The Carpa and Lung Packing

[salibandy]

Hello all,

I was reading through U.Pelizzari's Manual of Freediving again and I came across the text on the Carpa. It's description matches that of lung packing/buccal pumping, so it's quite possibly the same.

However, it is said to have been born in France. Packing is said to be invented by Robert Croft as a child living at Narraganset Bay, Rhode Island.

So, my curiosity is getting the better of me. What is the history of this technique?

 

[rxcnc2]

Carpa in italian is a fish, with the similar name in english.
"Fare la carpa" or "carpare", i.e. doing like the carp, is the italian expression for "packing". I think it's an appropriate illustration, if you have seen the carp moving its mouth.

No idea who invented it... probably some pearl fisherman thousands of years ago who forgot to copyright the technique.

 

[jome]

Bob Croft is said to have been the first to use it in the competitive freediving scene, but for sure he did not "invent" it. Medical references of "glossopharyngeal breathing" (hope I spelled that right) go way back - or so I've heard. For example some patients suffering from paralysis or other conditions that cause them to need a respirator machine, can sometimes be hooked off the machine for short periods and respirate through "frog breathing".

Here's the first reference google would throw up:
Air Stacking

And this claims it was "invented" in the 40s:
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossopharyngeal_breathing[/ame]