Eleftheri Katadisi

The book is a complete guide, a manual for the 1st Level of freediving technique. The writer uses his thirty years of experience as an instructor and designer of freediving courses, but most of all, the 15 years during which he has certified more than 1.000 free divers in the 3 levels of diver training, and describes a step by step method for reaching the first 10 meters in freediving. The chapters of the book literally follow the new freediver through the series of steps he must take, from dressing up and entering the water, to his surface swimming and the adaptation of his senses inside the water, as well as all the buoyancy adjustments he will have to make at the surface and before each dive. The book presents the freedive as a nicely structured, logical chain of skills that are explained and presented through a large number of impressive underwater photos of actual diver training. Even the possible mistakes in performing the dive skills are analyzed and explained. The descent to the seabed covers the greater part of the book, and everything is presented in a step by step movement or skill, while the reader quickly finds himself participating in the dive and trying to make the right moves Every step is explained in detail; for example, the methods of equalizing the ears and the different techniques in order to learn how to equalize and avoid a blocked ear. The ascent phase of the freedive is described in similar detail and presented through many actual training photos. The book covers the use of the buddy system in freediving, presenting the methods used for providing safety and communicating underwater. The methods of planning a freedive are analyzed in detail, both for the diver and for the buddy monitoring the dive. The organization of a day's series of freedives is also presented, as a diver will have to learn how to create a daily plan of his different dives. The dangerous incidents in freediving are considered problems that block or delay the ascent, while rescue techniques and safety measures are also described. Dangerous situations, that every freediver should know how to avoid and how to handle as a rescuer, are covered in detail in the final chapter. As the writer says: "A book cannot of course replace training or an entire dive learning program. Today, however, our era might offer great training programs and excellent instructors, but no remarkable books - comprehensive technique guides. So the mission of this book is to accompany the new freediver into the sea and to help him, step by step, in building an excellent technique and achieving new goals in freediving, like his best trainer and dive buddy