New to Spearfishing

[Rza]

Hi I've recently moved to the Algarve and want to take up spearfishing, any ideas where i can meet people to buddy up with? or of someone to teach me the basics?

 

[Rza]

Possibly the blandest intro message ever there, my apologies community. I would love some guidance on where to start with my training, should I be holding my breath while walking the dog and grocery shopping, should I be swimming lots? What's the best piece of advice you wish you could tell your self when you first started on your spearfishing journey? And is anyone still scared of sharks?

 

[Kodama]

There is no reason to be scared of sharks as long as you don’t encounter them.

More seriously now. The best place to start is taking a freediving course and get familiar with the dangers of shallow water blackout and how to avoid it. You will learn about relaxation, equalizing your ears, dive technique and much much more. The things you will learn are priceless and will keep you from going out by yourself trying to figure things out and potentially dying.

Swimming is great training for freediving and spearfishing so go ahead and get in shape.

When the freediving becomes second nature it’s time to get familiar with your local waters and understand current, tides and suitable spearfishing conditions.

Ideally you find someone to learn from. If not go slow and remain safe. Don’t dive alone.
Going slow also applies to hunting technique. When you think you’re going slow, slow down even more.

Start listening to the NoobSpearo Podcast. There is a wealth of information on there.

Search the forum and ask questions.

There must be local spearos where you are so connect with them, stay humble and they probably teach you all you need to know. It can be a steep learning curve, enjoy the journey.

 

[Mr. X]

Hi Reza, take a look around the forum. There is a lot of good information already on the forum on this type of thing. Especially look at the Dummies Guides, the articles by Miles and the follow- discussion threads with the same titles. The latter have been pinned to make them easier to find.

If you want to practice breatholding, the freediver's section of the forum is the place to look and ask. Some spearos train breathhold but others not.

I'll move this thread to the Buddies- Europe area of the forum but will leave a link to it in Greets

 

[Rza]

Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'll drive up the coast to the closest freediving school called Spot and do my beginners course and start my journey there with a certified instructor. I love the ocean but realise the dangers are real and margins for error small, so thank once again and I'll check out the podcast and get chatting to some more experienced locals once I've done my course. I think I'll just bide my time without any additional equipment i.e. gun for the time being.

Cheers,

Rhian

There is no reason to be scared of sharks as long as you don’t encounter them.

More seriously now. The best place to start is taking a freediving course and get familiar with the dangers of shallow water blackout and how to avoid it. You will learn about relaxation, equalizing your ears, dive technique and much much more. The things you will learn are priceless and will keep you from going out by yourself trying to figure things out and potentially dying.

Swimming is great training for freediving and spearfishing so go ahead and get in shape.

When the freediving becomes second nature it’s time to get familiar with your local waters and understand current, tides and suitable spearfishing conditions.

Ideally you find someone to learn from. If not go slow and remain safe. Don’t dive alone.
Going slow also applies to hunting technique. When you think you’re going slow, slow down even more.

Start listening to the NoobSpearo Podcast. There is a wealth of information on there.

Search the forum and ask questions.

There must be local spearos where you are so connect with them, stay humble and they probably teach you all you need to know. It can be a steep learning curve, enjoy the journey.

 

[Leander]

I think I'll just bide my time without any additional equipment i.e. gun for the time being.

That is exactly what I wanted to post as reply, but you already figured it out. So many people want to rush into spearfishing while some cannot even swim properly! Water imho is only so-so dangerous as long as you don't push your limits. But as soon as you start adding spears, cables, ropes, fighting fish, excitement and urge to push that little extra for that big fish, that's where it becomes dangerous.

As for breath hold training. I'd say yes, but don't push yourself when in the water unless you're in a controlled environment and have competent buddies, but do push yourself on dryland. Just don't push on into where it becomes a struggle, or you'll unconsciously link breath holding with struggling and physical stress. Keep it nice and fun and you'll create a mental-link with that.

I train my breath in the supermarket, around all those coughing corona-dispensers.

 

[Leander]

When the freediving becomes second nature it’s time to get familiar with your local waters and understand current, tides and suitable spearfishing conditions.

And train in the unsuitable conditions as well! It happened to me quite some times that I started in a nice and calm sea, which suddenly turned into a washing machine a few hours later, without warning and no forcast predicting it. Train making up Plan B's at the spot.