Manual of Freediving

    i think that Dan and Carla are not necessarily saying mutually exclusive things:



    -You do not NEED to be an "advanced" freediver to be a world class spearo


    -Being an "advanced" freediver will not hurt your ability to be a world class spearo, it will only help


    both of these statements are the crux of your positions and they are both hard to disagree with.


    -you DO NOT need to be an "advanced" freediver to spear big fish or small fish well....also true.




    I think that Carla makes a very good point about the ability to dive deep making it easier to dive shallow and then expand your focus into hunting..makes sense.


    a lot of the reason spearos do their shooting in 100ft or less is probably as much a function of efficiency as anything else...it takes a long time to dive to 100 ft and back up, why do it if there are fish shallower?

    i like to spear fish

    Judah, I don't think you understand the "crux" of my position. I'll make it as transparent as I can. The psychology of the competitive freediver, which is fundamentally go as deep as he can no matter what (hopefully without passing out), has nothing to do with what I do which seems to me to be spearfishing. The "advanced" techniques are an extension of this psychology. Go ahead and talk about it all you want, I may keep stating my position until I get tired of doing so. I believe it's important that the differences be noted. The good spearfishers I knew that go deep, I've never seen them do anything special, they just breath up and do it.

    i understood that, perhaps i was not clear in my comment. i assumed, and perhaps this is where we disagree, that there were some physiological skills that are learned as an "advanced" freediver in addition to the mental. Understanding that 80%(or whatever % you want) of it may be mental, that there was still some percentage of it that was physical.


    i just assume that those who have learned those skills from strictly freediving can apply them to spearfishing to some benefit, even if it is small.

    i like to spear fish

    why you gys gettin fired up? its clear that an amazing free diver isnt by default a good spearfisher, and vice versa. But how can anyone deny that having a well rounded understanding and ability to dive deep and have a long breathhold is advantagous when spearfishing. I do get your point cllearly though, dan, that a freediver has a different agenda then a spearfishing person, and that does change alot of the dynamics.

    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

    you guys are all on the same boat as to say,you may be free-divers,but your there for the spearfishing.ha,.A few beers and I'll figure this out.

    I consider freediving to perform a task, any task that involves hand eye coordination and fine motor functions, to be almost on par with freediving to spearfish, minus the hunting intelligence. Objectives such as freediving to film, freediving to salvage something etc. I believe that freediving to spearfishing takes a little more energy because that's what it take to be able to react to something unexpected/random, such as the appearance of a fish.

    interesting distinction.


    well then, the idea of will freediving for depth help freediving for spearfishing is quite a pickle...i think yes but very little...it does in the way that any extensive freediving experience at any other task will help each other task a little

    i like to spear fish

    i think that this is a great distinction Dan. I am a much better freediver for spearing than I am for lobstering and I think it has a lot to do with what I am focused on and my mental state

    i like to spear fish

    Lobstering in shallow water 15-25ft develops great breathhold for spearfishing application. There's only one step you need to take from there to go deep and it's just psychological, past the basic compensating, streamlining and dropping straight down.


    absolutely right.
    you do not need to be an advanced freediver to be a good hunter but superior diving skills and general conditioning will help you be better. Part of the "mental " part as Dan is saying, is confidence. If you know you can dive deep and have a good breath hold - you will be more relaxed & not panic if things get rough. For me, hunting is enjoyable and relaxing while deeper training dives and competition can be scary. It can be cold and dark at depth and there is no one else down there. Safety divers do not come in until 20m from the surface so you have to go a long way all by yourself. You have to stay relaxed ,believe in your abilities, and not exceed your limits.

    this discussion is getting interesting. marco made a good point here. i agree with his opinion a lot.
    the best training to become a better freediver is : freediving.
    the best training to become a better spearfisher is : spearfishing.
    of course it will help a spearfisher to have good freediving abilitys such as diving deep and long bottomtime. so it wont hurt to read some literature about freediving or even do a course.
    but that is just one part out of many to become a complete,good, and safe spearfisher.
    abilitys like good physical stamina, handling and preparing of all your spearfishingequipment, guns,reels,lines,floats,etc., handling all encounters with all types of marinelife,eels,sharks, boxjellys,firecoral etc., know how to catch and handle your game, know how to deal with all the environmental conditions like tides,swells,moon,current,bad vis, weatherchange-rain and thunderstorms, handling of boats and engine,how to drive them,repair them, knowing to navigate, know how to deal with emergency case out in the sea, beeing able to watch out and assist your dive buddys while driving the boat or beeing in the water with them, etc,etc,etc,!
    but on top of all important abilities for a good spearfisher i consider a good hunting and survival instinct.
    the ability to automatically do the right thing in any occuring situation,hunting game or dealing with danger, can be trained only by expierience. going spearfishing again and again, if possible with other well expirienced spearfishers or by yourself.
    i think that someone who train competetive freediving for 10 years, and spearfish 2-3 times a year,
    can hardly be,what i would consider a good spearfisher.
    on the other hand i believe there are a lot of good longyear spearfishers who wouldnt go nowhere in competitive freediving.
    getting back to the start of the thread: havent read this book. if you get it,read it , and let me know if you learned something usefull. hehe, so i dont have to read it, dont like reading.

    very well said Tinu. I agree.


    especially about all the skills that go into being a good and well rounded spearo...what good is a diver who can drop to 150' but doesnt know where on the fish to shoot? or a diver with a 5 minute bottom time who sits and does aspetto in the middle of the sand...great points

    i like to spear fish

    touche Steven, you must be one of those "more advanced" spearfishermen :D


    of course, you, in the sand at the edge of a reef, was not what I meant, I was referring to some fool in the middle of a sandy desert just waiting for nothing to show up...you know kinda like me :laughing3:

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    touche Steven, you must be one of those "more advanced" spearfishermen :D


    of course, you, in the sand at the edge of a reef, was not what I meant, I was referring to some fool in the middle of a sandy desert just waiting for nothing to show up. :laughing3:


    No, that would be me on deployment in the middle east, sitting in the sand waiting for nothing.:thumbsup2:

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