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Old 04-22-2013, 03:42 PM   #46
Silvertriton
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Hi all,
I wish to add my note of thanks to Ted for his excellent course and hospitality during the intermediate Freediving course of the 11-14 April 2013.
I am Italian, 48yo and a lifelong spearfisher. Instead of football leagues as a child I would follow Enzo Maiorca and Jaques Mayols achievements. Having gone for several years with very infrequent spearfishing, I have recently landed a Job in Panama and wanting to make the most of it I wished to improve my bottom time and to do so more safely.

The planning and organisation of the course was first class! The Frentzel session via Skype was very useful in understanding the mechanisms which I had read about in so many magazines and books before but nothing beats the one to one session. There were only 4 students in this intermediate course and we received very personal attention. Ted picked us up from the hotel and went well beyond the call of duty to make our stay comfortable and productive. Overall the course was intense but very enjoyable, it provided us with extra flexibility to adapt to the rapidly changing weather and in my opinion was excellent value for money.

I have known of several very good spearfishers who had died and always believed that they had somehow pushed their limits too far and that I could continue for another 40 years doing in full safety given that I normally do it well within of my limits. The course was for me, primarily an opportunity to push those limits in a controlled environment, to endorse my very good practices.
Unfortunately the course made me realise that too many of those who die spearfishing are not necessarily pushing those boundaries too far, they are just doing what they have probably been doing regularly but their body on that tragic day did not respond as usual. Basically looking back at my personal experience I wandered at how an accident had yet not occurred to me and I needed to take a hard look at my practice. On the other hand the course also gave me very simple and practical ways to improve on my performance and in doing so much more safely.

During the course I achieved my personal best of 4.05minutes static and 100 feet dynamic but to me it only means that at I am more aware of my limits and can react in a difficult situation at my current fishing depth of 30-50 feet with relative calm and control. I am very passionate about spearfishing and intend to become even more proficient and continue doing so for many years. It is not possible to remove all risks from this extreme sport but the course made me realise that I owe it to my family to take the safety measures learned and practiced with Ted very seriously and gave me some excellent tool s for doing so.
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Old 05-16-2013, 10:06 AM   #47
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Re: Immersion freediving review

I want to start by saying thank you to Ted for a great class and overall experience. Ted was able to teach all the individuals in our group how to be safer better divers. I highly recommend his class to the most experienced spear fisherman and free divers out there as well as to the beginners. Ted will be able to improve EVERYONE'S safety level and dive efficiency He brings to the table a lot of knowledge, expertise, common sense, and new ideas to the sport of free diving and spearfishing that simply aren't being taught by many others in the industry. For anyone out there that is questioning if he can really improve your bottom time, breath hold, etc.... the answer is a very simple, YES! Most importantly, however, is that he can teach you how to safely enjoy the great sport of spearfishing and free diving. I am confident everyone in our class learned valuable safety information that could safe our lives or the lives of a fellow diver in the future. This is absolutely one of the best classes that any spear-fisherman or free diver could ever take.

Jim Inzer
Baton Rouge, LA
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Old 05-19-2013, 01:28 PM   #48
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Re: Immersion freediving review

I was lucky enough to come across Ted's class as a gift my wife gave me for Christmas. I have been spearfishing for probably 7 or 8 years around the rigs in the gulf. We always killed fish and did well but Ted brought us to a whole new level. I was excited to go for the long breath hold and hit the 66ft max in our course but I never even imagined how much I would learn about how to safely accomplish those things. I feel very lucky considering how all of my previous free dive trips were structured that we never had any incidents. Now I know that I can feel confident everyone we go out with has the absolute best chance possible of coming back. The only problem I'm going to have now is that I wont feel comfortable diving unless someone who has completed the course is with me. Ted talks the talk and definitely walks the walk. We went deeper, stayed longer, and definitely became safer. His safety protocols alone
make the course well worth setting aside a weekend to learn, but add to that how much better of a diver you will become and its a no brainer. Ted was passionate about free diving and that is very evident in how eager he is to teach everyone to learn the information that he has acquired first hand through his experiences. Everything about the course was top notch and I will and already have recommended it to any free divers I speak with. Thanks again for everything Ted.
Michael Irby
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Old 06-04-2013, 09:50 PM   #49
CobiaCollier
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Just this past weekend I completed the Intermediate Freediver Course with Ted Harty, Immersion Freediving. Before the class even started I was anxious to begin as I had heard nothing but good things with story after story of students beating their personal bests on breath holds and max depths. Going into the course I had a max static hold of 2:45 and a max depth of 80', which I did not feel comfortable at by any means.

During the course it was amazing how much we learned even on the first day of lecture and pool session, especially with regards to safety. It is a bit humbling to find out that after freediving for over 20 years, I was risking my life each time I went out. I can now say, after constant practice throughout the course, I am a much safer diver and I have acquired the skills to save my dive buddies from a potential life threatening blackout whether at the surface or at depth.

Its unbelieveable looking back at the amount of knowledge you can gain and how much improvement is possible in Ted's course. The small classes, organization, private boat and Ted's teaching style make everything easy to understand and it is a pleasure learning from someone who has not only accomplished so much in the sport but also is visibly happy to be sharing his knowledge with his students. Some of which he has coached on to break records.

After all was said and done I went from a 2:45 breath hold and 80' personal best depth, to a 5:20 breath hold and a 100' personal best depth. Not only did I hit 100', I felt very comfortable there with the ability to go deeper. Bottom line is, if you are looking to not only increase your freediving ability but also become a much safer freediver while doing so, look no further than Ted Harty's course with Immersion Freediving….
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Old 06-04-2013, 10:39 PM   #50
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Wow! 5:20 your a beast! Congrats man, and kudos to Ted for pumping out happy customers one after the other.
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Old 06-18-2013, 09:39 AM   #51
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Glad you enjoyed the course David, here are some photos from your dives.








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Why choose Immersion Freediving
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Old 06-18-2013, 07:20 PM   #52
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Why does the guy have a snorkel in his mouth?
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Old 06-18-2013, 07:27 PM   #53
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Re: Immersion freediving review

He doesn't have his snorkel in his mouth it just looks like that in the picture. Its the way its sitting. I teach all my students to spit their snorkel on the surface once they take their breath I just watched the video of that dive to confirm.

I can post the video of the dive if needed.
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PFI Freediving courses in South Florida.
US Men's Freediving Record Holder
2012 Captain for USA Freediving Team
See courses in action on my youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/ImmersionFD

Immersion Freediving
Why choose Immersion Freediving
Speargun training sessions
954-324-4444

Last edited by ImmersionFD; 06-18-2013 at 07:36 PM.
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Old 06-18-2013, 07:38 PM   #54
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Quote:
Originally Posted by ImmersionFD View Post
He doesn't have his snorkel in his mouth it just looks like that in the picture. Its the way its sitting. I teach all my students to spit their snorkel on the surface once they take their breath I just watched the video of that dive to confirm.

I can post the video of the dive if needed.
Naw it just looked like it. I believe you.
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Old 06-18-2013, 09:30 PM   #55
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Smile Re: Immersion freediving review

Quote:
Originally Posted by ImmersionFD View Post
Glad you enjoyed the course David, here are some photos from your dives.[/IMG]
Great pics Ted!
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Old 07-02-2013, 04:02 PM   #56
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Re: Immersion freediving review

All of these reviews are part of the reason why I signed up for this class. My wife and I will be taking this class 2 weeks from now. I will post our review after we get back.
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Old 07-02-2013, 04:07 PM   #57
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Re: Immersion freediving review

I'm not a fan of the whole "person who never posts anything else on the board posts positive review" thing. While I'm sure this is a great class the reviews are meaningless when non-contributing accounts post them.
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Old 07-02-2013, 04:19 PM   #58
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Re: Immersion freediving review

Well I posted on this thread, and I've posted on many others including one this morning or yesterday so I guess that counts then.

Ted is great, he really goes the extra mile and offers a lot more than the average course.

- Private skype sessions for equalization training
- Pickup from certain hotels in the area for class
- His own boat and captain
- Full freediving rental gear
- etc.

You'll love the class MelbourneMark !
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Old 07-07-2013, 01:35 PM   #59
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Re: Immersion freediving review

If you're serious about becoming a better and safer diver, go to Immersion. And if money is your complaint, there is no such thing as a cheap free diving coarse. So if you're going to spend the money, spend it right. Since you're reading this, you've probably already read a dozen other testimonials from divers who increased their static breathholds holds by multiple minutes, broke 100ft (doubling their previous depths), and can't shut up about how unsafe their diving procedures were before taking a course with Immersion. After taking the PFI Intermediate course with Ted, there's not much more I can say, other than that those guys were right, and Immersion Free Diving is the best out there.
First off, Ted's an awesome guy with an abundance of experience and passion for the sport of free diving . That, along with the small class size of up to 5 students, allows you to get the most for your money as well as the support and confidence you'd want when pushing your body to it's limits. Between our 2 ocean sessions, I watched Ted follow each of us on over one hundred dives, which made it much easier for me to hit my personal best dive of 100', breaking the previous of 65'.
However, since taking the course what I appreciate the most is now knowing how to dive safely. Again, you're probably sick of reading about dive safety in almost every testimonial, but there's probably a good reason why. Looking back on how I dove and spearfished before taking this class is just scary. It's something I'll never go back to. Immersion will teach you everything you need to know about Shallow Water Blackouts, from prevention to the science and physiology behind them, allowing you and your buddy to dive another day. And that's what it's all about.

There's no better place to go. You know it, so take the dive. Immersion Free Diving.

-Drew Offerdahl
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Old 07-20-2013, 11:55 AM   #60
MelbourneMark
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Re: Immersion freediving review

A few months ago I wanted to find an instructor that could teach my wife and I how to be better freedivers, and thus spearfish better. I figured that taking a course was an investment in our hobby, and would cut the 'learning curve' down tremendously. I was a "lurker" on this site for many months trying to learn what I could, and check out the amazing videos/photos you guys post here. I saw various reviews on freediving instructors, and ultimately ended up choosing to go with Ted Harty. I was pleasantly pleased with the class and the personal instruction that we received. I would encourage that all freedivers take a class to at least learn the safety aspects.
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