I took an introductory skin diving class in 2017 by the local scout association (which consisted of a theory lesson and a lesson in a 3 m pool). However I didn't continue diving afterwards as I didn't get interested.
My interest in diving started this year (2020) just before summer. I got the idea of diving as an activity to do in the summer when it is too hot to swim. However, I had a perception that "diving is a dangerous sport" so I was afraid of it and didn't start early. The reason that I thought diving is dangerous was that, in freediving, BO / LMC is a real danger, and people also got "lung squeeze" or bleeding due to the pressure, while in scuba diving, when a piece of equipment goes wrong, or when you run out of air and do an emergency ascent, there are so many possible dangers like lung burst, nitrogen narcosis, etc. There was also an accident earlier in this year in local waters that, a scuba diver was lost and only found on the next day 27 km away (!!!) after a search-and-rescue operation. Luckily he was not injured when found.
Before that, in the past few year, when I was swimming, apart from swimming at the surface I also liked swimming underwater and playing with my buoyancy such that I could sink for float whenever I want. However I only stayed within 10 m as I thought that it would be dangerous going deeper with only swimming skills but not any diving knowledge, as it started to resemble freediving rather than swimming if my intention was to go deep rather than getting underwater occasionally to explore.
I got the contact of a few freediving clubs and chatted with their head instructors, including instructor C from the largest freediving club, and instructor O from another. I hadn't got through my mental barrier in June. However, in August I was tempted to learn diving again because it was really too damn hot to swim and I was so bored, and because it was my last chance to learn diving in a hot place (I plan to emigrate permanently next year to a place where the maximum sea temperature is only 18°C - which is good for swimming but too cold for diving - while the sea temperature where I live ranges 16°C - 29°C), I finally decided to learn diving such that I won't regret later in my life. I went to the largest and most famous freediving club with instructor C, but that's when my bad experience began.
I first contacted C and told him I want to learn diving, and explicitly asked him if it is possible to complete the course before the wetsuit season, and he told me that it was possible because the water is still warm until October. I then asked him if it is possible to learn AIDA 2 or PADI Freediver directly as a beginner, he then told me that if I had a scuba diving cert I should do AIDA 2, otherwise I should do AIDA 1. Moreover he also told me that, if I performed well in AIDA 1, I could top up to AIDA 2 by paying the difference in price and completing the remaining lessons (shore dive and boat dive) afterwards. The AIDA 1 course included a theory lesson (4 hours), and an STA + DYN pool lesson, and the AIDA 2 course included the same theory, STA + DYN, then a half-day shore dive (down to -10 m), and a full-day boat dive (down to -16 m), and a written exam. I then signed up for the AIDA 1 lesson according to his instruction.
I had an expectation that, in the AIDA 1 lesson, I would learn how to use my equipment (fins, snorkel, mask) properly that I could get comfortable with them, such that I could top up to AIDA 2 afterwards and complete the whole course before October before the club stopped operating in the winter. That club ends its open water lessons by October / November and resumes in May, so if I couldn't complete the lessons by October, I needed to continue next year from May.
The theory lesson was done early September. AIDA 1 and 2 pupils took the same lesson. It was taught by another head instructor P. There were 4 pupils in the class and if I remembered correctly, most or all others had scuba experience. One was even a scuba instructor. In the theory lesson there was a part which describe diving equipment. However, the main focus was on how freediving and scuba diving equipment differ, and the instructor also mentioned that "all scuba diving gears work for freediving" so I don't need to get a new set if I already have them. At that time I already had a snorkel (which I bought 2 years ago by mistake, I wanted a swimming snorkel but got a diving snorkel instead) and a wetsuit (probably a surfing wetsuit as I did sailing and windsurfing in the winter in the past). However, the instructor didn't do any demonstrations on actually putting on mask and snorkel.
I went to a dive shop and bought fins and mask, and brought them with my existing snorkel and wetsuit (which was not a strict necessity but highly recommended) to the STA + DYN lesson afterwards in mid-September. As the pools were closed under COVID epidemic measures, it was conducted at a sheltered beach. It was the last STA + DYN lesson before the pools were reopened. It was taught by another instructor A. There were 3 pupils: me (doing AIDA 1), a girl (doing AIDA 2), and a boy (doing PADI Freediver). The instructors (both P in the theory lesson and A in the STA + DYN lesson) spent a lot of time in breathing / relaxation technique when teaching STA, and guided us doing STA from 1', then 1'30", and finally 2". I had no trouble doing them but the girl doing AIDA 2 didn't get past 1'45" (so she couldn't complete that part).
Then I got a lot of trouble going into the DYN part. The instructor A told us to get ready, put on out mask, fin and snorkel while he was going out to set up the lines and buoys. However I didn't even know what's the proper way to attach my snorkel to my mask! Every snorkel was so different that there was no one way to put it on. My snorkel had a 8-ring and the one next to me had a clip. Moreover I had heard that in the theory lesson that, divers remove their snorkel when the breath-up was completed, put it on the buoy and begin their duck-dive. I couldn't understand how the heck I could remove my snorkel when it was attached to my mask. I asked the instructor and he was really surprised that I didn't even know how to wear a mask and snorkel! (What's the point of doing AIDA 1 then?!) Finally I wore it but I still didn't understand how the heck I could put my snorkel away before the dive. The instructor just told me to disregard that my snorkel was still attached and remove the mouthpiece.
The DYN line was set up to be 18 m, perpendicular to the beach that we started at the shallow part and went out deeper. The first time we were instructed to do from a few metres behind the shallow end to the deep end only. We were given a neck weight while doing that. My breath up was not good as I couldn't stabilise myself at the shallow beach while wearing fins and I was still having trouble with my snorkel, nevertheless I completed the course. The second time we were instructed to go to the deep end, pull the vertical rope connecting the buoy and the DYN line at the bottom to turn, and returning to the beginning of the line making 40 m. I still couldn't fully relax in the breath up because I was still not comfortable standing on the beach with fins and wearing my snorkel. I performed the course, went to the deep end and pull the rope. I immediately popped up and I panicked at that moment. I tried to get back down to the line but I couldn't. I was still so high in the water. I aborted the attempt at about 35 m. None of the other 2 pupils could complete the whole 40 m course.
Finally came the rescue part. I performed so bad that some of my action might hurt my buddy, e.g. I grabbed the neck while trying to bring the buddy out of water and tried to use brute force when removing the mask (I didn't know, or forgotten that the proper way of removing the mask was to pull the nose), because I was so stressed at that moment given my fins, snorkel, and the thing happened on my DYN before. I couldn't stabilise myself standing up with fins on.
I officially completed my AIDA 1 course because there was no completion requirement, but given all the bad things happened above the instructor had no confidence on me. Moreover I couldn't complete the 40 m DYN requirement so I still needed to have a supplementary lesson if I wanted to continue. The girl didn't complete both AIDA 2 STA and DYN requirements and needed a supplementary lesson as well. The boy completed the PADI Freediver requirement (because the requirement was only 25 m so it was fine for him despite not completing 40 m) and could went on to the shore dive.
The pool was reopened. I signed up for another supplementary lesson for my STA + DYN in early October. It was taught by the head instructor P. She demonstrated the DYN technique more thoroughly including starting and turning. I asked her about my snorkel again and she, again, thought me that I would know how to wear it (attaching it to my mask) when I bought it from the dive shop. Although I completed 40 m that night my rescue technique was still lacking a bit. She then told me that she still didn't have confidence to let me top-up my AIDA 2 and continue to my shore dive and boat dive this year, and as the club would suspend operation soon, she advised me to practice more and sign up again next year. To me this was not possible (because by next year when the club resumed operation I would have already emigrated). I was so disappointed at that moment. I spent a large amount of money in getting the AIDA 1 which meant nothing to me.
My interest in diving started this year (2020) just before summer. I got the idea of diving as an activity to do in the summer when it is too hot to swim. However, I had a perception that "diving is a dangerous sport" so I was afraid of it and didn't start early. The reason that I thought diving is dangerous was that, in freediving, BO / LMC is a real danger, and people also got "lung squeeze" or bleeding due to the pressure, while in scuba diving, when a piece of equipment goes wrong, or when you run out of air and do an emergency ascent, there are so many possible dangers like lung burst, nitrogen narcosis, etc. There was also an accident earlier in this year in local waters that, a scuba diver was lost and only found on the next day 27 km away (!!!) after a search-and-rescue operation. Luckily he was not injured when found.
Before that, in the past few year, when I was swimming, apart from swimming at the surface I also liked swimming underwater and playing with my buoyancy such that I could sink for float whenever I want. However I only stayed within 10 m as I thought that it would be dangerous going deeper with only swimming skills but not any diving knowledge, as it started to resemble freediving rather than swimming if my intention was to go deep rather than getting underwater occasionally to explore.
I got the contact of a few freediving clubs and chatted with their head instructors, including instructor C from the largest freediving club, and instructor O from another. I hadn't got through my mental barrier in June. However, in August I was tempted to learn diving again because it was really too damn hot to swim and I was so bored, and because it was my last chance to learn diving in a hot place (I plan to emigrate permanently next year to a place where the maximum sea temperature is only 18°C - which is good for swimming but too cold for diving - while the sea temperature where I live ranges 16°C - 29°C), I finally decided to learn diving such that I won't regret later in my life. I went to the largest and most famous freediving club with instructor C, but that's when my bad experience began.
I first contacted C and told him I want to learn diving, and explicitly asked him if it is possible to complete the course before the wetsuit season, and he told me that it was possible because the water is still warm until October. I then asked him if it is possible to learn AIDA 2 or PADI Freediver directly as a beginner, he then told me that if I had a scuba diving cert I should do AIDA 2, otherwise I should do AIDA 1. Moreover he also told me that, if I performed well in AIDA 1, I could top up to AIDA 2 by paying the difference in price and completing the remaining lessons (shore dive and boat dive) afterwards. The AIDA 1 course included a theory lesson (4 hours), and an STA + DYN pool lesson, and the AIDA 2 course included the same theory, STA + DYN, then a half-day shore dive (down to -10 m), and a full-day boat dive (down to -16 m), and a written exam. I then signed up for the AIDA 1 lesson according to his instruction.
I had an expectation that, in the AIDA 1 lesson, I would learn how to use my equipment (fins, snorkel, mask) properly that I could get comfortable with them, such that I could top up to AIDA 2 afterwards and complete the whole course before October before the club stopped operating in the winter. That club ends its open water lessons by October / November and resumes in May, so if I couldn't complete the lessons by October, I needed to continue next year from May.
The theory lesson was done early September. AIDA 1 and 2 pupils took the same lesson. It was taught by another head instructor P. There were 4 pupils in the class and if I remembered correctly, most or all others had scuba experience. One was even a scuba instructor. In the theory lesson there was a part which describe diving equipment. However, the main focus was on how freediving and scuba diving equipment differ, and the instructor also mentioned that "all scuba diving gears work for freediving" so I don't need to get a new set if I already have them. At that time I already had a snorkel (which I bought 2 years ago by mistake, I wanted a swimming snorkel but got a diving snorkel instead) and a wetsuit (probably a surfing wetsuit as I did sailing and windsurfing in the winter in the past). However, the instructor didn't do any demonstrations on actually putting on mask and snorkel.
I went to a dive shop and bought fins and mask, and brought them with my existing snorkel and wetsuit (which was not a strict necessity but highly recommended) to the STA + DYN lesson afterwards in mid-September. As the pools were closed under COVID epidemic measures, it was conducted at a sheltered beach. It was the last STA + DYN lesson before the pools were reopened. It was taught by another instructor A. There were 3 pupils: me (doing AIDA 1), a girl (doing AIDA 2), and a boy (doing PADI Freediver). The instructors (both P in the theory lesson and A in the STA + DYN lesson) spent a lot of time in breathing / relaxation technique when teaching STA, and guided us doing STA from 1', then 1'30", and finally 2". I had no trouble doing them but the girl doing AIDA 2 didn't get past 1'45" (so she couldn't complete that part).
Then I got a lot of trouble going into the DYN part. The instructor A told us to get ready, put on out mask, fin and snorkel while he was going out to set up the lines and buoys. However I didn't even know what's the proper way to attach my snorkel to my mask! Every snorkel was so different that there was no one way to put it on. My snorkel had a 8-ring and the one next to me had a clip. Moreover I had heard that in the theory lesson that, divers remove their snorkel when the breath-up was completed, put it on the buoy and begin their duck-dive. I couldn't understand how the heck I could remove my snorkel when it was attached to my mask. I asked the instructor and he was really surprised that I didn't even know how to wear a mask and snorkel! (What's the point of doing AIDA 1 then?!) Finally I wore it but I still didn't understand how the heck I could put my snorkel away before the dive. The instructor just told me to disregard that my snorkel was still attached and remove the mouthpiece.
The DYN line was set up to be 18 m, perpendicular to the beach that we started at the shallow part and went out deeper. The first time we were instructed to do from a few metres behind the shallow end to the deep end only. We were given a neck weight while doing that. My breath up was not good as I couldn't stabilise myself at the shallow beach while wearing fins and I was still having trouble with my snorkel, nevertheless I completed the course. The second time we were instructed to go to the deep end, pull the vertical rope connecting the buoy and the DYN line at the bottom to turn, and returning to the beginning of the line making 40 m. I still couldn't fully relax in the breath up because I was still not comfortable standing on the beach with fins and wearing my snorkel. I performed the course, went to the deep end and pull the rope. I immediately popped up and I panicked at that moment. I tried to get back down to the line but I couldn't. I was still so high in the water. I aborted the attempt at about 35 m. None of the other 2 pupils could complete the whole 40 m course.
Finally came the rescue part. I performed so bad that some of my action might hurt my buddy, e.g. I grabbed the neck while trying to bring the buddy out of water and tried to use brute force when removing the mask (I didn't know, or forgotten that the proper way of removing the mask was to pull the nose), because I was so stressed at that moment given my fins, snorkel, and the thing happened on my DYN before. I couldn't stabilise myself standing up with fins on.
I officially completed my AIDA 1 course because there was no completion requirement, but given all the bad things happened above the instructor had no confidence on me. Moreover I couldn't complete the 40 m DYN requirement so I still needed to have a supplementary lesson if I wanted to continue. The girl didn't complete both AIDA 2 STA and DYN requirements and needed a supplementary lesson as well. The boy completed the PADI Freediver requirement (because the requirement was only 25 m so it was fine for him despite not completing 40 m) and could went on to the shore dive.
The pool was reopened. I signed up for another supplementary lesson for my STA + DYN in early October. It was taught by the head instructor P. She demonstrated the DYN technique more thoroughly including starting and turning. I asked her about my snorkel again and she, again, thought me that I would know how to wear it (attaching it to my mask) when I bought it from the dive shop. Although I completed 40 m that night my rescue technique was still lacking a bit. She then told me that she still didn't have confidence to let me top-up my AIDA 2 and continue to my shore dive and boat dive this year, and as the club would suspend operation soon, she advised me to practice more and sign up again next year. To me this was not possible (because by next year when the club resumed operation I would have already emigrated). I was so disappointed at that moment. I spent a large amount of money in getting the AIDA 1 which meant nothing to me.
