Freediving has become the latest craze in the underwater sports world. It seems like everyone is rushing to dump their tanks and learn how to hold their breath! With a rush of new potential students, freediving centres have opened up all over Thailand. So if you’re looking to learn – Where do you find beginner freediving courses in Thailand?
The islands in the Gulf of Thailand are great places to start if you’re looking to freedive. Koh Tao has been known as a scuba diving mecca for years, but most people don’t realize that it’s also now a freediving mecca. Many scuba diving shops on the island have opened freediving departments so they can offer customers two completely different underwater experiences.
Big Blue Diving is one of those scuba diving shops. We started Big Blue Freediving over 10 years ago before freediving was all the rage. Originally run by two internationally known freediving champions, our freediving section has been steadily growing for a decade. And now we’re one of the largest freediving centres in all of Thailand! We can teach all the freediving courses offered by SSI, and that includes beginner freediving courses.
So you want to become a freediver – Where do you start?
You have two course options if you want to try freediving for the first time; Basic Freediving or Level 1 Freediving.
Basic Freediving is a one-day course that gives you a taste of what freediving is all about. You’ll be taught the most common breathing techniques so that you can swim underwater comfortably and enjoy the ocean in its purest form. You’ll spend the morning with one of our freediving instructors learning about human physiology and how it reacts to being under pressure, breathing, relaxation techniques, and rescue techniques specific to freediving. Before lunch, you’ll practise all the techniques on land so that you can fully understand how freedivers prepare for dives, but without the added stresses of actually being in the ocean. After a light lunch, you’ll head out to the ocean to practice what you’ve learned in a real ocean environment. Your depth limit for you afternoon dives will be 12 metres.
Does 12 metres sound a bit shallow to you? Or maybe Basic Freediving sounds like it’s maybe too much of a beginner freediving course? Then Freediving Level 1 might be the course for you.
Freediving Level 1 is a two-day course and is a combination of academic sessions and freediving practice sessions. During the academic portions of the course, you’ll learn about common freediving equipment, human physiology with regards to freediving, freediving skills, and the freediving environment. During the dives, you’ll practice your breath-holding and relaxation techniques, actually swimming horizontally underwater while conserving your energy, and safety and rescue procedures. The course will teach you all the tricks and tips you need to be able to safely and comfortably dive to a maximum depth of 20 metres.
Our instructors are genuinely friendly and extremely calming (must be all that relaxation breathing), we have a dedicated training pool so you can safely practice new skills, and we have our own dedicated freediving boat so that you can go out and practice apnea diving without the pressure of hoards of scuba divers watching you. Big Blue Freediving should be your only stop for all of your freediving course needs, especially for those seeking beginner freediving courses.
Want more information on Big Blue Freediving and the courses we offer? Get in touch with us today and we’ll answer all of your questions – in one breath!
