AIDA 4

About this course

4-Day Master Course

AIDA Level 4, also known as Assistant Instructor level, is the most advanced non-professional freediving certification.

This course covers the techniques, knowledge, and safety procedures for deep freediving that go beyond the recreational levels. Three new techniques are introduced:

• FRC diving — short for functional residual capacity. Instead of filling your lungs, you dive on a relaxed, partly empty breath. It makes your body behave at 15m the way it normally would much deeper, so you can practise deep-diving sensations safely and shallow.
• Mouth-fill equalization — holding a reserve of air in your mouth so you can keep equalizing at depths where your chest is too compressed to push more air up. This is the technique that makes 30m-plus dives possible.
• Packing and reverse packing — packing is using your mouth and throat to add a little extra air to already-full lungs; reverse packing is drawing air back out. On this course both are practised dry and kept within your vital capacity, meaning the normal range your lungs already hold, rather than pushed past it.

Skills are developed across static apnea, dynamic apnea, constant weight, free immersion, and variable weight — descending with the help of extra ballast and coming back up under your own power. You will also learn how warm-ups, stretching, training plans, and nutrition can support your diving, including specific stretching for the breathing muscles.

An important set of skills concerns managing open-water equipment: using appropriate knots and braiding techniques, setting the depth on the dive line, constructing a safe bottom weight from a weight belt and lead weights, and safely handling additional equipment such as the bottom plate, torches, and lanyards.

One of the purposes of this course is to prepare successful candidates for the role of Assistant Instructor. That role includes leading appropriate warm-up sessions for confined- and open-water freediving and supervising students of all course levels during their confined- or open-water sessions.

What's included in this course

• Knowledge development (study the theory at home at your own pace) plus practical theory lessons in person
• Pool sessions: static and dynamic apnea
• Open-water training at depths appropriate to the student, up to a maximum course depth of 38m / 125 ft. The AIDA 4 certification depth requirement is 32m.
• FRC diving, mouth-fill equalization, and packing
• Constant Weight, Free Immersion, and Variable Weight training
• Open-water equipment management: line setup, bottom weight, knots, and braiding
• Advanced rescue procedures and safety supervision
• Warm-ups, stretching, training plans, and nutrition to support your diving

Before you book

• Price: $650 per person.
• Daily schedule: 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM, all four days.
• Class size: maximum 4 students.
• Equipment provided: fins, mask, snorkel and a weight belt.
• Wetsuit: not provided and highly recommended. You can rent one from any scuba shop in Waikiki — arrange it before the morning of your course, not on the day.
• If you do not finish every requirement: booking a course does not guarantee certification. If something is still outstanding at the end, I will tell you exactly what remains and what to practise, and you have one year to complete it. If certification is your goal we stay in touch and keep working on it.

What to bring

Bring the following on each day:

• Wetsuit
• Reef-safe sunscreen
• Water
• Towel or yoga mat
• Change of clothes
• Notepad
• Slippers or sandals

Prerequisites

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have completed the AIDA 3 course, or an AIDA 3 crossover evaluation — a short assessment for divers who certified with another organization, to confirm your skills match the AIDA level before you continue
• Have completed a course in First Aid with CPR within the last two years
• Be able to speak and read English

Back to the AIDA 3 advanced freediving course · Next step: the AIDA Instructor Course · Compare all Oahu freediving courses · Prerequisites and FAQ · How Mitch teaches and approaches safety · Work on a single skill: private training