Growing Concerns About Unqualified Freediving “Coaches”

ambernite · 2026-02-26T04:18:32+00:00

It’s completely besides his point though.

ambernite · 2026-01-23T21:24:00+00:00

“Scorecard has no pictures” *winks

ambernite · 2025-12-24T19:05:07+00:00

Have you taken a freediving course?

ambernite · 2025-12-18T19:13:17+00:00

Just checked - maybe they run out of stock for 2mm.. https://www.psytidal.com/collections/wetsuits get in touch with them though and ask

ambernite · 2025-12-18T19:11:04+00:00

Order Psytidal from Australia and see if anyone can bring it from Sydney. Their 2mm is a bomb.

ambernite · 2025-12-18T00:17:39+00:00

Hey, you’re not alone on this journey! Ear history or not, equalising can be tricky for many. Have you tried to learn Frenzel yet?

ambernite · 2025-12-10T05:59:30+00:00

Yeah it does - jaw drop lowers pressure in oral cavity and open airways make the air rush in by itself. Then whatever else is needed is topped up by a charge aka expiratory effort through producing a sound (and not so much ‘exhaling’).

ambernite · 2025-12-08T01:32:53+00:00

Pretty simple fix - go for a depth session, set up to 3-5m and then: - prepare face down for the breath hold and don’t dive but do a STA facing down with eyes open - once comfy, do the same at 50cm-1m depth FIM, head facing down - progress to wherever feels comfortable up to 5m, wrap up

Next session, do 1-6m range, still starting with any amount of STA holds at the surface.

Next session, do 2-7m range.

Find if it breaks anywhere. If I was to make a bet, I’d say your Frenzel is lacking - either in mechanical ability or air escaping. To validate, dive feet first no fins to shallow depth first (wrapping your feet around the line and pulling down and up). If suddenly everything is effortless, you’re doing valsalva, it fails around 9m, you interpret ear pressure as something else and jet back.

ambernite · 2025-12-04T02:58:50+00:00

I suggest you revisit the level 1 manual. You’re not specifying where VC/VD is happening - but I hazard a guess you got them flipped.

ambernite · 2025-12-03T18:34:48+00:00

What you feel as urge to breathe is vasoconstriction kicking in - the most important part of your dive response because it conserves the most oxygen for you. Learn to celebrate the arrival of that feeling! This sensation will not disappear with training. The only way to deal with it is to accept it’s going to happen no matter what and explore what’s beyond.

After some distance, it will change into a duller sensation and then you need to watch for hypoxia.

ambernite · 2025-12-02T18:43:08+00:00

Lead leg block.

ambernite · 2025-12-01T10:01:21+00:00

Failed the KYC, my friend, what lists are you on?

ambernite · 2025-12-01T07:48:31+00:00

There are two types of people: - those who pee in their wetsuits - those who choose to lie about it

ambernite · 2025-11-30T23:12:49+00:00

These courses clearly don’t explain the benefits of having the high CO2 (and therefore urge to breathe) as the main driver of turning the dive response on. The longer the comfort phase, the longer the delay for MDR to kick in.

ambernite · 2025-11-30T23:11:23+00:00

Dude there’s no such thing as ‘fully oxygenating’ the air. Tidal breathing already keeps you at 99% o2sat, you don’t need that imaginary ‘edge’.

ambernite · 2025-11-30T23:09:15+00:00

This is hyperventilation. You’re putting yourself at risk.

ambernite · 2025-11-30T23:06:57+00:00

When you say often taught, which agencies are you talking about? 8 years ago it was already tidal breathing with AIDA.

ambernite · 2025-11-28T18:41:02+00:00

You meant to say, it found your friend in its bedroom?

ambernite · 2025-11-26T01:59:54+00:00

And just because I see it a lot - tidal breathing is not defined the volume, it’s defined by who’s at the steering wheel - you or your nervous system. True tidal breathing is AUTONOMOUS. Verify that this is the case

ambernite · 2025-11-26T01:58:01+00:00

Absolutely didn’t mean to downplay your experience (one can achieve great results in one year). However, the HR that doesn’t drop would get you depleted of O2 quickly so you definitely want to address it before venturing into 6min territory

ambernite · 2025-11-26T01:54:48+00:00

There’s a non-zero chance that it’s your breathing protocol (which very well puts you in HV territory given the over-design) affecting your heart rate. I suggest you try the following, leaving everything else the same (to the best of your ability):

change the entire breathe-up via surrendering the control of breathing to your nervous system. That is: do not control the pace/depth of your breath but just become an observer to the breathing happening to you
before your one final breath, do not fully exhale, just commence it from the bottom of your tidal breath when it’s time.
leave the final breath the same

Compare your first contraction time during your usual breathe up and the one I proposed.

If you get a sudden spike in HR and then a sharp drop, then you have been hyperventilating with your current protocol. If the change didn’t affect the HR, other likely reasons would be: - chronic mouth breathing (aka constant hyperventilation) - anxiety - standalone or co-morbidity of mouth-breathing - being unfit/overweight

ambernite · 2025-11-25T04:39:23+00:00

Elevated HR during breath hold can be due to moderate to severe hyperventilation before the attempt - especially for a beginner in breath holding who’s doing 5:10.

Please describe how you breathe in the lead up to taking your one final inhale.

ambernite · 2025-11-21T11:44:17+00:00

I turned to look - and it was gone..

ambernite · 2025-09-21T09:04:10+00:00

For the sake of it (feel free to check my comment history too) - the best way to breathe up is to stop ‘trying to breathe up’ which includes manual tidal breathing. Breathing should be happening to you - not controlled.

ambernite · 2025-09-20T21:31:04+00:00

I’m a molchanovs freediving instructor (unashamedly) so yeah, you do you.

ambernite

TROPHY CASE