“I never learned how to swim. My mother always said I was born with ocean water in my veins. From life guarding in the summers to thirteen years on swimming and diving teams, as well as having been a certified scuba diver for fourteen years, water is my second home. Therefore when I signed up for my first free diving class, it seemed like this was going to be a no brainer. I would just need to train to hold my breathe longer. While the theory and safety aspects of the class were easy to pick up, there was one fundamental skill required in order to be a free diver that completely eluded me. The Frenzel Technique of clearing your ears. All the other divers were able to pick it up so easily. It seems my years of experience actually put me at a disadvantage. Evidently my body had naturally found a way to equalize in the past and I had been using it habitually for 38 years. I found out it was inadequate at depths greater than 15-20ft, and it would be a really hard habit to break. I couldn’t believe that I would fail to reach a 33ft dive, which honestly didn’t seem that big of a deal, before I couldn’t equalize my ears.
There is a happy ending to this story. I completed the class by doing the basics. But the real work started afterwards. I was not left to my own devices, however. I continued to practice but Ted was also there to help as much as possible. Via phone and Skype and with the help of several written exercises he gave me, I was finally able to master the Frenzel. It took about 3 weeks of daily practice. The key was attacking the problem from a all angles. If one thing didn’t work, we tried another. It was almost like occupational therapy for your throat and ears. And it worked. 3 months later, Ted coached me through my personal best, a dive to 80ft.
Before meeting Ted, I had taken one other freediving course. It was overcrowded and the instructors didn’t seem to have enough time to coach those having difficulties. It turned out that I learned very little from that course. Ted’s courses are smaller, more organized and simply more informative. Not only do I feel that I have a good base for continuing my training in freediving. But more importantly, I feel that I could safely handle most freediving emergencies with confidence.
That is why I think Ted offers the best freediving course available. Having tried others first; I can say that this course is the one you want to take. Hands down, the best and worth every penny.”
Heather Stone