What freediving course should I attend? What’s the difference between AIDA and Apnea Academy? Is one better than the other? If I choose one, shall I miss out on something from the other? If you ever asked yourself one of these questions then you are going to love our newest course!

 We are happy to present you the “Andaman Apnea Fusion” course! No more need to choose! By attending the Fusion course, you will get the best of both organizations in the same package, with certification of both AIDA and Apnea Academy in the end. But let’s start by presenting the two major freediving organizations in the word:

 AIDA was founded in 1999 by a group of passionate volunteers and has become the global authority for Competitive freediving. But aside that, AIDA has also become one of the leading freediving education systems around the World. It’s education is destined to satisfy everyone, from the absolute beginner to the high level competitor by approaching all aspects of freediving.

 Apnea Academy saw the light in 1995 when Umberto Pelizzari, multiple freediving world champion and world record holder, founded his own school. Following the footsteps of his teacher, the legendary Jacques Mayol, he created his Academy with a very personal yet very professional view: To create a teaching system based on a “gentle” approach of apnea diving. With perfect technique in mind and special attention to relaxation and of course a high awareness of breathing.

 Now, this article is not about AIDA vs Apnea Academy… especially if you keep in mind that both schools have the same goal in the end: to share the passion of freediving by teaching people in the most professional and safe way. But at Andaman Apnea, we believe that it’s a shame to having to choose! This is the reason we decided to create this special “Fusion” course witch, in our opinion, will be the most complete freediving education and training program possible. Another good reason to come freediving in Thailand, right?

No world record this time! Sometimes things don’t work out according to plans… And this time the plan for Martin Stepanek was to break three of the most prestigious world records in freediving: constant weight, free immersion and constant weight no fins. After lot’s of training and preparation, Martin was ready physically and mentally to accomplish this great challenge. Unfortunately, for this kind of extreme dives, tiny little details have sometimes big consequences… And that’s what happened on Martin’s first attempt!

After diving as “shallow” as -91m he had to turn because his right ear wouldn’t equalize any more. Not such a big deal in fact but, upon surfacing Martin suddenly suffered from severe vertigo, vomiting and unusual fatigue. His ear was still blocked and it took, what seemed for us spectators as an eternity, to release. All these symptoms disappeared rapidly after his ear cleared and things came back to normal. The medical check-up didn’t show any damage but nevertheless the doctor’s advice was: rest, rest and rest.

Psychologically this episode was probably more damaging for Martin than the equalization problem itself. So after consulting his doctor and the organizer of the event, he made the wise decision to cancel any further attempts. Knowing all the infrastructure and the cost that where involved: sponsors, organizers, media, , safety crew, AIDA judges etc… etc… making such a decision is really tough! This is why, after spending 10 days as judge, I must say I respect Martin even more. Because no matter what the issues were he had the wisdom (and the guts) to put health and safety before all!

Any way, now I’m back in Thailand again and I must say that I missed home very much… The Red Sea is a beautiful place to dive, no one will say the opposite… The weather is great! The visibility is perfect! The water temperature is nice! Depth is easy to find! And the marine life is stunning! Nevertheless, Im really happy to be back home. Phuket might not be “the” perfect place for freediving, but, boy did I miss everything aside. I’m really happy to enjoy the food… the people… the rain… the forest… the life in general again!

Spending time with Martin Stepanek and his crew was also really inspiring and gave me some nice ideas for our futur freediving training camps in Phuket. So watch out because Andaman Apnea is back on track for some serious freediving action!

In the mean time, enjoy some images from the inside of the XTB-Freediving World Record Challenge.

See you in the sea!