In this news blog post ('manifesto', maybe) I will confirm what some of you might know already, which is that I have relocated the One Breath Freediving school from Malta to Dahab on a permanent basis. Simultaneously I am making a conscious shift of the education & business model of OBF to primarily focus on high quality, small group, customised and personalised teaching methods, which aligns perfectly with my beliefs for how freediving education should be. Since I became a freediving instructor back in 2012 the sport has grown immensely, and though still somewhat niche and alternative, t ..read more

AIDA is excited to announce a brand-new safety training program developed jointly with Vertical Blue! ​ AIDA Competition Safety Freediver by Vertical Blue Professional Safety Freediver® is the most comprehensive safety program available, comprising over 30 years of high level competition experience. The goal of this program is to standardise safety protocols for all AIDA competitions and set an example for freediving safety worldwide.  The AIDA Competition Safety Freediver course will allow prospective safety diving students to specialise in both pool and depth competition ..read more

Freediving is very much a sport of acceptance. It is not a sport you can 'just try harder' or 'push stronger' to force a desired result. This is why it can be such a sport of contrasts with frustrations all along the way before you ultimately achieve that new personal best or new record dive. However, this can make it all the more rewarding once the sea allows you in and you stop overthinking the dive and dive with pure acceptance and surrender to the water. By David Watson, Owner, Founder & Head Instructor / AIDA Instructor Trainer at One Breath Freediving  ..read more

I wanted to address the topic of instructor choice as it has been mentioned in passing to me more than once, and it surprisingly seems to be of little consideration for many a potential student! Often the prospective student spends the time on choosing the freediving agency or the price of the course is a factor, but not really looking at the person that will teach them. I covered this topic to a degree in the Blog post regarding 'Teaching Philosophy as an instructor'. This was more taken from the instructors perspective. But the student should also remember, this is fully in t ..read more

The Damselfish (Chromis chromis) is the most abundant fish in the Mediterranean sea and so often gets overlooked as it is just so common around us while we dive. But believe it or not this grey adult fish (left image) starts out its life as a bright, you could say 'neon', blue, when they are babies and juveniles (right image)! Adults are 5-10cm long and have the distinctive forked tail and school around the rocky reef or sea grass from the shallows to depths of up to 30m. A really remarkable fish (see the fascinating youtube video below). Here in Malta the babies hatch in early to mid J ..read more

Sopras Apnea have released a new freediving masked named 'Aperta'. I recently took it into the water to test it out on a freediving session and here are my initial conclusions: Looks: A very cool looking mask with a good balance between 'angular' shapes and curves (some recent masks are very harsh in their looks). The chevrons in the silicone above the nose bridge is a nice little visual touch. From the side the profile is very low volume and minimalist with a quite pointed nose pocket. In The Water: It has a small and light feel to it in the hands, and on the face it feels soft and comforta ..read more

This is one of the main questions that I get asked by potential freediving students. Before taking your first ever freediving course it is difficult to imagine exactly what to expect from it, however, by preparing a little bit before the course, it can really make a difference on how successful you will be with it and how much you will enjoy freediving and the whole course experience. So here are the 5 best ways to prepare for your AIDA2 Freediver course (and can also be applicable to AIDA1 Introduction to Freediving too): 1). Learn to Swim / Practice Swimming: This is the biggest ..read more

In this blog post I wanted to introduce you to the One Breath Freediving philosophy and also to look more specifically of why it is important as a teacher (instructor) to also have a teaching philosophy. Those of you that have freedived with myself will know already that I have my own beliefs on how freediving should be experienced, especially when it is introduced to beginners. A teaching philosophy is common among professional educators, especially in a classroom setting but of course there is no reason it cannon't be successfully transferred to what we do in and out of the water in freediv ..read more

Having prior knowledge of potentially life saving first aid education is one aspect of being a freediving instructor that I often take for granted. To maintain an annual AIDA instructor status it is necessary to also maintain certification in First Aid & CPR. Additionally for me, beyond that, I enjoy teaching and sharing this vital information with others, and so became a First Aid & CPR instructor, firstly with the PADI owned Emergency First Response (EFR), and once AIDA developed it's own freediving specific Emergency Medical Responder course, teaching AIDA FEMR. So here are my top ..read more

In this blog post I wanted to discuss some of the marine life of Malta & Gozo. The Mediterranean Sea can have a reputation for lacking marine life, and while not completely wrong, as a positive, it can  encourage building an even greater appreciation of the smaller life and other details that can otherwise get overlooked in a crowded, tropical sea. Malta & Gozo are especially known for superb sea water visibility, with 30m of clear water common, as well as some really fascinating smaller marine life that can be very fun to observe while freediving. Freediving is an under app ..read more