Swedish ginger freediver preparing for master/instructor

[infectious]

Hey deeper blue community I am thrilled that I stumbled upon this forum!

For me freediving is about the joy of being under water, exploring that amazing world, and having that deep spiritual experience with myself and everything around me.

I fell completely in love with freediving when I first tried it out on Ko Tao, Thailand, in 2014. Freediving was a natural progression after doing scuba for a few years, and wanting to get into the water without as much hassle and without having to get all that expensive gear. It quickly became clear to me that I wanted to share this beautiful underwater world with those around me, and get really good in my own practice. I've been dreaming about doing a master course, and instructor course, ever since. So far, I've only done Apnea Total's Beginner Freediver and the Static Apnea day course.

I have my sights on training in Bali at the end of August after my Australian VISA runs out. The big question now is what certification and school/teacher to choose. I'm not at all interested in competing. Still I'd love to be comfortable to go down to at least 35 m, there's so much to explore down there. It would be great to teach in different locations around the world when I travel. Questions for you dear community: How did you choose your master and instructor courses? What factors did you take into account when you made your decision? I've read that a lot of people stresses the importance of choosing your teacher over the certification system. So, how do I determine who is an amazing teacher that suits me?

And, how do I best make use of my time to prepare myself for the courses? CO2 and O2 tables? Mobility work and making my body supple? Strengthening my body? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

For the love of freediving and our oceans,
Annica

 

[Jakelol]

Hi there from a fellow Swed
First of all are you close to the AIDA 4 certification?
3 minutes 30 second breath-hold, swim 70m in Dynamic with fins and freedive to 32 meters in Constant Weight discipline.
Otherwise there is no need to even try to take that course.

 

[infectious]

Hi there from a fellow Swed
First of all are you close to the AIDA 4 certification?
3 minutes 30 second breath-hold, swim 70m in Dynamic with fins and freedive to 32 meters in Constant Weight discipline.
Otherwise there is no need to even try to take that course.

Hej well, to be honest I haven't done much training at all since I did my course two and a half years ago. Haven't been all that easy to find buddies..

The deepest of my dives was to 15 m, and my longest static was 3.50 (in my static apnea one day course). I'm guessing that I'll get to 3.30 without too much training again. I know that I need to do some sort of advanced course before going onto the master course. The three day advanced course at Apnea Total took people to 30+ in constant weight. And I've got more than four months left before Bali to practice. Would you suggest trying to practice dynamic with fins in a pool somewhere? And what other training would you suggest? Tack

 

[BatRay]

Welcome to Deeperblue! Glad you could join us. It's great to hear that you're looking at taking a freediving class. There is no better way to advance your skills. For your questions, you may want to browse and/or ask in the Training and Techniques subforum. Here's a link: https://forums.deeperblue.com/forums/freediving-training-techniques.15/

 

[cdavis]

Hi Annica, welcome to DB. There is an amazing amount of stuff to learn, available here.

Pardon the presumption, but I think you are getting a little bit ahead of things. If love of freediving is your thing, course work is only to supply a base of technique and safety. Applying that technique, time diving, is what will give you the best result. A really good instructor at the AIDA 3 level will be much better than a more advanced course with a less insightful instructor.

A fairly relaxed approach to c02 tables will be of use preparing for your next course. If you can, get in a pool and practice easy dynamics. You want to get comfortable holding your breath under water and then start pushing a little for distance. Straining early for max distance is a poor way to learn relaxation and can teach bad habits. Try a partial exhale, static for 30 seconds, then swim slowly for as long as comfortable. That can work really well in preparing you for open water. Pool work also builds your leg strength, a useful thing.

Choosing an instructor: all you can do is research each available instructor. Try to talk to as many students as possible, find out how long the instructor has been diving and teaching.

Good luck with it!

 

[infectious]

Welcome to Deeperblue! Glad you could join us. It's great to hear that you're looking at taking a freediving class. There is no better way to advance your skills. For your questions, you may want to browse and/or ask in the Training and Techniques subforum. Here's a link: https://forums.deeperblue.com/forums/freediving-training-techniques.15/

Thank you I'm happy to be here, and I'll check out the subforum for some help with my decisions. I really believe in being guided by a good teacher, and getting a lot of time in training.

 

[infectious]

Hi Annica, welcome to DB. There is an amazing amount of stuff to learn, available here.

Pardon the presumption, but I think you are getting a little bit ahead of things. If love of freediving is your thing, course work is only to supply a base of technique and safety. Applying that technique, time diving, is what will give you the best result. A really good instructor at the AIDA 3 level will be much better than a more advanced course with a less insightful instructor.

A fairly relaxed approach to c02 tables will be of use preparing for your next course. If you can, get in a pool and practice easy dynamics. You want to get comfortable holding your breath under water and then start pushing a little for distance. Straining early for max distance is a poor way to learn relaxation and can teach bad habits. Try a partial exhale, static for 30 seconds, then swim slowly for as long as comfortable. That can work really well in preparing you for open water. Pool work also builds your leg strength, a useful thing.

Choosing an instructor: all you can do is research each available instructor. Try to talk to as many students as possible, find out how long the instructor has been diving and teaching.

Good luck with it!

Hey thank your for your considerate answer!

You wrote that I might be getting ahead of myself. Would you like to elaborate on that? I know that I am looking to advance very quickly. It has a lot to do with my time in Bali being when I have the time, focus and money to do the courses up to instructor. My desire to teach drives that in a big way. I wouldn't mind taking longer, but we might be talking years into the future, and it feels like too long to wait for a future eventuality when it might be within my grasp relatively soon. If you get where I'm coming from? I agree with what you said about it's the time training that makes the difference, which is also why I want to do the courses. The master courses are weeks of training focusing of the practice, an intense training period with lots of time in the water to practice my skills, my body and my mind. I believe that immersive learning can be very powerful. And I do love freediving. But it's not my only love. Or the only thing that I need and want to prioritise when I'm back home. You've made me contemplate all these choices. In your opinion, should I focus solely on my own practice first, and in time add teaching others?

I really appreciate your tips on training for the practice/courses! I hope that I'll find myself a pool and a buddy where I take some time to stop and work during my time in Australia. I feel kind of excited to try dynamic in a pool

With gratitude,
Annica

 

[cdavis]

I appreciate your desire for speed, especially if you want to teach. The problem is what it takes to be a "good" teacher. The courses teach technique and instructor courses probably teach how to deal with students, but none of that provides the insight into what an individual student needs at that exact time. That insight is what makes a great instructor and only comes with lots of diving preferably with lots of different divers. It just takes time. An instructor probably gets better the more students he teaches, but without the base insight, its a long road from instructor certified to being a "good" instructor.

An examples of what I mean: (1) I'd been diving for a decade or so, thought I knew what I was doing (yeah, right) when I had the opportunity to dive with Bob Tomb, pro surfer and truly outstanding freediver. Watching him spearfish was like watching ballet, he was so astonishingly smooth. I was instantly aware of how little I understood relaxation and becoming one with the water. I've spent years honing what I learned from Bob. Still not on his level, but working on it.
(2) I took a PFI course and learned a huge amount of useful technique. Learning to apply that technique took me took years.

I think you have the mental outlook to become an excellent freediver and, most probably a very good instructor. It just takes time. Enjoy the road.

Connor

 

[cdavis]

Annica, check your conversations