Deep dive

I finally had a chance to dive into the deepest pool in Europe. At DeepSpot near Warsaw, you can dive up to 45m, which is way beyond my current freediving capabilities. So, I signed up for a Level 2 course, which allows me to dive as deep as 30m. The study lasted three days, during which I trained in the pool and learned the theory behind freediving. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of science behind it. It can take a lifetime to master the sport, and it often does. People worldwide are passionate about freediving and spend endless hours both practising and analysing what the human body is capable of, helping to understand how to reach the limit of depth and breath-hold time, which professional freedivers push further and further. The amount of knowledge involved and the variety of techniques is overwhelming at the beginning, and to make sense of it, first in theory, and then in practice, you must spend long hours studying and training. Equalisation techniques, using mammal reflux and avoiding lung squeeze, among others, help us reach and extend our limits. Once you get familiar and comfortable with the methods, you can enjoy freediving’s art and beauty more.

My progress reminded me of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I learned how to swim a long time ago. I don’t even remember a time when I couldn’t do it. Diving was natural for me, and I thought I could go deep. Ignoring the deep dives I sporadically saw in the media, I assumed I was good at it. I could go as deep as 5m, instinctively equalising. I lived in this pleasant bubble of imagined competency until I tried real freediving for the first time, and once I was exposed to the vast knowledge about the topic. I realised my equalisation sucks, and I started seeing my untrained body’s limits. I quickly reached the “Valley of Despair” and lost all the confidence I used to have. Now I’m slowly rebuilding it again, but this time I believe it’s based on the knowledge I’ve gained from specialists in the field.

It is impressive to see how seemingly simple things can be complicated. We often overlook the complexity in our daily lives because our limited minds cannot possibly comprehend that much information. That is a great way to simplify our lives, but I believe it’s also good to be aware of it. We are ignorant about most things and can be wrong in our opinions.

During the freediving course, I dove deep in the swimming pool but also into the depths of the field of knowledge, which is as hard as staying below the surface of the water.