Girls Go Deep
Posted By Francesca Koe on 28 December 2007
This past November I was lucky enough to attend Performance Freediving's inaugural “Women’s Only” freediving clinic in Kona, Hawaii. As the late summer months waned and my preparations and anticipation surged I began to wonder what it would be like. What would I learn? What would it feel like? As a pretty hard-core scuba professional I knew I was riddled with a few disadvantages coming into the course, which were namely 1) my own preconceptions, 2) an arsenal of bad habits formed around scuba gear choices and proclivities for teaching a different discipline, and 3) the overt, and perhaps, slightly dangerous, curiosity I had similar to that of a wobbly, undisciplined puppy. Hailing from the typically turbulent cold-water currents of northern California, I was very eager to immerse myself in the warm and welcoming waters of the Big Island. Relative to the conditions I normally teach scuba in, I knew I’d probably be comfortable in whatever Pele threw my way. What I would soon come to find out is that neither the water conditions nor the antics of a Polynesian goddess would be the biggest hurdle: that hurdle I would conveniently provide myself.
Julie Rife hits the plate.
On Saturday, November 10th, 2007 seven worthy women gathered at Jack’s Diving Locker in Kona, for the first-ever “Women’s Only” intermediate freediving course offered by the husband and wife team of Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack, founders of Performance Freediving (PFI) . As many of you already know Mandy-Rae is an accomplished athlete who has set myriad records herself, and currently holds the AIDA world record of 88 meters in constant ballast. And Kirk is no slouch either, having pioneered technical diving and instruction when it barely existed in the early 90’s, and more recently training & coaching the likes of freediving legends Brett LeMaster, Tanya Streeter and Martin Stepanek–all of whom achieved world records under the philosophies of PFI and the supportive guidance of Kirk. As an instrumental catalyst for 20 different freediving world records, PFI was inspired by Kirk & Mandy’s desire for good education and a reliable safety system. They have been thought-leaders and innovators in what is still an emerging sport. So, what I am essentially saying is that taking a PFI course and spending one-on-one time with Kirk and Mandy-Rae is the equivalent to playing 18 holes of golf with Tiger Woods. It is an amazing opportunity to learn from the absolute best and transform (or as in my case, create) your technique. Having access to such a personal level of freediving training by such talented instructors can be profoundly life changing, it is undeniably inspiring and most of all, while I can’t vouch for hanging with Tiger, with Mandy & Kirk it is totally fun. Despite their hectic schedules, their constant traveling and lecturing, their high profiles and awesome achievements, Kirk and Mandy remain down-to-earth and very accessible.
Mandy-Rae demonstrates the grouper call and negative pressure.
So back to that sunny Saturday morning and my stunning classmates. I say stunning because I was surrounded by an Olympic Swimmer and NCAA champion originally from South Africa (Liz), an unassuming, soft-spoken and very sweet sustenance spear-fisher woman from the Aleutian Islands (Susan), a vivacious underwater photographer/filmmaker from Canada (Braden), a dedicated young mom from So Cal, the doppelganger of a modern day Lana Turner (Kristen), a record-holding blue water huntress, who happens to manufacture RIFE spear guns for a living (Julie), and a yet another lovely Alaskan whose life’s work has been committed to families in need as a public service attorney (Laura). Spanning all age ranges and experience levels, it was a pleasant and perhaps uncommon byproduct of the PFI course that as a diverse group we bonded quickly and seamlessly. Friendships formed and encouragement was pervasive as we all went through personal successes and some shortcomings during this clinic; we shared meals and felt like a patchwork family for a few days.
Kirk enjoys the benefits of a ladies-only clinic.
Prior to arriving, we had all agreed that while it was a “women’s only” course, we would still welcome the male tutelage of Kirk as an instructor and the assistance of a few freediving friends that were guys as well. On our first day, Mandy and Kirk described how the course would be organized and how the upcoming days would unfold, and then started the presentation of freediving academics. They began by walking us through safety fundamentals such as how to be a good freediving buddy, why the buddy system in freediving and spear fishing is critical, tactical safety how-to’s such as “when to safety on the surface vs. going down to assist”. Then we became familiar with some of the mysterious acronyms and secret lingo in the sport; here’s just a sample:
BO = black out
LMC = loss of motor control, also known as “Samba” or as NEAR blackout
“One up One down” –waiting on the surface 30 seconds BEFORE the next person goes down.
“Sink Phase” –you are past your neutral buoyancy at depth – no need to kick
“Hook Breaths” –take a breath in and hold it for 3 seconds
“Pulmonary Dump” –the lungs open up and brain’s blood pressure drops
“the Rule of 9’s” for performance evaluations = how do I feel? what feels different? should I continue? Namely addressing the 9 ways to answer the above regarding these critical areas:
1-near blackout (02)
2-contractions (co2)
3-pressure contractions
4-narcosis (n2)
5-chest squeeze
6-tired/burning legs ( lactic)
7-equalization
8-equipment
9-technique
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