Frequently asked questions about freediving

While all three activities involve the ocean and the breath, they are all somehow unique in their way yet can be very complimentary to each other.

Snorkeling provides you with an unlimited air supply to explore the ocean from the surface while breathing through a snorkel. Scuba diving involves diving with specific equipment that allows you to breathe underwater for a certain amount of time.

Freediving is diving on a breath-hold and your underwater experience will be defined mostly by how long you can hold your breath and a few other factors.

The minimum age requirement set by PADI to enroll in the PADI freediver course, the first level of the PADI freediving program is 15 years old. The PADI Basic freediver course which is a subset of the freediver course requires a minimum age of 12 years old. There is no maximum age limit as long as a person possesses a good level of fitness.

The only physical requirement needed to enroll in a PADI freediving course is to be able to swim 200m non-stop without a time limit with any stroke or swim 300m with a mask, snorkel, and fins. Swimming is a basic skill that will ensure your safety once in water and will make you feel more comfortable during the course.

The biggest difficulty that most person face during a freediving course is ear equalization and any problem connected with ears or nasal sinuses may affect your progress or even make diving impossible. For women being pregnant might be an issue for deep diving.

You will have to fill out a medical form to confirm that you do not have any health condition that is not safe for freediving. It is recommended to consult with your physician before enrolling in a freediving course.

Since the ability to hold your breath for a long time has more to do with a person’s tolerance to high-level carbon dioxide, you can still learn how to freedive even if you smoke. Of course, if you want to progress faster, some changes in your lifestyle are recommended. Some freedivers smoke and freedive easily to 20m and others gave up smoking once they got hooked on freediving.

Unfortunately due to each individual’s abilities, I cannot guarantee that you will complete all the performance requirements during a PADI course. Truth is if some instructors are guaranteeing you that you can finish a PADI course without seeing how you behave in water first, chances are high they are probably lying and just trying to sell you a course.

Unlike a scuba diving course, nothing is guaranteed in freediving. Everything is earned through patience and hard work.

The most common difficulty that beginners have is related to ear equalization, which can keep them from reaching the depth requirement in a few days. The good news is that this is trainable but it can take more than two to three days.

This is why I do not recommend people jump straight forward into a PADI Freediver course and instead start with the PADI Basic Freediver course.

This will provide them with the knowledge needed to improve their equalization and tips on how to improve their equalization technique before working toward the PADI Freediver certification.

For the PADI Basic Freediver course, to be certified you will be required to perform a 90 seconds static apnea and a 25 m dynamic apnea.

For the PADI Freediver course, the requirements are the same as above including a constant weight dive to 10 m deep and a blackout rescue from 5 m deep.

For the PADI Advanced Freediver course, you will be required to perform a 2 minutes 30 static apnea, a 50 m dynamic apnea, a constant weight dive to 20 m, and a blackout rescue from 10 m deep with a 25 m tow on the surface.

For the PADI Master Freediver course, you will be required to perform a 3min30 static apnea, a 70 m dynamic apnea, a constant weight dive to 32 m, and a blackout rescue from 15 m deep with a 50 m tow on the surface.

During the course, you will be taught the correct skills and techniques to assist you in achieving these goals.

If you are short on time and cannot complete one or more of the requirements, you will receive a referral form and will have one year to complete the skills to get certified. This can be done anywhere in the world with any PADI freediving instructor.

If time is on your side, I usually welcome my students to come to train with me free of charge under conditions that they are punctual and not promoting non-ethical freediving activities with their skills gain under my watch.

Most of the time they usually complete the requirement in just a few more sessions in water.

All necessary equipment will be provided for the duration of the course at no extra fee. You get a 10% discount if you have your own full set of equipment of mask, snorkel, fins, and wetsuit.

Yes, I do. I offer a 10% discount for bookings involving 2-3 persons who are related. I do not teach strangers together nor accept bookings of more than 3 persons.

Usually, when people ask me this question, they are comparing what I am charging for private freediving teaching to what other instructors are charging for group teaching.

If you do a quick browse on the internet you will see that my prices are actually if not the cheapest, among the cheapest worldwide for a private freediving course with an experienced instructor.

I am so confident of that fact that, if you were able to find another freediving instructor of the same caliber as myself meaning having 10 years+ of teaching experience, with an understanding of breathing techniques gained not just from a freediving perspective but also from a yogic and wellness background, and who is charging less than I do, I will gladly match the price.

Apart from that and without wanting to cause prejudice to other freediving instructors, I am confident that the value that I bring in my teachings and the quality of my pedagogy is simply incomparable to others.

While it takes only a couple of weeks to become a freediving instructor with any reputed freediving organization, it took me years to acquire the knowledge and polish my pedagogy so that I can help my students reach their freediving goals in less time than I did.

Besides, not only do I offer my students the opportunity to come to train with me free of charge to be able to spend more time in-water to practice their skills (other schools charge between 30-50 USD per session), but I also offer the PADI Master Freediver course free of charge (excluding manual and certification fees) for people who have completed both the PADI Freediver and Advanced Freediver courses with me, who train regularly and already have the performance requirements.

Private teaching at the most competitive price, free training, free Master Freediver course to reward dedicated students, I personally do not know many freediving instructors who give back that much value to their students.

Maybe the more appropriate question to ask is why are the other freediving instructors charging less than I do.

The price for the PADI courses and training sessions as listed on the website covers all the expenses. There won’t be any bad surprises.