.deeperblue.com/freedi...new-excelent-freediving-mask-sphera-like.html

The Flow has 200 ml when put on without pressure, and 36 ml when pressed hard against the face. It means the compression ratio of 5.6, which is on my mind unbeatable by any other mask I know.

I did also measure the Sphera. When put on lightly, it has the volume fo 130 ml, and when you press really hard you get it to 50 ml. That makes for the compression ratio of 2.6. Not bad, but nowhere close to the Flow.

I measured both masks multiple times. I do it so that I put on the mask submerged, then raise the head, let drop or dry the water from the exterior, and pour the water from the mask into a container. I repeat it 10 times and then measure how much water I have in the container (with just one filling the error would be too great). Of course, the method is subjective, since the inner volume also depends on the shape of your face and the size of the nose, so the value may slightly differ from person to person.

So when you put on the Spehra just regularly, tighening a bit, but not too much, it can have the inner volume indeed somewhere around 100 ml,

I thought I wouldn't mention names lol

So basically with the Flow, you could in theory do a full mask equalisation at 10m and still get to 100m+ without equalising the mask!!!

 

[trux]

So basically with the Flow, you could in theory do a full mask equalisation at 10m and still get to 100m+ without equalising the mask!!!

I did not test that, but I did test pinching my nose (with the Flow on) on the surface, and descending to 30m without releasing the nose - no problem at all, no mask squeeze, no flooding.