Everything I expected and more
After much waiting I finally got to take the FII Level 1 Freediver 2 day class with Brandon Gross of Deep Freedive. Day one went great. Here is a quick breakdown.
Class is in session
Brandon did a great job of explaining all the concepts and kept it interesting by mixing in stories and examples. Without giving any of the class material away I learned a bunch.
Durring the physiology section I learned what I’m doing in my head when I clear. It’s called Voluntary Tubal Opening:(French: béance tubaire volontaire (BTV) ) Voluntary opening of the eustachian tubes. I noticed I could do this to relieve pressure on airplanes and by the time I started freediving I just did it as I felt pressure so clearing has always come easy.
Time to hit the pool
After lunch we all got suited up and did the pool portion of the class. It was great practicing all the safety drills and getting comfortable with them. My partner had never done any freediving but he did a great job.
Weight check. I had about 18 lbs of weight on my belt and after some buoyancy tests I was down to about 7 lbs. I’ll probably be at about 10 lbs in salt water for day two.
We learned a more efficient water entry technique among other things.
Static Breath Holds
This was fun. I couldn’t wait to apply the new breathing techniques we learned in the morning. Almost everyone in the class hit [3:00] minutes. My dive partner Sam with no previous freediving experience hit [3:00] minutes. He struggled for the last 45 seconds but he made it. When he came up the look of accomplishment was motivating.
I’m OK.
He said confidently holding the OK sign up with a big grin on his face.
Awesome experience
Great experience. I have to go hit the road now for FII Freediver Level 1 Day 2.
