AIDA 2* free divin course !!

[Mermaid Melanie]

Hey guys so I just had to post about my amazing experience yesterday when I started my AIDA 2* ! It was a great day for as I made such a personal achievement ! Before the course I could only hold my breath max 1 minute and could only swim underwater for 20 meters on one breath but thanks to my awesome instructor Sarah she had me holding my breath for over 2 mins ! (2m12sec to be precise! ) I was so happy I almost cried when I found out the time ! Also im managed to get a 50 meter one breath dynamic swim done ! It was great having the instructor there to help and support us through the day and it really made things click for me ! I'd highly recommend taking the course for anyone wanting to improve their skills!

[SeaSister]

That's so awesome, Mermaid Melanie! It's really cool to hear about experiences with free diving training. :)

2:12 seconds after a maximum 1:00 breath hold... wow, that's just incredible. That's static, right? It's really amazing what the body can do with the right techniques/training. I always thought I could only do a max of 30 seconds but then I tried some deep breathing techniques and did my best to clear my mind and ignore the discomfort, and I ended up getting over 1 minute 10 seconds. Now, if only I could get into the habit of doing deep breathing/relaxation techniques/breath hold practice every day...

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm interested in/considering free diving), could you tell me a bit more about AIDA? Does it operate in other locations, or just Thailand? Also, how much money is it for the course? Is it one-on-one or done in groups?

[Mermaid Melanie]

Hey SeaSister !

Thanks so much ! I was incredibly happy with my time ! Yep it was static ! And yeah it was great for me to really learn how to relax my body and control my breathing ! AIDA is an international organisation so you should be able to find a center near you - for me it was 8,900 baht which is almost £180 my course had one other student but as with any business you can usually pay extra to ensure a one on one course I'd highly recommend the course it's really opened up my eyes to what I am capable of and it's very exciting !

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Hey sea sister AIDA operates internationally the only point is that they are located in big cities but for the rest you can find them in every country or so XD
The courses are both one-on-one or small groups and prices are different (the one-on-one lesson is more expensive)I suggest you to start with a small group lesson (together you can have more fun! :D ) so you can understand if you lie it or not, one-on-one lessons are quite expensive so I woul recommend you them only if you wat to start an agonistic career by the way you are very followed by the instuctor even in small Group lesson.

This is wha can I tell you from my experince here where I live (Italy) maybe in Canada there is a different orgnization you need to ask.


If you need I'm Always here to help you just ask :D

[Jessica]

I would LOVE to take a class like this someday! Congratulations on your breath hold Melanie! :thumbs-up:

[Mermaid Melanie]

Thanks Jessica ! It really helped me ! and id tried breathe ups and tried with another mer before but it just didn't click till i did the course - the progressive relaxation is amazing my new free diving friends said they expect they can get me to 4 mins ! which i think would be amazing ! if you want to improve your underwater skills id say for sure give it a go !

[Mermaid Melanie]

Hey Lovelies ! just an update from day 2
- open water - so today i met my instructor and another student at the pier and we set off on long tail boat to one of the local islands - it was a bit choppy so we moored in a nice bay area for our diving spot. Once we got kitted up we put the surface float in the water and got the dive station ready -

our first session in the water was doing Free Immersion which is diving down along a weighted line using your arms to pull yourself down - no kicking. As you do this you have to equalise with every pull. The other student had some problems equalising and it seemed like he was forgetting to do it, so in turn he hurt his ear quite bad and couldn't continue for the day.

My instructor and I continued with the session and did around 10 - 12 dives down to 8 meters ( 24 ft i think ) where at the bottom there was a weight and a finish plate. Its a funny feeling once you get down to a certain depth you sort of start falling through the water - its a weird but wonderful sensation !

after the free immersion we did Constant Weight - which is doing a duck dive at the surface and swimming down while kicking following the line but not touching the line. it was pretty cool as the float had drifted a little and when we got to the bottom we found a small shipwreck which we didn't know was there ! and also there was a cool puffer hanging out around the bottom of our line and some nice moorish idols !

after this we took a break to heat up and unfortunately we called the day after that as the other student was suffering quite a bit of pain with his ears and feeling quite sick - his english was good but i think he was trying to tell us he got vertigo on the way back up from the dive and that was probably due to his ear issues - poor guy hope its nothing serious :( ...but it was a lovely morning and I'm looking forward to diving a bit deeper tomorrow :D if anyone has any questions about the course please feel free to ask away ! Im enjoying it so much and learning a lot ! xxx

[Mermaid Melanie]

Haha i had to share this also - they made a GIF of my reaction to learning my static breath hold time - https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/JIchWyqzjeJ9rZsdclNbHHXPVK1tcN9-EPZoLAK9jTM=w242-h162-p-no

[AptaMer]

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm interested in/considering free diving), could you tell me a bit more about AIDA? Does it operate in other locations, or just Thailand? Also, how much money is it for the course? Is it one-on-one or done in groups?

Hey SeaSister, AIDA is the international organization that regulates freediving competitions and courses for the sport of freediving (kind of like FINA is the international organization for competitive swimming or FIS regulates competitive skiing). They require their instructors to maintain certain standards. Also, many freediving clubs affiliate with AIDA, just like swimming clubs do with FINA.

I notice you live in BC. One of the best freediving schools in the world is located in Vancouver as your fortune would have it :) You can look them up here http://www.performancefreediving.com/

Two of their instructors are the freedivers who swam out at night into the cove at Taiji, Japan, to plant microphones in the movie The Cove.

There's also a freediving club in Vancouver that is AIDA affiliated and runs regular pool training nights and goes on trips. http://www.vancouverapneist.com/ 16104

[Seatan]

Haha i had to share this also - they made a GIF of my reaction to learning my static breath hold time - https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/JIchWyqzjeJ9rZsdclNbHHXPVK1tcN9-EPZoLAK9jTM=w242-h162-p-no

LMAO!! THAT IS FANTASTIC. Hahahahaha! Congrats on the breath holding! I would love to take a freediving course....

[Mermaid Melanie]

lol thanks chika ! glad you got a kick out of it lol - its a great experience id recommend it to everyone ! xx

[AptaMer]

Hey, Mermaid Melanie, forgot to say: Super Congrats!!! :thumbs-up:

Crossing the 2 minute milestone is major. It puts you ahead of 99% of everybody else in the world. Woo Hoo!

Also, I think whatever you do in the water, freediving training will help you be better at it. Just my opinion, but I did find it's helped me in many ways.

[Mermaid Melanie]

Hey AptaMer ! Thanks so much I'm really proud of myself ! Never thought Id get there ! but hopefully other people will see they can do it too ! and for sure its given me a new way of thinking about my body and the water ! x

[Jessica]

Melanie you are such an inspiration! :)

[SeaSister]

Lol, Mermaid Melanie I LOVE that gif! So hilarious. XD

That sounds like such an amazing experience! I'll definitely look into the Vancouver-based school. :)

[AptaMer]

Hmm, Performance Freediving used to run courses in Vancouver, SeaSister. Looking at their current calendar, though, it looks like they're running them all over the place, but not there. Also, they've moved their office to Campbell River.

If you're located in the Vancouver area, I would recommend getting in touch with the Vancouver Apneist Freediving Club ( http://www.vancouverapneist.com/ ), and ask them about courses in the area.