PFI course in Belize June 23-26

  • My son, myself and a few friends just completed the PFI Intermediate course. Kirk Krack came down and we did the course at Glovers Reef.
    I hadn't realized how dumb I was when it came to free diving. I mean, I'm a scuba instructor....I"m a badass....right? HAH !! heh heh.
    And even though we did ok in the course, reaching 100 feet and doing 5 minute static breath hold, I came away feeling like a little kid just learning to walk. Or, just getting an open water scuba cert. You kind of know how to dive but there is so much to learn.
    Kirk can fricken' DIVE. Unreal. There were between 4 and 6 divers in the water (two guys had to drop out) and Kirk did every one of our training dives with us. Don't give that guy a speargun.....he'll clean out your favorite deep holes. haha.
    My son Jake was my partner and when we were doing the static breath holds on the second day I reached 5 minutes. Naturally Jake had to beat his old man and at about 4 min 30 sec, we could see him having spasms in his diaphragm. At 5 min he signaled OK and a 5 min 8 sec, he popped up, took two breaths and blacked out, just like in the training videos we saw. That, to me, made the whole course worth while. That was why I wanted to take it with my crazed, testosterone loaded 22 year old son. We saw first hand that it CAN and WILL happen.
    I came up from my 5 min static and felt pretty woozy. I could hear Kirk saying, "breath....see how is lips are a bit blue?....now look,.....turning pink". Now knowing how to see it and handle it in the water....invaluable.


    The course is directed at the pure performance free diving and as spear fisher people we probably will bend the rules a bit weight wise based on target fish etc, But I know I am a much better buddy now. My son and I are pushing into this as we go on and the course was a real eye opener. If you're serious about free diving, take the course. I've read this same statement from just about everyone that's taken it....but it's worth saying again. Thanks to Kirk and PFI.

  • Great post! Im new to freediving and I am currently looking for a course. If you have anymore info or recommendations from your trip I would greatly appreciate them. Thanks and Great Job to you both...


    Respectfully,


    Dave

  • nice write up! If I had known there was a course, I might have taken it just for an excuse to go to Belize :D Kirk is one of the best deep safties in the world. He pulled his wife, Mandy up from a very deep blackout on a record attempt and saved her life.
    The safety info presented is invaluable. I have had to grab several people who had blacked out . Good to know what to do and what to watch out for.

  • Great post, Hank. I'm definitely a PFI advocate, although I've never had the opportunity to train with Kirk and Mandy, which I'm looking forward to.

  • Okay, now I'm a little more than intimidated. FII is sending an instructer up to Wisconsin in July, so I'm taking that course. Yeah, I might be able to pull off 5 minutes of breathhold, if you add up 5 attempts. I might be over my head as far as breathhold goes, at least I'll learn some techniques and safety stuff.

  • Take the course, use their techniques which lead to black out and black out. And that's a good thing because now you know what you shouldn't do. Well, I haven't been doing it anyways so I'm fine. That's what I get out of every similar description of people having gone through this PFI or FII experience. I must be the dumbest ~`~`~`~` that's ever held a speargun because I don't see the point of giving my money to people who simply don't do what I like to do, in order to learn how I should do it better. But if that's what you need to get it through your head that if you stop breathing long enough you'll pass out, so be it. Just my :twocents:

  • You might be right about that Dan, if you don't push your limits, you won't black out. I just need better breathhold techniques that I'm not finding around here and I need to find my limit, especially when most of my diving will be alone. I figure if I can find my limit, and cut that in half or less, I should be good to go. I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks whether it was worth it or not. No aspirations right now to go past Class 1.

  • oh that was not directed at you, I was just speaking out. And It's not the first time, most here know where I stand on this. But it's good to say it again so someone who doesn't know be aware of the other side of the coin, and I'm glad you get my idea. Nowadays a freediving course under one's belt is like bling for a beginning spearfisher. The best guys I know never took a course and I'd trust them to do the right thing. You don't acquire deep diving sense over a weekend, it happens over years of experience. What I see people acquiring consistently from these courses is the idea that they can go deeper than they really should. Fortunately self preservation kicks in when they're in real conditions.

  • oh that was not directed at you, I was just speaking out. And It's not the first time, most here know where I stand on this. But it's good to say it again so someone who doesn't know be aware of the other side of the coin, and I'm glad you get my idea. Nowadays a freediving course under one's belt is like bling for a beginning spearfisher. The best guys I know never took a course and I'd trust them to do the right thing. You don't acquire deep diving sense over a weekend, it happens over years of experience. What I see people acquiring consistently from these courses is the idea that they can go deeper than they really should. Thankfully preservation sense kicks in when they're in real conditions.


    The same could be said for not taking a cave diving course, Dan. I mean, the best old time cave divers never did.
    And I certainly haven't come away thinking that I can now go deeper than I did last week. I DO know that I have tools to possibly extend my normal hunting depth bottom time by 15 to 20 seconds if I continue to work at it. But that will take months or a year or more.
    I think PFI or FII can fast track a lot of divers past the mistakes that many will make. They know the state of the art now as far as physiology and physics. Twenty years ago no one thought a man could dive beyond....50 meters I believe. They physiologists have to clear their throat and make up a new number pretty often as new records are broken.
    But again, the best thing that most spearfishermen, or future spearfishermen will get from the class is the safety aspect and how to be a good buddy. Too many want to just charge down and get the big fish. That's good and fun, but it also makes this the most dangerous sport there is. Too many of us die.

    Edited 2 times, last by hank ().

  • When I see posts about freediving courses the emphasis is usually on depth and static breathhold. Waste of time IMO as it's not applicable to real diving conditions. Going down a rope in ideal conditions when you know a professional is watching your every move is far removed from the conditions we face when spearfishing.


    The other beneficial information often mentioned is safety. But how much instruction time is really necessary to understand some basic safety issues. Watch your buddy if that's what you agreed on doing, don't hyperventilate. Can someone for once list the safety points covered by the course?


  • The other beneficial information often mentioned is safety. But how much instruction time is really necessary to understand some basic safety issues. Watch your buddy if that's what you agreed on doing, don't hyperventilate. Can someone for once list the safety points covered by the course?


    No, because you'll find another argument as to why it's a waste of time.
    Can you list any reason for taking a scuba course beyond telling someone to never hold their breath, and go up slowly? I'm sure you can.
    Can you list any reasons that someone should get driving instruction before taking off in a car? I mean, there's the gas pedal and there's the brake. What else does one need to know. We never had this license BS back in the old days when cars were first invented. I'm sure you can.
    Come on Dan. Any knowledge gained in this is good. If you feel that it's over priced or whatever it is that bugs you about it, fine. But don't downplay the whole course as if there is nothing anyone can learn.

  • I'm not speaking for Hank, but I don't think he started this thread to argue the merits of the course. He clearly had a good experience, and wanted to share some of it, not the least of which is that he now feels that he will be a better buddy, especially when diving with his son. By disparaging PFI/FII directly in this thread, it might seem that you're belittling an experience that Hank had with his son, that they came away feeling good about. If you say you're not disparaging, let's call it "aggressively questioning the value of..." This would be akin to "pissing in his cheerios." Just my humble opinion.

  • Why does no one ever want to post about those safety issues? Just that the course was great. I guess I'll never know what those safety issues are.


    Some day when my freezer is restocked I'll get some training from Mermaid Girl. I remember being very pissed off when I could not get air in French Poly with out a card and had to get citified in 80.


    I see a time when I will not be allowed on freedive photo trips over seas without a card from from a accepted freedive agency... the writing is on the wall.


    I have had life saving training and it has helped me save lives. Looking forward to taking a Freediving course to possibility save myself, not looking to dive any deeper then what I chose to hunt or shoot film at.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Great post, Hank. I'm definitely a PFI advocate

    Well you're an advocate and I'm not, at least until I see something coming out of it rather blackouts, or some of that safety knowledge outlined. You must be aware that this is open for discussion right? The thread is in the diving section not the "I had a wonderful experience that I want to share" section.

  • Well you're an advocate and I'm not, at least until I see something coming out of it rather blackouts, or some of that safety knowledge outlined. You must be aware that this is open for discussion right? The thread is in the diving section not the "I had a wonderful experience that I want to share" section.


    Take the course Dan. Maybe you'll surprise yourself. Most times, in any skill or profession, when someone thinks they know it all already, they're going to get their butt handed to them soon.
    Have you ever blacked out? Have you seen someone black out? Do you know the rescue procedure for a blackout? Maybe you can say yes to all of the above. Others cannot.
    Do you know the recommended surface intervals for various depth dives in order to safely recover?
    Where do blackouts actually happen. Under water? On the surface? What are the signs if your buddy is about to black out?
    OK, maybe you know all these answers. I didn't. It helped me a lot. It helped my son. He is incredibly stoked right now and can't wait to get back in the water and try out all we learned about breathing up, relaxing and steamlining for more efficient dives.
    Maybe you know all that too. Great. Many divers don't.
    And Don is correct. Someday on charters, a cert for free diving may be required.

    Edited 3 times, last by hank ().

  • I have had life saving training and it has helped me save lives. Looking forward to taking a Freediving course to possibility save myself, not looking to dive any deeper then what I chose to hunt or shoot film at.


    Cheers, Don


    That's exactly why I took the course too, Don.

  • That's exactly why I took the course too, Don.


    I wonder if me and my bro can get a two'fer on the course? ...... I just would re-black out if I came to with
    Dan trying to give me mouth to mouth.:@:@:D;)


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

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