Learn to Freedive
There are many myths about freediving, so let’s start with some examining some basic questions. What exactly is freediving? Why do people do it? And why is it getting more and more popular?
The first part is easy to answer. Freediving is diving with a single breath of air.
The second question is more complex. For some, freediving is a way to enjoy the depths of the ocean without the need of heavy, clumsy and uncomfortable scuba equipment. Others see freediving as an extreme sport with the uniqueness of requiring deep relaxation and peace, in contrast to most other adrenaline pumping extreme sports.
Some see freediving as an instrument for hunting underwater, while many others see freediving as an art form and a form of self expression and others still see freediving as a way to become one with the ocean and the rest of nature.
Regardless of what draws one into the practice of apnea (freediving), it is a form of meditation and relaxation which often leads to a positive change in awareness of oneself and the surrounding environment.
Freediving leads to a better physical and mental condition for those who practice it, not only because of the activity itself, but also because of the change in lifestyle that accompanies the sport. That’s also the main reason why it is getting more and more popular. It’s a modern lifestyle for people who love to be underwater.
Talking about safety: Just as with scuba diving, freediving is a safe sport when you follow some basic safety rules, of which the two most important are: “Never hyperventilate” and “Never dive alone”.
Yes, there have been accidents, but the accidents happened in the discipline of “No Limits” where lots of technical equipment is involved and can fail. Sadly there are also accidents in public pools with people who don’t known or follow the above-mentioned two basic safety rules.
Furthermore freediving is not the same like snorkelling. Freedivers use techniques to go down much deeper and stay down much longer than snorkellers do.
Now the best thing is: You don’t even have to be a non-smoker, super-fit or have a large lung capacity to do freedive!
The best way to learn about freediving is to take a course with a qualified instructor. One example in the Asia-Pacific region is Wolfgang Dafert and his Freediving-Philippines school in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines…which accessible via a three-hour rider from the international airport Cebu.
It only takes two days to learn the basic techniques for becoming a freediver. Training is done in a pool and on a house reef, which is just 30m in front of the resort. The reef is home to a big population of turtles, with the occasional whale shark swimming by.
Course participants can expect to learn to hold their breath for more than 2.5 minutes and dive deeper than 15m. Some students exceed this, reaching 3 minutes and 20m for example.
Wolfgang’s long-time friend Herbert Nitsch is not only a world record holder in different disciplines of freediving, but in 2007 he also showed that limits are sometimes only in your head.
He smashed his own world record in the “No Limits” discipline, achieving an amazing depth of 214m (700ft) on a single breath of air from a previous record of 186m.
If you want to find out more about the sport of freediving see www.freediving-philippines.com
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