Interested to know whether anyone has done any formal breath holding/free diving training? There are a few free diving courses run in Perth but they are not cheap. There are also plenty of courses run in Bali which could be a good flat day activity.

I'm never calm underwater in bigger conditions and reckon I could use some proper training. The testimonials on web sites claim that with the right training, results improve quickly.

I did two laps underwater today in the home swimming pool and was struggling

I'm a freediver and have trained myself to be able to hold my breath for very long times using static breath hold tables (google it) and simply by being fit.

Despite being able to hold my breath for a long time while freediving, when surfing I still feel that struggle when held under for just a few seconds. Freedive training for me was about my tolerance to increased CO2 saturation in my blood and ignoring the signs of it (chest convulsions). Being smashed by a wave usually means you don't get a chance to breathe up and get a lung full of air.

My way of 'coping' with a long hold down after a wipeout is to remind myself it feels longer than it is and to not struggle against it so much.
Keep calm and the surface will come.

For me it's a mental thing. But by all means, increase your lung capacity and so forth if you think it will help YOU. The benefits of freedive training is handy even if you just enjoy a good snorkel

Go and watch storm surfers. Even though he is a freak of nature, Ross Clark-Jones explains about what he does when he's being throttled around in the white water of a giant wave. He explains that after he's taken as deep a breath as he can, he imagines himself in a club with lots of lighting going on, lots of crazy dancing, etc. He explains that during his time in the day dream sequence he checks out the walls and examines the posters, checks out the chicks around him and so on. What he's basically getting at is that if you think of something that to you is calming or depicts a place and time that you're having fun in, imagine that. That's a scenario in which you naturally feel calm, and therefore by imagining you're there, you conserve your oxygen. That's all there is to wiping out, because when you're in the clutches of a bigger wave, there's not much you can do until it decides to let you go.

Safety Moment....

If you are practising at home in the pool or even in a public pool/beach make sure you have some one watching you at all times... Dont practice breathhold under water by yourself.

Shallow water Blackout is an all to common occurance and plenty of young fit people have lost there lives

www.shallowwaterblackoutprevention.org/

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shunter said...
Safety Moment....

If you are practising at home in the pool or even in a public pool/beach make sure you have some one watching you at all times... Dont practice breathhold under water by yourself.

Shallow water Blackout is an all to common occurance and plenty of young fit people have lost there lives

www.shallowwaterblackoutprevention.org/

Definitly have someone there with you.
Have seen it first hand. It's not fun pulling your unconcious mate from from the pool...

Increasing you lung capacity is a positive thing done in controlled supervised places.

However most of it has to do with relaxing and just going with the process.

Remember that our average swell period is 12 - 15 seconds.

That is between the wave you came off and the next one that is how long you have.

Now think back about what you thought were long hold downs and I bet most times you still came up well before the next wave.

Go into a pool and stay down for 15 seconds (quite a long period swell) and its easy.

It is all about controlling the panic, relaxing and just going with it.

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Indodreaming said...
Increasing you lung capacity is a positive thing done in controlled supervised places.

However most of it has to do with relaxing and just going with the process.

Remember that our average swell period is 12 - 15 seconds.

That is between the wave you came off and the next one that is how long you have.

Now think back about what you thought were long hold downs and I bet most times you still came up well before the next wave.

Go into a pool and stay down for 15 seconds (quite a long period swell) and its easy.

It is all about controlling the panic, relaxing and just going with it.

That's all well and good but how often when you wipe out do you just stay in the same position? I don't know about anyone else but most of the time (bar a few spots) you can get pushed shoreward quite a long distance underwater rather than just getting pushed straight down deep. I once got pushed from the peak at cobbles to the cheesegrater section underwater, not fun. But I agree with most wipeouts rarely lasting longer than 15 seconds.

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DJMWA said...

That's all well and good but how often when you wipe out do you just stay in the same position?

It all depends on how you bail/wipeout. Depending on the type of wave, how you are being forced to bail or wipeout, it'll always be different. Experience counts in these situations. There's no science to it coz every wave breaks differently, so while one wave lets go once you wipeout, another might drag you along a bit. It's part of the sport... so, you just have to deal with it!

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sparki said...

DJMWA said...

That's all well and good but how often when you wipe out do you just stay in the same position?

It all depends on how you bail/wipeout. Depending on the type of wave, how you are being forced to bail or wipeout, it'll always be different. Experience counts in these situations. There's no science to it coz every wave breaks differently, so while one wave lets go once you wipeout, another might drag you along a bit. It's part of the sport... so, you just have to deal with it!

I think you may have missed my point there mate

Heading to Bali soon has anyone done a freedive course for surfers there?

Any comments.

Cheers

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sparki said...
Go and watch storm surfers. Even though he is a freak of nature, Ross Clark-Jones explains about what he does when he's being throttled around in the white water of a giant wave. He explains that after he's taken as deep a breath as he can, he imagines himself in a club with lots of lighting going on, lots of crazy dancing, etc. He explains that during his time in the day dream sequence he checks out the walls and examines the posters, checks out the chicks around him and so on. What he's basically getting at is that if you think of something that to you is calming or depicts a place and time that you're having fun in, imagine that. That's a scenario in which you naturally feel calm, and therefore by imagining you're there, you conserve your oxygen. That's all there is to wiping out, because when you're in the clutches of a bigger wave, there's not much you can do until it decides to let you go.

Yep he goes to his happy place..I use that a lot especially when training to get fitter

I like to swim underwater in my pool. Sadly its only 5mtr x 5mtrs square so i have to do laps around the side. Half an hour or so of constant laps underwater for as long as you can and i can feel im getting further and holding breathe longer. Does it help in the surf, i hope so but to be fair im not surfing big surf either

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photosbykarlo said...
Heading to Bali soon has anyone done a freedive course for surfers there?

Any comments.

Cheers

When you over there mate?

Early April

Ive tried, but its impossible from how I see it.

Unless you are a fish

Breathing underwater that is

DJMWA

I take your point about longer hold down as the wave takes you with it.

Also when you take a wipeout in say SW West OZ after not surfing there for a while a little bit of panic sets in for me as you forget the power of the waves.

I still think the key is to relax and go with it as its that little bit of panic that sucks up all the oxygen.

Now I have surfed some solid waves but not what I would call huge but never had a double wave hold down.

Here is a tripple hold down to contemplate.

www.surfline.com/surflinetv/greatest-wipeouts/neil-matthies-three-wave-hold-down_25014

OUCH

That was nasty...

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Indodreaming said...

I still think the key is to relax and go with it as its that little bit of panic that sucks up all the oxygen.

Agreed

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doggie said...
Ive tried, but its impossible from how I see it.

Unless you are a fish

Breathing underwater that is

yeah, good call.

Do big wave surfers carry oxygen devices with them?

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photosbykarlo said...
Early April

I'm there from early April too and reckon I'll line up for a course during a flat spell. There are a few outfits to choose from.

I reckon its a confidence thing for me, having that training behind me will help me relax underwater.

The skills will be more useful in WA than Indo though.

Stanos

Some are carrying small tanks but I have seen video with mix views.

Trouble some thought was if you rely on it and it fails you will get a big intake of water and its all over.

Seems like the main device is the Dorian style inflater on your back that will get you back to the surface. Shane D I believe has used it a few times.

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Stanos said...

photosbykarlo said...
Early April

I'm there from early April too and reckon I'll line up for a course during a flat spell. There are a few outfits to choose from.

I reckon its a confidence thing for me, having that training behind me will help me relax underwater.

The skills will be more useful in WA than Indo though.

I have found a couple places that do a course, just waiting on prices. If I can get a min of 4 people then it's only 500 000 rup/person rather than 1 000 000 rup/person. At one place.

I'll drop you a pm about it.

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Stanos said...

doggie said...
Ive tried, but its impossible from how I see it.

Unless you are a fish

Breathing underwater that is

yeah, good call.

Do big wave surfers carry oxygen devices with them?

No but they now have an inflatable wettie that brings you to the top quicker, they have a co2 canister in them and a section behind the head inflates.
Shane Dorian and Billabong developed it.

I won't give any advice personally because I certainly get worried in larger surf.

But I know a guy who surfs and he is an iron man. I really doubt he does breath hold training. In fact, I'm sure he doesn't. He can do two laps of a 50m pool under water. He is just insanely fit. But even he told me when he is unfit, an unsuspecting smaller (small by his measures I guess) wave will give him a beating and scares him. But then, the next sentence he also told me when he's peak, he literally can't imagine any conditions where he'd drown.

So probably take my advice with a grain of salt because I personally **** myself! But I guess water fitness that comes from swimming etc would help.

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PaddlePig said...
I won't give any advice personally because I certainly get worried in larger surf.

But I know a guy who surfs and he is an iron man. I really doubt he does breath hold training. In fact, I'm sure he doesn't. He can do two laps of a 50m pool under water. He is just insanely fit. But even he told me when he is unfit, an unsuspecting smaller (small by his measures I guess) wave will give him a beating and scares him. But then, the next sentence he also told me when he's peak, he literally can't imagine any conditions where he'd drown.

So probably take my advice with a grain of salt because I personally **** myself! But I guess water fitness that comes from swimming etc would help.

c'mon mate you did alright yesterday after getting a couple and wearing a few on the head! confidence is key, cheers for comin down and catching up, good times haha! (the swannies at the end of the day topped it off too!)

You read about some of the big wave surfers and the breath training they do and then I have seen photos of Nathan Fletcher sucking on a durrie post the last epic cloudbreak swell.

I was just trying to find the photo and in a forum it seems a few other big wave chargers also smoke the odd cigerette so go figure that one.

I think it still comes back to getting relaxed and not freaking out as someone like Fletcher has come off on some of the biggest waves I have seen paddled or towed into.

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PaddlePig said...
I won't give any advice personally because I certainly get worried in larger surf.

But I know a guy who surfs and he is an iron man. I really doubt he does breath hold training. In fact, I'm sure he doesn't. He can do two laps of a 50m pool under water. He is just insanely fit. But even he told me when he is unfit, an unsuspecting smaller (small by his measures I guess) wave will give him a beating and scares him. But then, the next sentence he also told me when he's peak, he literally can't imagine any conditions where he'd drown.

So probably take my advice with a grain of salt because I personally **** myself! But I guess water fitness that comes from swimming etc would help.

I don't do bigger surf but i agree with Soleman in it is confidence. I think if i had done a breathe hold coarse and could hold my breather well i thin i would be less likely to panic. I know with my fitness increase i'm feeling much better than i did prior when over weight and unfit..

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jbshack said...

I don't do bigger surf but i agree with Soleman in it is confidence.

So if you go down the beach, it's over head and cracking you don't go out????

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Woodo said...

jbshack said...

I don't do bigger surf but i agree with Soleman in it is confidence.

So if you go down the beach, it's over head and cracking you don't go out????

Ive never been a big fan of over head stuff thanks to my fitness i guess. Younger days no issue and had many days at Rotto and down south, but as a overweight middle aged bloke, paddling back out down south a few years back into head and half, nearly drowning i'm happy to say it slow me down

I like clean waves (don't we all) and now looking forward to a bit more tripping to get that, head high will do me just fine

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jbshack said...

Woodo said...

jbshack said...

I don't do bigger surf but i agree with Soleman in it is confidence.

So if you go down the beach, it's over head and cracking you don't go out????

Ive never been a big fan of over head stuff thanks to my fitness i guess. Younger days no issue and had many days at Rotto and down south, but as a overweight middle aged bloke, paddling back out down south a few years back into head and half, nearly drowning i'm happy to say it slow me down

I like clean waves (don't we all) and now looking forward to a bit more tripping to get that, head high will do me just fine

All good. I wasn't having a dig either, just curious.

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Woodo said...

jbshack said...

Woodo said...

jbshack said...

I don't do bigger surf but i agree with Soleman in it is confidence.

So if you go down the beach, it's over head and cracking you don't go out????

Ive never been a big fan of over head stuff thanks to my fitness i guess. Younger days no issue and had many days at Rotto and down south, but as a overweight middle aged bloke, paddling back out down south a few years back into head and half, nearly drowning i'm happy to say it slow me down

I like clean waves (don't we all) and now looking forward to a bit more tripping to get that, head high will do me just fine

All good. I wasn't having a dig either, just curious.

I recon double head is about my limit these days depending how gunho Im feeling