FII Level 1 Course; My Thoughts

[mepps1]

Just do it!

The End.



Just kidding. But that's an accurate summary.

This past weekend I was privileged to attend the FII course with Josh and Michael at Dive Addicts. First of all, I'd like to recommend these guys in general as great people to know and do business with. DA also has a great set of facilities to offer.

Highlights of the course for me;

#1 I enjoyed meeting a the people I got to know. Josh and Michael were an excellent teaching team. I had a great time getting to know Ian, my fellow student and brother cheapskate.

#2 The course teaching in regard to static apnea and breathing was worth more than the price alone.

#3 I understand the thinking and process of safe buddy freediving. It certainly can work with spearfishing. (Having said that, I still will hunt alone, probably more often than not.) Having a trained buddy is the difference between being able to do dangerous things very safely, and having to do relatively safe things much more dangerously!

#4 There are a thousand little things that people have put their heads together on in this course. Things that I never had a hint of, having dove for years. I would have insisted that I did not dive overwieghted before. In reality, I was substantially overwieghted, mainly because I didn't really know how to make a clean water entry ( not that I am Olympic material in that regard now, just much-improved).

Things I'd change, perhaps;

#1 For me personally, the Crater was much too warm with any wetsuit, even a 2-mil, which was barely adequate for buoyancy. I don't tolerate heat well. So this might be less of an issue for others.

#2 I think a little more dive time would have been very beneficial. Maybe an hour or two of less formal water time. As it was, I couldn't stand much more in the Crater. (I have to confess that we didn't get the full benefit of the time we had, because we were late on account of Ian making me stay up all night drinking beer and bullshitting.)

#3 I was a little disappointed that we weren't allowed to go over three minutes static time. I guess that's the hook for the level two course.

[mepps1]

The only regret that I have about the course is that I couldn't take it earlier. I could have been a lot further along by now.

I hope that we can get some other people on board for this. The more trained divers we can get out there, the safer and better we can all be.

Just do it when you can! You won't regret it. The sooner you do it, the more you'll get out of the dives you're making now.

[kehloken]

#3 is my concern as your thought, mine and others as well. As I have been stuck in how safe is freediving, a buddy and the class is where you can do more longer and deeper dives, which basically puts you more in danger. Obviously your always going to get better and the urge will be there to go deeper and longer.


#3 on bottom is another thing where the FII class is out of the danger range to a point(3min static). it is a rescue class, buddy oriented, and benefits of you being observed and taught how to become better at breathholding and achieve more depth.

[flamencoguru]

I'm glad you enjoyed the class. It's really is an eye-opening experience. Remember, the FII classes will teach you how to dive the right and safe way. What one does after that (like continuing to dive alone) is the choice of the individual. FII and the member's who choose to dive the "FII way" are alive and well.

With great knowledge comes great power. It's a conscious choice to be a safe diver. I highly recommend doing so. Unfortunately, Theron (the 19 year old that died at Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas) did not... It cost him his life and his family an eternity of suffering.

We put limits on the classes to ensure the safety of the individual deciding to take X level. Now that you're a certified Level 1 freediver, you're ready to take the next challenge in freediving, Level 2!! And a challenge it will be. It will allow you to progress deeper into you mind and body to see what is truly going on. Again, always in a safe manner.

The buddy system is a safety net. It's a very good net to have when you're dealing with your life. Freediving is not a forgiving sport. If not practiced properly, death is imminent.

Again, I'm glad you enjoyed the course.... just be safe! You hold the knowledge so there's no excuse.


Peace, Errol

[mepps1]

Originally Posted by kehloken

#3 is my concern as your thought, mine and others as well. As I have been stuck in how safe is freediving, a buddy and the class is where you can do more longer and deeper dives, which basically puts you more in danger. Obviously your always going to get better and the urge will be there to go deeper and longer.


.

Unfortunately, I'm stuck pretty shallow right now until I get my ears working better. It took me a while to get it figured out on scuba as well. I just have to get them working a lot faster to free-dive. I've been working on some other techniques and hope to try them in the water soon. I may also try the vented earplugs. I don't really know how they work or if they're advisable for freediving, but I'm willing to try just about anything at this point.

So diving deeper is out of the question at this point, solo or not.

[CCR Josh]

Glad you enjoyed the course, it is always fun for me to see a student progress like you and Ian did.

Originally Posted by mepps1

Just do it!

#2 I think a little more dive time would have been very beneficial. Maybe an hour or two of less formal water time. As it was, I couldn't stand much more in the Crater. (I have to confess that we didn't get the full benefit of the time we had, because we were late on account of Ian making me stay up all night drinking beer and bullshitting.)

I definitely agree! Even with you both showing up late We are working on some other locations for training. In fact we are in the process of setting up a course at Sand Hollow right now.

Remember you are more than welcome to dive with us in future courses to get more practice, and the benefit of 2 instructors critiquing you. We also often do dive-a-longs & instructor supervised practice sessions where there will be other certified FII buddies to dive with.

Dive safe!

[salar705]

because we were late on account of Ian making me stay up all night drinking beer and bullshitting

avoiding all responsibility I see

[mepps1]

Originally Posted by salar705

avoiding all responsibility I see

I'm a victim of life's circumstances......