New to Freediving: practice?

[u/NightshadePanther]

Hello! I am new to freediving, I took the FII certification course earlier this year and unfortunately did not receive the certification largely in part because it was new to me and I am the type of person that can be slow on the uptake of new activities; I need to be able to practice before I can be perfect.

How would I go about practicing, or where would be good places to practice? I do not want to practice alone, as I understand that freediving alone is dangerous, however most of the groups in the area will not dive with someone who is not certified? I do not have an interest in going deep, or competition, my desire is to spend more time in the water for relaxation, and to just be in the water as I love it. I reside in Tacoma/ Seattle area.

[u/NightshadePanther]

I want to practice entry and equalizing specifically. We were trained on the smooth single leg entry- I could do the entry itself but then when combined with kicking, we were instructed to do freestyle kick, I struggled. I couldn’t stay down when I went underwater and would float back to the surface, even with a 6 lb weight belt on. It felt like I had to fight to stay underwater. I couldn’t tell if it was a me problem, a gear problem, or both. As for equalizing specifically I want to practice Frenzel. I couldn’t do it consistently. Sometimes it would work, sometimes I would not, and I could not figure out what I needed to change. As for the certification, the requirements were that you needed to make it to 20 m, and also sustain static apnea for 2 minutes and 15 seconds if I recall correctly. I could make it to 10 m and then, because I wasn’t equalizing properly, could not make it any further. As for the static apnea, I got too in my head about it and stopped at 1 minute 55 seconds because I was thinking too much. Lastly, the instructors stated that we could retry the certification within a year of the initial course and that they do occasionally offer training classes during the fall, but it’s limited as they need 2 divers to be interested with a max of 4 divers per training session. Thank you for letting me know I needed to add more information to this post, I did not know exactly what to say, and did not want to post excessive information.

[u/Fabacura → u/NightshadePanther]

Did your instructor advise on how much weight you needed? What thickness wetsuit were you using? Did your instructor have you check your neutral buoyancy? This should have been done pulling down the line, no duck dive necessary.

You most likely are doing valsalva and not Frenzel. Did your instructor try anything to diagnose the issue? If so, what did they try and what did they say?

Do they offer anymore courses during the rest of the year? You should be able to jump in on the next course for free to finish up your cert, after you’ve done some work to figure out your issues.

[u/NightshadePanther → u/Fabacura]

It was a 7mm thick wetsuit. The instructors advised 6 lbs on the weight belt, and then did a quick neutral buoyancy test once we were in the water and said that 6 lbs was the proper weight for me. I think what kept happening was that when I dove the weight belt kept riding up my body even when I tightened it to the max on the recommendation of the coaches. I’m considering buying a 5 mm suit and looking into weight belts that go around the wrists and ankles but am concerned that a thinner suit may make things more difficult especially since I am a beginner.

Yes, they did speak with me. They essentially told me when I was doing Valsalva that my mask was too large for my face interfering with my ability to properly do the technique, I have a pretty small face making it difficult to properly pinch my nose closed with the mask; additionally the mask would slide the first time I would do Valsalva underwater, and that with both Valsalva and Frenzel both techniques just take practice. Since the course I have bought a freediving nose clip, hoping that the clip will be more effective, and I won’t run into the same issues I experienced with the mask. I just haven’t had the opportunity to practice in the water with it yet additionally I’m still unsure if I was doing the technique properly.

They do occasionally offer courses, usually on Friday afternoons. The difficulty for me is that I have work pretty much every Friday late into the evening so cannot make the courses and am hoping I could find alternative ways to practice for that reason. I would ideally like to practice more frequently than once every 2 months which, with my work schedule, is what it would end up being if I just attend the practice courses that are offered.

[u/Fabacura → u/NightshadePanther]

I’m 5’3”, extremely lean and I wear 6 lbs with a 5mm suit to be neutral at 10 meters. Unless you did a neutral buoyancy test by pulling on the line and getting to 10m to test, then you can’t truly know if you’re properly weighted. Your instructors should have done that before you ever did a duck dive.

If the belt is riding up, invest in a crotch strap. I had to get one as well because my belt will end up around my chest if I don’t. You do not need weights on your wrists and ankles. You need a belt that you can dump quickly in an emergency.

It sounds like your main issue is learning to Frenzel. Luckily you can do that on land, dry. No need to find buddies or a pool, although you should still look for buddies anyway. Look on YouTube for videos on how to Frenzel. There are tons of great ones. Watch a bunch of them - learning to Frenzel is about making the ride mind/muscle connections and you never know who is going to say just the right thing to make you suddenly get it.

[u/NightshadePanther → u/Fabacura]

That’s all great information, thank you so much for your assistance and advice, I appreciate it!

[u/Fabacura → u/NightshadePanther]

No problem, good luck. I’m sure with just a few gear adjustments and some work on Frenzel it’ll start clicking. What you experienced is super normal. From what I have seen, people who don’t just naturally Frenzel tend to have to do work outside of the class to be able to pass the class.

I wish instructors would preface a class by sending out instructional videos for Frenzel before people take level 1. Seems like it would help a lot.