It's designed for anyone interested in freediving — no prior experience is needed. Over 4 days you'll build a solid foundation: from understanding how your body works underwater to making your first comfortable dives to 12–20 meters.
Who Is It For?
Anyone curious about freediving. You don't need to be an athlete or have any diving background. The official prerequisite is swimming 200 meters non-stop — but even if you're not there yet, that's not a reason to give up on freediving. Many people start diving before they become confident swimmers. We can work on basic swimming skills together so you feel comfortable in the water before the course begins.
What You'll Learn
Theory
We start with the fundamentals — how pressure affects your body, how breathing works, what happens physiologically during a breath-hold, and why safety protocols exist. You'll learn:
- Freediving disciplines and equipment types
- Basic freediving physiology and physics
- Proper pre-dive breathing and recovery breathing
- Safety rules and buddy system basics
Static and Dynamic Apnea
Static apnea (breath-hold at the surface) is practiced in shallow water before your depth sessions. Dynamic apnea (horizontal swimming underwater with fins) takes place in the pool. By the end, you'll be comfortable holding your breath for 1 minute 30 seconds and swimming 30 meters underwater with bi-fins.
You'll also learn how to safely rescue a freediver — both at the surface and during a pool dive. This is a critical skill that every certified freediver must have.
Depth Sessions
This is where the magic happens. Over 3 open water sessions you'll practice:
- Duck dive — how to efficiently start your descent from the surface
- Bi-fins technique (CWTB) — proper body position and finning for depth
- Free immersion (FIM) — pulling yourself down and up the dive line by hands
- Equalization — the fundamental skill of equalizing pressure in your ears
- Buddy safety — watching and safetying other divers from 6–10 meters
- Rescue — bringing a blacked-out freediver from depth to the surface
Course Structure: 4 Days
The course is spread over 4 days with the following structure:
- Day 1 (09:00–16:00): Theory + static apnea session + open water session
- Day 2 (10:00–16:00): Theory + dynamic apnea session in the pool
- Day 3 (10:00–14:00): Depth session in open water
- Day 4 (10:00–14:00): Final depth session. Optionally, this day can be organised as a trip to the Blue Hole
Between water sessions you'll also have dry training for breathwork and equalization, video analysis of your dives, and homework to reinforce what you've learned. We go at a pace that works for you — the goal is to build confidence and comfort, not to push limits.
What Do You Get?
After completing all requirements, you receive the Molchanovs Wave 1 certification. This is an internationally recognized credential that allows you to:
- Act as a qualified buddy for other certified freedivers
- Join coaching and training sessions at any freediving school worldwide
- Dive in deep pools
- Continue to the Wave 2 — Advanced Freediving course
How to Prepare
No special preparation is needed. A few tips that will help:
- Get a good night's sleep before each training day
- Don't eat heavy meals 2–3 hours before water sessions and avoid coffee
- Check breathing through each nostril before the session — if there's any difficulty, use a saline nasal spray to clear it
- Stay hydrated
All equipment (mask, fins, wetsuit, weight belt, safety lanyard) is provided during the course. You just need your swimsuit, a towel, and a water bottle — but even those are optional. Many people prefer to wear a wetsuit without a swimsuit, and water and spare towels are available on site.
Ready to Start?
Wave 1 is your gateway to the underwater world. If you've ever felt curious about what it's like to dive on a single breath — this course will give you the skills, knowledge, and confidence to do it safely and have fun doing it.