Dealing with Diving Demons in Constant Weight

You know a seminar’s going to be interesting when it begins by asking the participants whether or not any of them ever hear voices! Mark’s seminar sought to address the negative thoughts that can sabotage your dives; he called them “Diving Demons”. Diving demons can take many forms and are quite personal; mine are a voice in my head telling me to turn and give up on the dive, or a feeling of “I don’t like this, I don’t feel good”, which creeps in half-way through a dive. Someone recently described a dive to me in which they said their “mind was in ‘let's get the hell out of here NOW you idiot’ mode”.

The thing that all diving demons have in common is that they are manifestations of an internal dialogue. One of the more tongue-in-cheek comparisons Mark made, obviously playing to the two ladies in the room, was the debate you have with yourself when you’re about to spend a substantial share of your week’s wages on a pair of shoes!

I’m pretty sure my own diving demons are the only thing stopping me from making better progress in constant weight. It’s not my breath-hold that’s the problem, nor even my scrappy monofin technique. It’s simply that I’m *whispers* scared.

The negative thoughts always occur in the first part of the dive, during the time that I’m expending energy counteracting the positive buoyancy. Sometimes I can dismiss them and relax, but occasionally they’ll follow me all the way down to the plate, or make me turn before it. The strange thing is that as soon as I’ve taken the first few kicks toward the surface, all my negative thoughts vanish and I feel like I could have stayed down there forever! I’ve tried several things which have helped to some extent:
1. static hangs at gradually increasing depths; and
2. turning at the plate and then coming up very slowly, hand over hand.

Mark encouraged us to be receptive to any negative thoughts during warm-up dives. More often than not, these thoughts tend to be a bit diffuse but sometimes it is possible to identify a concrete anxiety or fear. In both cases, Mark suggested that it is helpful to try to counteract the negative thoughts with positive thoughts: for example, by recalling positive experiences and by reasoning that the depth is achievable, that your training has prepared you thoroughly and that you have great support. Resolving the internal dialogue during warm-up dives allows you to approach the “final” dive with a clear head and positive mindset.

He also mentioned that listening to your inner voice may also help you to identify situations where you’re attempting something beyond your limits, for example a 40m dive when you’ve only ever done 25m.

Mark then turned to visualisation of constant weight dives, which can be used as another method of dealing with diving demons. He shared with us his own constant weight dive, breaking it down step-by-step. I picked up a few things that would be useful for me to try, for example, setting alarms to know when to switch into the glide phase and how to make more efficient turns. Mark encouraged us to do a deconstruction of our own constant weight dive, numbering each stage. He advised that we then use visualisation to memorise it. We can draw on the memorised dive to prepare for a good performance in our actual dives since it can contribute to improving our confidence, helping to control anxiety and making the dive seem as though it is one that we have already successfully completed.

He noted that we can also use visualisation during the dive itself by focusing on the next step to be taken, even if that step is to “let go and relax”. Using visualisation during constant weight dives can have the following benefits:
1. You’re less likely to make a mistake during the dive;
2. You’re less likely to have a problem with surface protocol;
3. If your mind is occupied with visualising the next stage of the dive, there is less room for the Diving Demon to distract you!

As always, Mark emphasised that what works for one person may not work for another. He also asked us to try these techniques out during practice, rather than taking them straight to a competition! He then opened the floor to questions. My question for Mark was: “Which part of the dive do you find most stressful?” He finds the time two minutes before the dive most stressful, when there is a lot of activity around him, he can feel the tension in the atmosphere and he is being ushered toward the line. He said that when it gets to one minute before the dive, you have to mentally commit to the dive and it gets less stressful from that moment on.

I asked one of the experienced freedivers for his take on the seminar and he said that he found it really interesting to listen to Mark’s point of view. He observed that freediving is often seen as a “dark art” sport, where you have to learn something that makes you super-human. He felt that we don’t share the simplicity of the sport enough and that talking about it helps.

I have to say, I now feel ready to get back in the water and slay those diving demons Buffy-The-Vampire-Slayer-style. Bring on freediving at Salfree this weekend!

After the lecture we had a great pool session. It was particularly nice to have Harry, who lives in Birmingham, come and play! His DNF is pretty amazing. Congratulations go out to Tom, who made a personal best of 30m CWT last weekend, during possibly the rainiest weekend of freediving ever seen! For those of you who don’t remember or aren’t regular readers, Harry and Tom were on my AIDA** and are now my regular diving buddies.

Lastly, I thought I’d post my spirometry results. I haven’t had time to make much sense of them yet, but maybe someone out there can shed some light on them.

Saltfree Weekender or 'I'd rather be freediving".

NB: the slideshow at the bottom of this post doesn't work properly unless you click on the post title and view the post on its own, as opposed to viewing the whole blog.

I'm supposed to be freediving at London Freedivers right now. I had a lovely static session planned but was struck down by the dreaded lurgy and am in bed. Symptoms are blocked sinuses, fuzzy ears, sniffles and sore throat, so it's not going to kill me. However, I'm diving at Saltfree this weekend and thought it would be best to take some painkillers, pop some echinacea pills and down several pints of water containing effervescent vitamin C tablets. A bit like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted but what can you do?

It's not all bad news though - I had a brilliant dynamic session at Crystal Freedivers last night at which I completely surpised myself with a 100m dynamic. Crystal Freedivers train at the the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, which has a very spacious 50m pool. It's great to be able to get into a rhythym doing dynamic without worrying about turning so often. My turns need a lot of improvement, they look somewhat like an underwater car crash at the moment. The regulars are all very friendly and there is a real mix of experience levels from GB team members to newbies like myself. Tim's always on hand with hints and tips and has devised loads of fun dynamic exercises which make the hour fly by! I particularly liked the one which involved a 20m dynamic, doing a 10 second static and then 30m dynamic, which kind of simulates the phases of a CWT dive. Georgina (George) was also training and kindly let me borrow her super-speedy monofin to do a few 50m sprints - it felt like flying!

It turns out that one of the trainers at the swimming pool is a professional fin-swimmer who couldn't help but cast a critical eye over my shoddy monofin technique.
"Tsk", he says, as I surface. "Grace, your elbows are out here" [makes silly 'walk like an Egyptian' pose].
"Here, sit on the side of the pool...put your arms up". I comply, desperately trying to hide my reseblance to a seal as I use my limited upper-body strength to haul myself out of the pool.
"THERE" he grunts, yanking my elbows together. I emit a suppressed squeak.
"The arms", he explains, "must be like this, otherwise you are ruining your hydrodynamic profile". He demonstrates, contorting himself in a frankly disturbing manner.

I took his card and am still pondering whether I should man the f*** up and attend a few of his classes to sort out my technique.


Lastly, I should mention that the weekend before last Harry, Tom and I headed to NDAC for more freediving with Saltfree. Deepest Dave, Tim and Gary were hte experienced freedivers in attendance, and they looked after us really well, sharing their hints and tips. It did mean that I was the only girl though, and there was a fair amount of testosterone flying around, although mostly in the form of chat about peeing in your wetsuit. Come on Saltfree ladies, get down here!

Harry took some fantastic photos of the weekend and he's given me permission to use them. Here they are! Look out for the dirty gnomes...

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Pool Training and the Haenyeo

There's been loads going on over the past couple of weeks pool training-wise; I've tried to provide a short update here. I've also been working on a freediving escapade to South Korea to visit the Hanyeo...more details toward the end of the post...

I'm really enjoying static and recently made a personal best of 4 minutes! I've been observing the sensations that occur during statics, which seem to be quite individual to each person. Mark, for example, doesn't get contractions. He says that it's not necessarily an advantage but I'm still really envious! This is how it feels for me at the moment although there are obviously variations depending on how hard I've been training, how tired I am, whether I've had a crap day at work etc...

• During the breathe-up: At the start of the breathe-up I often feel nervous. I try and let go of any expectations about the times I "should" be making. Initially I try to simply observe what my breath is doing naturally, before gradually deepening the breath and extending the exhales, keeping a relaxed rate of about 6 breaths per minute. It's much easier to relax with my eyes closed and I can hear my heartbeat slowing down during the extended exhalations. During the last breath I feel my heartrate pick up. On a good day I'll feel as though I'm just about to fall asleep...
• 0' -1'50 Usually relaxed and happy. Sometimes singing to myself. Sometimes imagining that I'm floating in a warm ocean at night, far from land, underneath a bright canopy of stars and a full moon creating what looks like a slick of quicksilver on the waves . I duckdive and find myself in the middle of a pod of whales, all calling to each other. I felt a bit embarassed about this until I started asking other freedivers what they thought about during static. There have been some interesting answers, which have convinced me that I'm well within the realms of "normal"!
• 1'50-2'10 Really could do without this part. Tightness in the throat and chest, and horrible feeling of suffocation. I know the contractions are coming and tense up anticipating them.
• 2'10 Contractions start. They're almost a relief after the feeling of suffocation. How they feel is really variable. Sometimes they start like a flutter in the diaphragm and build in strength and frequency. If I've been particularly tense waiting for them to start the first one can feel like a kick in the chest. Scan my body from head to toe, identifying areas of tension and trying to release them, which can help to reduce intensity and frequency of contractions. I'm not comfortable, but on a good day I can "accept" the contractions and they pass through me like waves.
• 2'50 Contractions have increased in intensity and frequency and I start to count them. I count down from 100 but have got nowhere near 0. Counting down rather than up helps psychologically.
• 3'30 Open my eyes, watch the light playing on the tiles at the bottom of the pool. Stretch out my whole body a couple of times. Put my hands out to the side of the pool and grip it hard. Put my feet down. Listen to the encouraging words of my buddy for motivation.
• 4' Breathe!

I'd like to find a way to become more comfortable during the early stages of the contractions - if you have any suggestions, let me know! During my second static session I had some strange feelings toward the end of my last breath-hold. I felt euphoric and a bit shaky and wasn't as focussed as I usually am during the last 30 seconds so I came up early. I'm hoping it was just because I'd been a bit slack doing my CO2 tables that week since I was bedridden and vomiting for two days!

I found this video really interesting. I expected that people who had really long static times would start their contractions later but it turns out that his contractions start only slightly after mine do!




I'm making some progress with dynamic too. The distance has increased a little bit in each of the three dynamic sessions I've done and I'm starting to get used to my monofin. I've been marveling at the beautiful dynamic of Elizabeth Kristoffersen, she's so elegant and effortless. I still don't have any real idea of what constitutes the correct monofin technique, but I no longer feel "off-balance" and I can find a rhythym. Mark G kindly buddied me during my first dynamic session and gave me some tips, and Gary and Tim helped me to sort out my weighting and encouraged me to play around with speed!

I thought that the best way to get an idea of what I was doing wrong was to take a short video. Here it is - don't laugh! Constructive criticism appreciated.




In other news, I've been getting excited about a Royal Geographical Society grant called 'Journey of a Lifetime'. It provides £4000 funding to allow you to travel anywhere in the world and create a radio programme about your journey. When I first posted this blog, a friend working in South Korea told me about the "Haenyeo" or "Jamnyeo" of Jeju island and since then I've been fascinated by them.

The Haenyeo are 'sea women' or 'diving women'; spirited female freedivers who have a long history on the volcanic island. They freedive for octopus, sea-urchins, seaweed and shellfish, making many dives each day and spending minutes at depths up to 20m. Once shunned for their dangerous and difficult work, the Haenyeo have been romanticised by the tourist industry and named "the mermaids of Jeju island".

However, their numbers are rapidly declining; from as many as 30,000 in 1950 to only 5,650 in 2003, of which 85% were over 50 years old. The young women of the island want the urban lifestyle of their peers in Seoul rather than the tough physical challenges of the life of a Haenyeo. The rapidly expanding manufacturing and tourist industry poses challenges for protection of Jeju's unique underwater environment. It is likely that the Haenyeo will soon disappear. Who thinks that I should look into applying for the grant to visit the Haenyeo?

Thank you to Amamarf and Leonard Symeonides for your donations - I don't have your email addresses but I wanted to show my appreciation - hopefully you'll read this post!