We have long ago surpassed the limits attainable by purely physical excellence and are now venturing into the terra incognita of our mental potential.
Aharon Solomons
Humans have been freediving for longer than we can remember. Since the early years of the 20th century, freedivers have long wanted to co-exist with marine life and experience the profound connection believed to exist with man and the underwater mammal. Born in the UK, American national Aharon Solomons, current US Masters Record Holder of the Mens Constant Weight, Dynamic Apnea and Free Immersion Disciplines, comes to the Emirates this August 2008 to share his indepth knowledge and experience with local freedivers. Solomons has been involved in military, research, commercial and sports diving education for more than 35 years prior to adopting freediving as his passion. At 69 years old, he is not only one of the world’s most experienced freediving instructors, but also the oldest continuing “masters” level freediver.
He is accompanied by his dive partner Maria-Teresa Solomons (MT), who began freediving in Crete in 1996. She joined one of Aharon’s clinics where she discovered her natural ability. She has trained and worked uniquely in freediving since 1997, and after only five months of diving, was one of only a handful of women who could pass 50 metres on one breath, while six months pregnant. They are based in Mexico in Baja California. They come to us to bring knowledge to the freedivers and spearfishers of the UAE, in the hope that we can all learn and transmit new knowledge and safety to this growing sport.
Aharon and MT are instructors for 4 different freedive training agencies, and MT is about to attempt to another record in the championships in Mexico, to be held on 20th June at Xibalba. Aharon is attempting to better his Masters records this year, and hoping to hit 60m in the Constant Weight category.
Freedivers have always striven for deeper dives, longer times. Hypoxic training has recently become the focus of attention for many freediving athletes, who are looking for a drug-free and legal way to improve their performance and also to get that vital edge in competition. Divers who have exposed themselves to continuous high levels of hypoxia have evolved greatly and have developed strategies that exploit and explore it more than any other athletic discipline.
Aharon and MT have written a lot of literature about freediving and training techniques. They often receive the same questions from divers; “how can I get deeper?” Their answer is “What’s stopping you?”, and the answer to this is usually specific ‘equalisation' or concentration.
Further examination however often reveals that this answer is erroneous or actually, incomplete, as the real answer is usually a combination of factors. Tension, and that multi-headed undersea fictitious monster called the Hydra is often the culprit. We often fear things that do not actually exist, and they prevent us from completing the dive we want.
Technique and relaxation form a large part of becoming a freediver. With those two factors in check, the depth will come. Gliding is one of the secrets of deep diving and needs practice to reap the benefits of its by-product, which are energy and O2 conservation. Flexibility is also a key factor, and Aharon and MT incorporate pranayamas and some yoga education into their courses, teaching freedivers how to maximize their physique and improve it for better performance, together with specific warm-up procedures, partner work, and dive line procedures.
Jaques Mayol used yoga techniques in freedive training but there was never clear exposition by him of what exactly he found to be most useful nor of what practice he constructed with it. Since Aharon/MT began teaching in 1995, it has been one of the main training regimens and over the course of the years and through trial and error and a lot of experimentation they have evolved what they consider to be a superior practice specifically for the freediver. It is only this year in fact that the APNEA ACADEMY is publishing a book on yoga for Freedivers. They are students of Pattabhi Jois, the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga system and one of the main three founders of Hatha yoga; and of Venkatesh, who is well established for his wealth of knowledge on Pranayama. Therefore Yoga is a strong note in their freedive training and we include it as part of our daily regimen in the courses .
Divers have to train themselves to be mentally strong, and not be distracted by anything surrounding them during a dive. The environmental distractions of current, cold, poor visibility, waves, etc. and the fears of blacking out, being short of breath on ascent and during a competition focusing so hard on the depth to be attained that one leaves the first equalization too late and makes an inelegant return to the surface. If a diver does not train himself to be strong mentally he can be distracted by anything- a fogging mask, or the inability to hold correct orientation on the surface due to the waves and current being a strong opponent. Simple things like forgetting to stretch, water in the snorkel or excessive water movement, are all factors that play on a divers mind and have to be put away in the recesses of the mind.
Aharon writes that freediving should be a pleasure, and not something you drive in yourself to achieve. He correctly states that some of the most profound progress can come when we are totally involved in play. Isn’t that true in the workplace as well?
Some of you maybe thinking, gosh that’s an old man to be doing that at his age!
Aharon’s response to that is; Age actually doesn’t have a lot to do with it, but time does. One of the plusses about age is that one has had time to watch an awful lot of stories and experiences unfold. With regard to age, he realises that there might not be that many more opportunities for him. He still, however, entertains the hope that at some time in his sixties he will exceed his age in depth, but certainly had not planned to do this in his first competition in 1993, when he was 52. he obtained a depth of 57 metres.
Six years later, Aharon’s records (December 2007), at the US Masters, stand at the following:
Constant weight 50 metres
Free Immersion 52 metres
Dynamic Apnea 100 metres
Aharon and MT specialise in personal training for freedivers. I know one person personally who went from 35 metres to 58 metres in just a week’s training with them. They have in-depth knowledge of the physiological and psychological blockages that freedivers may have and are able to work through those, teaching discipline with words of encouragement, and combining that with a profound knowledge and experience. They have personally trained many of the successful competition freedivers up to record holding status, for example, Sam Still (UK National Champion and former World Record Holder in Static Apnea), Haaico Aldering (former all-round Dutch champion), Bevan Dewar (former South African Constant Weight Record Holder), Emma Farrell (AIDA Instructor Trainer), and they are currently are training two current World Record Holders with the aim of reaching new depths in the near future. (Their names are withheld for confidentiality reasons).
They believe that a good freediving instructor is a keen observer and a good communicator, whose function is to discover each student’s personal freedive objective. Students are taught as individuals with individual needs and personalities, and not as a group. They have a course syllabus, but each attention to the student is tailor-made.
Only a maximum of 4 students per course is accepted as training is personal and one-on-one. The courses are 5 days long and process are built slowly and systematically. They formulate a plan of progress with the student and leave him with the ability to progress systematically and safely on his/her own. Certification card collecting is not on Aharon and MT’s agenda, rather they encourage an exchange and development of knowledge and skill, combined with personalized training based on a motto “Assess, Plan, Act”. They develop qualities of self-confidence, the ability to concentrate and relax, and the ability to “deal with Murphy”. (Aharon’s words). The depth, experience and knowledge come with time, training, and discipline, and cannot be learnt in just one week of freediving.
Aharon’s background and training imposes discipline and in-depth training, with the ability to bring out the best in a diver. Freediving is a passion that he shares with all who come to him, and promises that we will learn to think, train and freedive for ourselves quickly. As he says – “he is a mean old Daddy”.
We welcome Aharon and MT to the UAE and look forward sharing the depths of our beautiful Arabian Gulf with them.
For information on Aharon and MT Solomons contact Sara-Lise Haith at diva@divasindubai.com.
Aharon Solomons
Humans have been freediving for longer than we can remember. Since the early years of the 20th century, freedivers have long wanted to co-exist with marine life and experience the profound connection believed to exist with man and the underwater mammal. Born in the UK, American national Aharon Solomons, current US Masters Record Holder of the Mens Constant Weight, Dynamic Apnea and Free Immersion Disciplines, comes to the Emirates this August 2008 to share his indepth knowledge and experience with local freedivers. Solomons has been involved in military, research, commercial and sports diving education for more than 35 years prior to adopting freediving as his passion. At 69 years old, he is not only one of the world’s most experienced freediving instructors, but also the oldest continuing “masters” level freediver.
He is accompanied by his dive partner Maria-Teresa Solomons (MT), who began freediving in Crete in 1996. She joined one of Aharon’s clinics where she discovered her natural ability. She has trained and worked uniquely in freediving since 1997, and after only five months of diving, was one of only a handful of women who could pass 50 metres on one breath, while six months pregnant. They are based in Mexico in Baja California. They come to us to bring knowledge to the freedivers and spearfishers of the UAE, in the hope that we can all learn and transmit new knowledge and safety to this growing sport.
Aharon and MT are instructors for 4 different freedive training agencies, and MT is about to attempt to another record in the championships in Mexico, to be held on 20th June at Xibalba. Aharon is attempting to better his Masters records this year, and hoping to hit 60m in the Constant Weight category.
Freedivers have always striven for deeper dives, longer times. Hypoxic training has recently become the focus of attention for many freediving athletes, who are looking for a drug-free and legal way to improve their performance and also to get that vital edge in competition. Divers who have exposed themselves to continuous high levels of hypoxia have evolved greatly and have developed strategies that exploit and explore it more than any other athletic discipline.
Aharon and MT have written a lot of literature about freediving and training techniques. They often receive the same questions from divers; “how can I get deeper?” Their answer is “What’s stopping you?”, and the answer to this is usually specific ‘equalisation' or concentration.
Further examination however often reveals that this answer is erroneous or actually, incomplete, as the real answer is usually a combination of factors. Tension, and that multi-headed undersea fictitious monster called the Hydra is often the culprit. We often fear things that do not actually exist, and they prevent us from completing the dive we want.
Technique and relaxation form a large part of becoming a freediver. With those two factors in check, the depth will come. Gliding is one of the secrets of deep diving and needs practice to reap the benefits of its by-product, which are energy and O2 conservation. Flexibility is also a key factor, and Aharon and MT incorporate pranayamas and some yoga education into their courses, teaching freedivers how to maximize their physique and improve it for better performance, together with specific warm-up procedures, partner work, and dive line procedures.
Jaques Mayol used yoga techniques in freedive training but there was never clear exposition by him of what exactly he found to be most useful nor of what practice he constructed with it. Since Aharon/MT began teaching in 1995, it has been one of the main training regimens and over the course of the years and through trial and error and a lot of experimentation they have evolved what they consider to be a superior practice specifically for the freediver. It is only this year in fact that the APNEA ACADEMY is publishing a book on yoga for Freedivers. They are students of Pattabhi Jois, the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga system and one of the main three founders of Hatha yoga; and of Venkatesh, who is well established for his wealth of knowledge on Pranayama. Therefore Yoga is a strong note in their freedive training and we include it as part of our daily regimen in the courses .
Divers have to train themselves to be mentally strong, and not be distracted by anything surrounding them during a dive. The environmental distractions of current, cold, poor visibility, waves, etc. and the fears of blacking out, being short of breath on ascent and during a competition focusing so hard on the depth to be attained that one leaves the first equalization too late and makes an inelegant return to the surface. If a diver does not train himself to be strong mentally he can be distracted by anything- a fogging mask, or the inability to hold correct orientation on the surface due to the waves and current being a strong opponent. Simple things like forgetting to stretch, water in the snorkel or excessive water movement, are all factors that play on a divers mind and have to be put away in the recesses of the mind.
Aharon writes that freediving should be a pleasure, and not something you drive in yourself to achieve. He correctly states that some of the most profound progress can come when we are totally involved in play. Isn’t that true in the workplace as well?
Some of you maybe thinking, gosh that’s an old man to be doing that at his age!
Aharon’s response to that is; Age actually doesn’t have a lot to do with it, but time does. One of the plusses about age is that one has had time to watch an awful lot of stories and experiences unfold. With regard to age, he realises that there might not be that many more opportunities for him. He still, however, entertains the hope that at some time in his sixties he will exceed his age in depth, but certainly had not planned to do this in his first competition in 1993, when he was 52. he obtained a depth of 57 metres.
Six years later, Aharon’s records (December 2007), at the US Masters, stand at the following:
Constant weight 50 metres
Free Immersion 52 metres
Dynamic Apnea 100 metres
Aharon and MT specialise in personal training for freedivers. I know one person personally who went from 35 metres to 58 metres in just a week’s training with them. They have in-depth knowledge of the physiological and psychological blockages that freedivers may have and are able to work through those, teaching discipline with words of encouragement, and combining that with a profound knowledge and experience. They have personally trained many of the successful competition freedivers up to record holding status, for example, Sam Still (UK National Champion and former World Record Holder in Static Apnea), Haaico Aldering (former all-round Dutch champion), Bevan Dewar (former South African Constant Weight Record Holder), Emma Farrell (AIDA Instructor Trainer), and they are currently are training two current World Record Holders with the aim of reaching new depths in the near future. (Their names are withheld for confidentiality reasons).
They believe that a good freediving instructor is a keen observer and a good communicator, whose function is to discover each student’s personal freedive objective. Students are taught as individuals with individual needs and personalities, and not as a group. They have a course syllabus, but each attention to the student is tailor-made.
Only a maximum of 4 students per course is accepted as training is personal and one-on-one. The courses are 5 days long and process are built slowly and systematically. They formulate a plan of progress with the student and leave him with the ability to progress systematically and safely on his/her own. Certification card collecting is not on Aharon and MT’s agenda, rather they encourage an exchange and development of knowledge and skill, combined with personalized training based on a motto “Assess, Plan, Act”. They develop qualities of self-confidence, the ability to concentrate and relax, and the ability to “deal with Murphy”. (Aharon’s words). The depth, experience and knowledge come with time, training, and discipline, and cannot be learnt in just one week of freediving.
Aharon’s background and training imposes discipline and in-depth training, with the ability to bring out the best in a diver. Freediving is a passion that he shares with all who come to him, and promises that we will learn to think, train and freedive for ourselves quickly. As he says – “he is a mean old Daddy”.
We welcome Aharon and MT to the UAE and look forward sharing the depths of our beautiful Arabian Gulf with them.
For information on Aharon and MT Solomons contact Sara-Lise Haith at diva@divasindubai.com.