Starting the Journey
Posted By Steve Trulgia on 25 March 2002
In October I went to Cornwall, and spent two days freediving in terrible conditions. I practiced my constant weight work, and had a great time, in spite of the weather. Later that month I teamed up with my now training buddy Duncan Chappell, who is a very good and keen Freediver, and we went to a flooded quarry in North Wales called Dorothea to train. It's a dark, cold place with over 100 metres of depth. I took advice from a very good British Freediver called Alun, who has trained there a lot. Overshadowed by Mt. Snowdon, many are intimidated by its remoteness and foreboding nature. Duncan and I loved it from day one. We spent a week training in constant weight and free immersion (where you pull yourself down a fixed line, and back up with your arms). I learnt more about my body, and a lot from Duncan, who had already mastered the ability to be relaxed underwater. I watched the ease with which he moved through the water, and I knew that I needed to be as relaxed underwater as Duncan if I was to progress.
From years of practicing various sports to a high standard, I know how my body and mind learns new skills. There is a pattern that works. Once you've learnt it, usually the hard way, it can be applied to anything. The techniques may be different, but the learning curve, and your mental and physical approach is the same. Armed with this confidence I knew that the only way to get much better was to spend as much time as possible actually doing it. It's also important to learn from those with more experience, so I looked around and found records of bygone competitions and magazine articles. I looked at how quickly, and to what level people had progressed before seeking their advice. My search led to the great freedivers of France. One of the fathers of the modern sport of freediving as we know it is Claude Chapuis. Claude is revered by the French, and is one of the most experienced, and knowledgeable freedivers in the world. I contacted him and told him I wanted to train in no limits and he directed me to his friend, and AIDA world no limits champion Loic LeFerme. I asked Loic to teach me no limits, and after a lengthy discussion he agreed to let me come to France to train for two weeks in November.
It was a great privilege to be learning from one of the greatest freedivers in the world, and what a really nice guy. I spent two weeks in November training with Loic and his great team of freedivers. They made me feel very welcome, and taught me an amazing amount, about myself, as well as freediving. Loic is a very thoughtful and relaxed person and taught me a very different style of freediving. I saw the power of team dynamics and co-operation, and it was a breath of fresh air. Back in the UK I found little support from the more experienced freedivers. Some were particularly helpful, but sadly a few seemed frustrated by my enthusiasm. Some who had spent more time talking about apnea than actually doing it clearly didn't like the new kid on the block making big plans. This fuelled my determination even more.
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