How Learning to Freedive Can Help Surfers
June 23, 2023
Many ocean lovers engage in more than one water sport to get the most out of their time in the water. Surfers enjoy the waves, whereas freedivers enjoy the calm. Learning to do both allows you to get in the water every day, no matter the conditions. But learning to freedive as a surfer can actually benefit you in other ways. It can help give you more confidence about being under the water, and give you vital skills that can keep you safe in a surfing emergency. Read on to find out more about how learning to freedive can benefit surfers.
If you do not know much about freediving, here is a quick overview of what it is all about. Freediving is an activity that involves holding your breath in the water. It can be done in many ways, from holding your breath on the surface to see how long you can go for, diving lengths underwater in a pool to see how far you can go, or diving down in the water to see how deep you can go. Some freedivers compete in competitions and like to train to get deeper or achieve a longer breath-hold time. But it is not all about maximum record attempts, freediving is most commonly used as a way to explore the reef and spend time with marine life. This does not have to involve diving extremely deep or for a very long time, freediving can be used however you want, and can be enjoyed by pretty much everyone. Some people even learn to freedive as a way to conquer their fear of deep water, or to ease anxiety or stress, as it allows you to concentrate on what you are doing and shut off distracting thoughts and worries, you can simply be in the water and focus on only that for an hour or so. It can be an escape from reality.
Because breath-holds are a key part of freediving, there are techniques that you learn in a freediving course that allow you to hold your breath for longer, and in a safe way. These techniques involve meditation and breathwork. Most people are surprised at how long of a breath-hold they can achieve even after just a Try Freediving program, which is carried out in only one day.
The key to freediving is relaxation. If you can become as relaxed as possible before a breath-hold, and stay relaxed during it, you can hold your breath much longer than an average person who has never taken a freediving course. The Freediving Level 1 program will teach you everything you need to know as a beginner to allow you to calm your mind and reach a higher level of relaxation. In turn, this will give you longer breath-holds for freediving. The course also teaches you about interesting freediving physiology, and essential safety procedures to keep yourself and others safe in the water. Do not attempt to freedive alone, or without proper training.
Freediving for surfers
So how can learning to freedive benefit surfers? It is not uncommon in surfing for surfers to fall off a big wave and be pulled under the water in the swell. Depending on the size of the waves, surfers can be underwater for minutes at a time before reappearing on the surface. If a surfer panics, it is very easy to blackout in this situation, which can have fatal consequences.
What is a blackout? A blackout is when you lose consciousness after your body becomes starved of oxygen for too long. On dry land this is not such a big deal, but an underwater or even a surface blackout can lead to drowning if noone is around to help. When performing breath-holds, most people will feel the urge to breathe and begin to panic, they feel like they might blackout at this point. However, this urge to breathe is usually from a buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2), not from a lack of oxygen (O2). We are actually capable of holding our breaths for longer and still be ok. However, it is important to practice breath-holds with a trained buddy or instructor, so that you can become comfortable with the feelings and learn your limits over time. It is never a good idea to push to your absolute maximum limits in freediving, especially in the water. You must train and add a little bit of time or depth at a time in order to remain safe. There are training tables that can be practiced in freediving courses that allow you to train your tolerance to CO2 and push back the urge to breathe. This can be very helpful in achieving longer breath-holds.
If surfers take a freediving course, they will not only learn how to rescue another surfer should they ever need to, but they will learn how to relax for a longer breath-hold, and how to stay calm if they get pulled under the water. Staying calm can extend the time that a blackout might occur and give the surfer time to make it to the surface safely. Again, this is an emergency scenario only, and no diver or surfer should push their breath-hold limits in the water, especially if they are alone.
To conclude, learning to freedive can give surfers confidence, knowledge, and skills in order to stay safe while surfing. Some freediving schools/instructors even offer ‘surf survival’ classes, tailored specifically for surfers. Ask at your local SSI dive school for more information.
Happy freediving, surfers!