Umberto Pelizzari, we all know as the freediving legend that made freediving into what it is now and who inspired us all with the IMAX movie Ocean Man, has build a great education system with tens of thousands of followers in Italy as well as a few hundred instructors. This was the first opportunity for people outside of Italy to join this family and become an Apnea Academy International Instructor. We could not let this opportunity pass by.

I had already been to 2 of Umberto’s freediving stages, last year with Peter and the year before with my girlfriend Patricia Ribas and admire his view of freediving. Not performance oriented as most freediving education systems, but focusing on the feeling, style and form with which you move in the aquatic environment. I also knew that I needed to get seriously in shape. The stages are generally set up in such a way, that the hope of getting any rest or sleep is idle and the idea that your muscles will survive the tough program in tact is useless.

So 3 months before the course I started to train hard with Peter and Pieter to get in top physical shape and to make sure our freediving style and form was as perfect as possible. Also the course prerequisites needed to be met. For the minima (4 minutes static, 75 meters dynamic and 30 meter constant weight with bi-fins) this was ok but all the exercises from Umberto’s book that looked simple at first glance where a different story. But in the end we managed to quickly master all the exercises to almost perfection and we where ready for the challenge.

We arrived 3 days before the course in Sharm and the all inclusive relatively cheap resort (Ventagglio club Sharm) was a pleasant surprise over the too expensive, horrible food and posh Domina Resort he normally uses for the stages and courses.We used those fist days to acclimatize and do some relaxed diving on the buoys and platform already in place and free along the reef.

We where also very lucky because Carlos Coste and Wiliam Trubridge where planning to do some world record attempts, we where able to whitness, which was a great warming up mentally.

The first day of the course we got an introduction to the program, which promised to be more grueling than the stages already are. Average 14 hours per day program of which 6-7 hours in the water and max 2 hours break during the whole day for eating, toileting etc. But it also promised we would get more than our moneys worth with lectures from psychologists, nutritionists, ENT specialists, yoga and pranayama breathing techniques specialists, communication specialists etc etc etc. For the in water parts Umberto Pelizzari, Carlos Coste and William Trubridge would be the main instructors, assisted by the crème de la crème of Umberto’s Apnea Academy instructors. This was almost too unbelievable to be true, but it turned out to be true!!!!

The second (and last) day all students where filmed to be dissected end scrutinized later in the evening and be able to recognize mistakes that should be fixed before the end of the week. This is a very helpful tool. A video is better then a 1000 helpful words from your instructor.

During the course it was sometimes difficult not to focus on improving on yourself but rather to improving and focusing on learning to become a good instructor. This was mainly because the people giving the course had so much knowledge to share with us freedivers grasping for more and more and more. But we where constantly steered in the right direction.
Later in the course we had to adopt roles of instructors ourselves in all kinds of situations including rescues from depth or dealing with students in panic etc. I myself had the unfortunate pleasure of trying to get Carlos Coste, who imitated a panicking freediver under water, into the right mode and trust me that was not easy. Afterwards analyzing why the student got these problems and what I as an instructor have to do to help him. Other instructors where simulating small mistakes in technique or style, which we had to recognize and tell to the student how he could fix this mistake.
We also got to use daily the variable weight and no-limits sled, first as student, then as instructors, which makes a hell of a difference.

Very cool and interesting where the lessons about yoga breathing techniques and relaxation techniques (both out and in water). For education skills also the lessons about verbal and non-verbal communication (followed by an exam in the form of presentations by all students) where very interesting and for some people very much needed.

During the lessons about equalization techniques we where shown rare footage of the inside of our head during the moment of equalization, where you could exactly see which mussels and tissues are involved in this intricate and for freedivers most important mechanism.

The last days of the course where filled next to the daily in water work of course, with monofin technique, children education, blackout/samba and lung squeeze prevention etc.

At the moment of truth we where very delighted that Pieter, Peter, Notis and myself had passed the course with flying colors and could call ourselves Apnea Academy International Instructors. Unfortunately there where some people that did not pass the course requirements, but this only proved the high standards that Umberto tries to maintain.