I founded Kona Freedivers in 2016 to support the local freediving community with gear and courses. Until then there just weren't any other options for quality freediving gear on the Big Island of Hawaii. Fast forward to 2020. We are in the middle of a pandemic lockdown. People are able to go to the ocean but are not allowed to travel easily, and many of us don't have work since tourism is completely shut down. This has resulted in a large number of people who otherwise were too busy to freedive or spearfish now getting into the sport.
I was talking to a scuba diver from Big Island and in response to hearing that I was a freediving instructor she said "I thought freediving was something your family just taught you". And that is the case for many here. With the increasing number of people getting in the water that have had no formal training we are now beginning to see an increase in the number of water related deaths. Many of these deaths have been from young teens who learned to freedive informally. This is unfortunate because these tradgedies are preventable.
In our level 1 freediving course we teach the fundamentals of freediving including safety. The safety alone is worth the price of admission but combined with all of the information on how to be efficient and effective underwater we do our best to create good habits.
Kona Freedivers also offers freediving and spearfishing gear. Soon we also hope to offer spearfishing courses. These courses are designed to make the student a safer, more efficient diver. With our focus turned on the freediving community it is now time to focus on the spearfishing community which is in dire need of the fundamentals cemented in freediving though years of training and refinement of practice.
Spearfishing is freediving but with the added complication of having a gun in your hand with all of the extra gear and skills necessary to harvest fish from the ocean. Because of this added complication you are now taking on the risk of a freediver and then adding to that risk with the distraction of spearfishing.
In the courses we teach safety and this is where most informally trained freedivers and spearfishermen have no clue on how to behave. The number one thing we teach in the course is to be near your buddy. This is a rare occurance in spearfishing with divers often heading off in diferent directions. It's called the 'same ocean' mentality where the divers are diving together in the same ocean. If you're not near your buddy there is no way you can properly safety them when and if they do experience an issue. Spearfishing, much like freediving is a team sport and it requires both divers to work together as a team. This way you can both harvest more food more safely and more efficiently.
It is our hope to do the same with spearfishing as we have done with freediving where we are serving the community by providing quality spearfishing gear and equipment as well as education to help train better, safer spearos.
Spear fishing Gear Videos
Kona Freedivers is now producing regular video content on our YouTube channel featuring the spearfishing gear and equipment you will need for spearfishing Kona. We highlight the products that we think are exceptional and will make your experience a better one.
There are many options out there for spearfishing gear. We do our best to carry the products that are the best bang for your hard earned dollar. Spearfishing Kona is very specific and it requires specific gear. We only carry the gear we would use and recommend to others. This is important because we want you to have the best experience in your spearfishing journey. It's important to us that you are happy with your expeirence here at Kona Freedivers.
We will highlight specific gear and even give some tutorials or how-to's to help you along on your spearfishing journey. So stay tuned and subscribe to our channel to keep up to date with the latest in spearfishing Kona.
Spearfishing Courses
Kona Freedivers will offer spearfishing courses. In our courses we will cover all aspects of spearfishing Kona. Focusing on safety, handling, stalking, and prey selection our spearfishing course is designed to get you comfortable spearfishing in Kona. We will also be-able to offer specialty courses focuaing on different styles of hunting and different prey types. Spearfishing Kona requires tons of knowledge of how to dive, where to dive, and how to handle yourself in the water with different fish. Our courses are designed to help you to become a profiecient and self-reliant hunter. This means more food on the table and mom won't have to worry about you while you're out catching dinner.
Eat what you catch
There is a movement in Hawaii to live off the aina or land. This is important because it's a fundamental ideal of self-sustainablility that was practiced by the Hawaiians who learned to use what was available to them. In freediving we teach you how to be sustainable in your freediving practice. Freediving is about using the reasources available to you most effectively and efficiently. It is a pure practice that the Hawaiian's can appreciate. By taking a course with Kona Freedivers we will get you diving sustanably. This means you can dive for the rest of your life and do it safely. You could simply go to foodland and pick up some fresh fish or go spearfishing. but when you visit foodland you're not risking your life. Don't risk your life for dinner. Learn how to be a safe diver instead.
Kona Freedivers is here for you and I would love to get to know you. If I can help you it's our pleasure to be there for you. Looking forward to seeing you in the shop and talking story about your spearfishing journey.
About the Author
Byron Kay is a freediving instructor and the founder of Kona Freedivers and owner of Kona Honu Divers as well as Kona Snorkel Trips. They stand out as Hawaii's top rated and most reviewed businesses among their peers having a perfect 5 star rating on google. To learn more about Byron and his latest goings on visit his bio page.