Manual of Freediving

    Has anyone read the book Manual of Freediving: Underwater on a Single Breath, by Umberto Pelizzari? I thought it might be a worthwhile read for a beginner like myself. Any thoughts?

    breathing techniques and relaxation exercises but I rarely use the breathing exercises. I do agree with greek, it is an interesting read.

    Interesting like watching a Star trek movie? Seriously it's a "manual", how can you say it's worth reading if you don't do anything it tells you to do? Not trying to bash the book, I never read it, I just want to understand in what way it's worth reading.

    Well, if the reader ever decided to truly dedicate him/her self to freediving with purpose other than shooting a fish I believe that this book would really help. Keep in mind its title: "Manual of Freediving" not "Manual of Spearfishing". Plus the book has a section on safety that teaches you how to rescue a diver that is trouble, how to swim with him, how to hold him etc...... I don't want to reveal anything else, read it and then draw your own conclusions.

    Why, is there a spoiler? :)


    I thought I was freediving.. Well, diving to spear a fish is the same as diving to do something. So is the freediving in this book specifically for diving and not doing anything underwater? I hope it's not anti lobstering either.

    A buen entendedor con pocas palabras bastan ;) Tha'ts all I am saying. By the way, I got mine on ebay for 18.00 usd shipping and all.

    Edited 2 times, last by Adrian ().

    i downloaded mine...its a good book...but a lot a lotttt of things to read...it explains everything..al pie d la letra como decimos por aca....never finished reading...it got a lot of exercises..

    Quote from Marco

    Freediving per se and spearfishing are two different sports. While freediving you just want to dive you personal best once.


    not exactly- we do personal bests over and over- until that depth becomes easy. Basic freediving technique is immensely helpful to better spearfishing. If you can dive 200-300ft, a 40 ft spearing drop seems so easy. Many of the top competiitve freedivers are amazing hunters. It is very easy for them to hold their breath for 6 or 7 minutes while hiding behind a rock on the bottom and they are in great condition and have good kick technique.
    Umberto Pellizari is the founder of Apnea Academy- the premier freediving school. He wrote the Manual of Freediving in 2001 and it was translated into english in 2004 by William Trubridge. It is the best basic text for beginner divers and those wishing to improve. Since it was published, freediving has evolved quickly. We use different equipment such as the monofin and fluid goggles and new techniques like the no warm-up maximum dive.
    If you think that you are the best spearo in the world and don't need to improve then don't bother to read the book or take a course or ask questions from other experienced divers but if you think you have room for improvement -good information is of value. Personally, I try to learn as much as I can and try to put it into practice in my diving.

    Quote from O2 deprived

    not exactly- we do personal bests over and over- until that depth becomes easy. Basic freediving technique is immensely helpful to better spearfishing. If you can dive 200-300ft, a 40 ft spearing drop seems so easy. Many of the top competiitve freedivers are amazing hunters. It is very easy for them to hold their breath for 6 or 7 minutes while hiding behind a rock on the bottom and they are in great condition and have good kick technique.
    Umberto Pellizari is the founder of Apnea Academy- the premier freediving school. He wrote the Manual of Freediving in 2001 and it was translated into english in 2004 by William Trubridge. It is the best basic text for beginner divers and those wishing to improve. Since it was published, freediving has evolved quickly. We use different equipment such as the monofin and fluid goggles and new techniques like the no warm-up maximum dive.
    If you think that you are the best spearo in the world and don't need to improve then don't bother to read the book or take a course or ask questions from other experienced divers but if you think you have room for improvement -good information is of value. Personally, I try to learn as much as I can and try to put it into practice in my diving.


    WOW!


    I don't think I'm even close to be a good spearo, but I think I have a little experience.


    When you freedive, you don't have to fight with currents, you don't have to stalk fish, you don't have to get up and down a boat, you don't have to worry about a boat riding over you, etc, etc, etc.


    A proper freediving technique of course will help, but it's not everything. I know GREAT spearfishermen with just 1:30 minutes bottom time and I also know "not so good" spearfisherme with almost 4 minutes apneas.


    An analogy would be: Could Usain Bolt be a good footbal player? Maybe, but maybe not.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Edited once, last by Marco ().

    This is an old post I made in a thread about the scuba vs. freediving argument, I think it's relevant here. In my experience, the very best spearfishers I know/knew dive to a max of 100ft, have a little better than average bottom times, and I've never seen one utilize the "advanced" techniques of freediving.

    Quote

    I disagree about there being no great thought process. A freediver covers vastly larger areas over a much greater time span than a scuba diver. He is much more in tune with the ecosystem and the medium. A scuba diver either drops on the fish or he doesn't. A freediver has an intimate knowledge of fish behavior through instinct and experience. He remembers much more ground and knows to follow it properly. He has a mental map of places and how to get to them that can stay recorded in his mind for years. The freediver has a sense for which ground will hold fish and if it doesn't hold fish one day should hold fish on another. It's not just a matter of swimming and shooting whatever happens on the way. There is a lot of strategy and this is where the better freedive spearfishers excel. They excel because they produce where others don't. It is incorrect to think that it's all about breath holding.

    The moment the brain is used to direct an underwater activity, such as to perceive the environment/consider how to deal with it as when hunting a fish, much more energy is expended which negates any previous "advanced freediving" preparation. In competitive freediving the diver isolates himself from the environment to conserve energy.


    yes, we do fight current sometimes the rope is almost at a 45 degree angle- not fun! and we do get up and down a boat , have to deal with darkness, get a tag - just depends on where we are diving,
    the point is that good skills are an asset. No , you do not have to dive to 100ft to spearfish unless you are in the over-fished Mediterranean ( Davide Carrerra, professional diver does) . I do know everyone who takes a freediving course, does research and practices becomes a better overall diver.
    You've probably seen this video of WR Dave Mullins- has records in freediving and spearfishing.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tPyguexXRk


    took him 2.5 hours to get this fish in. the initial shot ( not shown) was down deep.

    10ft is not that deep ;) http://www.freedive.net/ibsrc/fish_frms/s_marlin.htm Please don't be concerned Carla, anyone can make a mistake. I felt it was pertinent/necessary to the discussion at hand to post the correct info. I looked into it because I had the general idea that you don't dive very deep for big pelagics.

    Quote

    As I neared the point it became evident that some current was running. Although the bottom became more barren, around the rocks that jutted out into the sea schools of baitfish and pink maomao indicated there might be some action on the up-current side of the point. In the distance I could see the rock wall dropping vertically to the bottom of 80 feet. A school of large koheru swam past below me, disordered and moving fast. Expecting to see a school of kingfish in pursuit I made a dive, waiting motionless in mid-water. I waited without seeing anything till the last of the koheru had passed and then returned to the surface. As I lay breathing for another dive, I looked down to see a bill waving from side to side about 10 feet below me. In a couple of seconds the rest of the big striped marlin came into view as it rose from behind me to check me out. Although brightly lit up, the marlin was swimming slowly and as it passed underneath me it began to sink back down. I made a shallow dive over the top of it, moving very slowly so as not to spook the giant fish which was already almost out of range. Picking a spot just behind the gill plates I took a shot, hoping to hit the spine or the back of the brain. However, the size of the fish must have led me to underestimate the distance as my shaft connected low in the shoulder. The marlin continued to swim off slowly, then came to a halt and rose vertically to the surface where it stayed, head out of the water and shaking slightly for several seconds. Thinking that I had stoned it I swam forwards, then backed off again as it righted itself and moved off towards open water.

    Quote from Dan

    10ft is not that deep ;) http://www.freedive.net/ibsrc/fish_frms/s_marlin.htm Please don't be concerned Carla, anyone can make a mistake. I felt it was pertinent/necessary to the discussion at hand to post the correct info. I looked into it because I had the general idea that you don't dive very deep for big pelagics.


    you are right,Dan. As you know, swordfish will lay right on the surface . It is not legal to shoot them without a commercial license but.....
    The big yellowfin in Mexico will vary their depth depending on the bait and water temp. Sometimes with really warm water they are really deep. I wouldn't recommend trying to go deep to get them. My buddy almost had a serious accident at 50ft when a 300 lber( seemingly not hot) suddenly woke up and flung its tail into his stomach-knocking the wind out of him. Fortunately, he was not alone - fish and spearo brought up.
    I hope we don't have more accidents as the fish stocks become depleted and you have to go deeper to get them. This oil spill will have a horrible impact on the Gulf -who knows how many fish will be affected?

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