Beginner Freediver Course

Discover comfort and confidence underwater by learning how to unlock your natural freediving capabilities.

*To avoid 6% non-refundable booking fee, please book directly by calling the shop

Overview

Since 2018 our team has taught over 1500 students. Throughout this time we have made constant improvements and developments, which have lead us to highlight the following items among many others:

• Focus on comfort, rather than certification
• Our singular goal is to have each student progress through the class in a way that they are comfortable and confident. There is no pressure to complete a bunch of requirements in one weekend…you have a full year to do this, so throughout the class we just want you to absorb.
• We run weekly depth sessions at La Jolla shores on Sunday mornings. This is the perfect opportunity to complete your requirements (if needed) and take your newly developed skills and get more comfortable with them. With your class, you will receive a free code to one of these sessions.
• Personalized development
• Maximum instructor to student ratio of 1:4. This allows us to cater the class to each student, no matter what level. We will provide the next step for you to work on, while the student next to you might have a completely different step to focus on. 
• Top tier instructors
• The instructor is what matters, not the certifying agency! 
• We look for instructors who can tune into what the student needs, and who can make the class fun and informative without sacrificing safety and comfort. Just check our Google Reviews to see how we do ;)
• Structured approach
• There are many new sensations felt at pressure and depth, and knowing what to expect/how to react will help keep you calm and comfortable in that moment. The knowledge from the classroom, and the experience of holding your breath in the pool (both lying still and swimming for distance) will introduce you to those new sensations in a safe and secure environment before we take it to the open water.
• More than just a class...also a community
• Classes don’t make you a better freediver as much as they give you the tools to progress safely and effectively. While you will see gains throughout your class, freedivers truly develop through consistent training and interaction with community. We couldn't be more proud of the incredible group of humans we have managed to attract, from our crew to our regulars to the brand new students. 
• At the end of our Sunday open water session we have a cookout where you will be able to mingle with the people in our community who have gone through the class before you, many of whom are looking for dive buddies! This is an awesome way to get introduced to our active and welcoming community.
• Safety
• We have had a huge number of people who have spearfished for years before taking the class...and at the end of the course they ALL say “I can’t believe I didn’t kill myself”. This class won’t force you to change the way you do everything, but it will open your eyes to what can go wrong, how to avoid it, and how to handle a situation if it does happen to occur.

One of the biggest challenges to overcome in freediving is mastering your equalization. By signing up for a Molchanov's program you will gain access to their frenzel fundamentals course that has a 90% success rate with teaching students how to equalize before even showing up to class! 

Freediving classes taught by most major agencies are very similar. We used to teach for FII and PADI, and have personal experience with PFI, SSI, and AIDA courses. Currently we certify through Molchanovs. 

Are there any pre-requisites? 

How do I know if I'm ready? The most important aspect of freediving is relaxation, and while we will teach multiple relaxation techniques and ways to be more efficient, it is essential to already feel comfortable and have some experience in the water. The pre-requisite for the course is a 200m non stop swim in the pool, and we highly recommend some experience with snorkeling (having your mask down in the water and breathing through the snorkel as well as being able to clear the snorkel), surfing, or any other type of swimming activity. If you don't yet feel comfortable and relaxed in the open water, our Discover Freediving Course will go over the same theory and pool sessions as the Beginner course, and you can come back and complete the open water sessions when you're ready.

We also highly recommend checking out our friends at Deep End Fitness - DEF runs underwater CrossFit style workouts multiple times per week, and we have found that those who join a few of their classes before going through a Freedive Course have a much higher success rate.  This is not a requirement, but they are cheap and easy to access so we highly encourage you to check them out before / while starting your freediving journey!

What are the requirements? 

Like we said, our biggest thing is helping you develop in a comfortable manner so don’t sweat the requirements! But in order to get a Molchanovs certification you will need a static breath hold of 1:30 and a depth dive of 12m or 40’ (both free immersion and constant weight…aka pulling down the line and kicking down like a normal dive). The PADI requirements are 10m or 33' of depth. 

Molchanovs Wave 1 Freediver Certification Requirements

Weekend Schedule

Friday
🕔 5:00 – 7:00 PM
📍 Just Get Wet Headquarters – 4901 Morena Blvd Ste 309, San Diego
Classroom Session

Saturday
🕡 6:45 AM – 10:00 AM
📍 The Plunge, Mission Beach
Pool Session

🕚 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Mission Bay
Open Water 1

Sunday
🕗 7:00 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 La Jolla Shores
Open Water 2

🕗 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
📍 Just Get Wet Headquarters, Debrief & Gear Return

Weekday Schedule 

Tuesday
🕔 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM
📍 Just Get Wet Headquarters – 4901 Morena Blvd Ste 309, San Diego
Classroom Session

🕡 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 The Plunge, Mission Beach
Pool Session

🕚 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
📍 Mission Bay
Open Water 1

Wednesday
🕗 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 La Jolla Shores
Open Water 2

🕗 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
📍 Just Get Wet Headquarters, Debrief & Gear Return

Equipment

A 5mm 2 piece freediving wetsuit is required, along with fins, mask, snorkel, and a weight belt with ~12lbs of weight. Booties and gloves recommended. Please reach out if rental gear is needed. 

We recommend a 3mm surf suit or something similar for the pool portion of the class. With just a swimsuit you will get cold, and with the 5mm dive suits you will need 16-20lbs of weight.  We have some 3mm suits laying around that we might be able to set you up with, we can’t guarantee they will fit but leave us a note if you need one.