Nothing wrong with some shrinkage.

Jazzbox: the fact that you say you read "a" recent study, is not really strong enough evidence to argue it. I think logic and some more reading of the majority of research you may change your opinion.

Tangers, what you gotta understand is that I can already dive 10m+ and most of the guys here also. I consider them to be my 'comrades in arms'
even though I don't know them. Many of them have been spearing for much longer then me, have cought dozens times more fish and you are
better off listening to them rather then me.

I have a particular interest in freediving, unlike most of them, that is why there is a little bit of 'chatter conflict' but if you read it the moderators, older
more experienced blokes (from what I know) have had their say too.

Try to read all the posts and make friends with the 'seasoned' people on this forum. They are mostly friendly and will share advice if you approach them right.

Ok Rambo?

(all of that is tounge in cheek, being friendly)

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Kurt,

the water does not care where the main arteries are and will draw heat from any contact point. Yes, there is more
heat travelling through some parts of the body than others if your temperature is dropping but what would you rather
wear? A hood and shorts or a vest in the water? (refering here to the fact that the two biggest exposed arteries are in your
thighs and neck)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/ ... nbehaviour

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did you not watch the samba video jazz? the blokes doing it train for years,are super fit,try to do all the right things yet still end up dieing. and id be betting the bloke in that clip would have been breathing a special oxigen mix before doing that dive.As for wanting to dive 20m,you dont need to in vic so why try and find your limit? 20m dives will come in time just keep diving,the more diving you do the sooner you will be diving 20m. keep safe

Well said Muzza the samba video is a real eye opener and a must to watch. When Trent first looked into spearfishing and looked on the net all he talked about was depth.When he joined the the club and listened and learned and realised he looks at diving with respect and knows his boundaries. I think what most people are wary of is how influenced juniors can be from there peers. And to say that everyone can dive 40m after a 5 day course can leave the wrong impression.I hope you achieve your goal and have a great trip but depth isn't everything.

well said Paul - depth isnt everything ; it`s the length of xxxx that is the importance

xxxx = dive or something like that ( I`ve had quite a a few reds after bowls ) .

End of tag - let`s know how you get on in Th Jazzy




cheers , gs

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I get coastline fever .

Too busy falling to write "Thud" at the end ey' gs!

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Like a farken underwater ninja!

The fish were blinded by overexposure to his pure awesomeness!

Mullet (and other gents too),

Please read the stream carefully and consider the information. I have always been primarily interested in freediving, not spearfishing. Spearfishing came along afterward, and I
am glad it did. It has been my aim for around two years to attend a freediving school and I have selected the best, and best value school I could find. The video
you mention features Erez Beatus, whom, if you are not aware runs a freediving school in Australia. He offers progressive courses, culminating in a third level, or level C which
requires a capability to dive to 30 meters. This is relatively "intermediate" depth for freedivers, as opposed to spearfishers.

I encourage you read up (or perhaps freshen up?) more on freediving as its own discipline, rather than viewing it in terms of spearfishing. You will find that this involves varied and more elaborate considerations, skills and, therefore, results.

Naturally there are inherent dangers in any sport but the freediving discipline is well established and is safe if conducted appropriately and under the appropriate supervision/support.

I am not pursuing the challenge in a "hardcore" way as I have full respect for my own limits and am not a thrill seeker. Nor do I have the desire to push myself beyond what is comfortable for my level of athleticism. As without breathups I am currently pushing 4 minutes (without more than average discomfort and no sings of entering a samba, let alone a blackout - this is a good indication that I am not overdoing it), and am increasing the amount of specific training, I anticipate that I will reach a normal depth of 20-30 meters and hope to exceed that if my progress is good.

What residual skills my experience will leave for my spearfishing practice would be very welcome, but my aim is not to shoot fish 30 meters underwater. I do however want to do what the first post
states: to skin dive without fins and weights to a reasonable depth and shoot a fish with an 8foot spear made and designed by me. I would probably try to do this somewhere warm and after establishing a realistic confidence in my abilities.

Cheers, thanks for posting. I really appreciate it. Its been really good to think this stuff over properly again.

The matter of leaving the wrong impression on juniors is of a real concern for me and I am more savvy about it especially after this post. Thankfully people do speak out as a "check".

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This is what I think can be a little bit dangerous mate, if you did need to get to the surface in a hurry you aint gonna b able to do so very quickly?
Adding a spearfishing 'element' to Pure free diving I think adds another distraction, and un-necessary risk ( i think ) I guess you can always drop your spear and catch if shit hit's the fan, but it may be already to late. Have you thought that maybe carrying a spear will affect your freediving technique and perhaps change your mental state a bit (you will be in hunting mode)
Not having a go or anything these are just things that I think one should be very careful about...

On a side note: there is a an old vhs tape we have of pacific pearl divers, who basically do what your wanting to do. Watching them, i think they are the most talented free divers and spearfishes in the world, hitting huge depths spearing ridiculous small fish from quite impressive ranges, wearing nothing but hand made goggles! It's totally awesome but I guess that's what happens when you have to fish for a living!

All the best.

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Due to rising costs and dumb questions;
Answers will now be $1.00
Answers with thought $2.00
Correct answers $4.00
Dumb looks are still free

Tvolke,

The issue you raise is valid and this would naturally reflect on the decision of how deep I would go free with a spear. It would be
much more shallow, I envisage perhaps around the 20 meter mark would be the absolute limit, but again I don't want to speak too soon.
I can dive to @10m without fins at the moment quite comfortably.

My current thinking is to use a belt and attatch the spear onto this with a large carribean, this would enable a proper stroke. But this remains
to be tested. There is also the possibility of modifying the stroke (which I have tried but have not perfected) by pointing the spear during
the arm extension and then making it more horizontal and using it to draw myself down. It is very effective on the surface.

I would really love to see the video you mention any chance of putting it up?

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"o o o ooo o oo o o o 0000o0o 0 oo000 OOo O0O o 0o0 o0o0O"

Dived to 31 meters. Had a bit of a mental block for 35. There is a "thermoclime"? (I think thats what it is called) here and it freaked me out. It also got very dark at about 27 meters and I experienced my organs moving etc. Eusabio, the trainer, thought that I could do 35 if I felt I could ... I was too er... um afraid. For most people that will be the limit of the course (but you know, being on a tropical island you have a few and dont do your night and morning excercises etc. etc.) After that you practice the depth for a while and then add 2 meters, mainly this would be
to practice equalisation from the mouth, which you need to do as you just can't budge your lungs from the pressure!
From then on there is increasingly more dramatic pressure on the body and organs.

It felt absolutely magic to drift from 25 meters to 30. Its a shame there are not more people who are into the diving part for diving sake on its own.

Also did 20 meters static weight no fins. Felt amazing.

Freediving and spearfishing are completely unrelated sports/disciplines.

-This was done under expert supervision and professional tuition over 5 days, 3-4 hours tuition and 2 hours training per day.

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i dont see how you find it fun, swimming down then back up for no reason.........

I just read this thread from start to finish, and wow...what a waste of time. To quote a popular fictitious character, Jazz "You are the Spalding Gray of crap."

Apologies if that is considered too personal, but what stupidity is this? If you are successful with what you're suggesting, shooting fish at extreme depths with minimal equipment. Who is going to be able to help you if there is a problem? You're asking for trouble.

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Breathing is cheating

Looks like Jazz's lifelong dream of diving 35m up his own asshole is possible now.

Rag on Jazz week is it? I am only moderately and appropriately sorry, but my tail is still up.

Free diving is a great discipline, its not just about depth. The techniques involved. ie. breathups, low resistance body positioning and the
quality and speed of the ascents and decent unencumbered make it rather thrillng experience: relaxation with an intense
feeling of well being. Nothing to do with hunting.

Tom you are a little shit. You're raggin on me for no reason at all. I am not worried about what people think of me as this never pays off in the
respects department in the long run. You are obviously wet behind the ears and need to still learn that. I don't attack you and PMed you in
as a sign of friendship and now this. Tedious.

Ash, if you think that its stupid thats fine with me. I think 15-20 meters would be the max depth I would go to. I think there is more of a chance
of something going wrong going down with loads of equipment. This approach is only suitable to smaller fish. If you can't appreciate it, well, I guess
you don't really look at spearfishing the same way as I do. There is no reason to bet all antsy though.

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"o o o ooo o oo o o o 0000o0o 0 oo000 OOo O0O o 0o0 o0o0O"