Kona Spearfishing Course

This Kona spearfishing course is one of the first of its kind in the world. Created by seasoned spearfishing experts Cameron Kirkonnell, and John Dornellas, in collaboration with 13x world champion freediver and founder of Fii, Martin Stepanek.

 

The purpose of the course is to deliver the knowledge and proven techniques of seasoned spearfishermen in a thorough and straightforward format. The concepts covered in this course are meant for seasoned spearfishermen and women as well as those new to the sport. Much like the level 1 freediving course there's something here for everyone to learn.

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Day 1 of the course covers all of the academic and practical knowledge. Day 2 is where the rubbers meet the water. Students can practice what they learned on day 1 to hone their skills and become more effective spearos. The course ends with a final exam. Hope you were paying attention!

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This Kona spearfishing course focuses on safety first as a basis for spearfishing Hawaii effectively. By following our safety practices you can be sure your prey makes it to the dinner table. A number of fatalities have occurred with seasoned and young spearos alike. Having an understanding of your limits and how to manage your diving and hunting can mean the difference between coming home with dinner or becoming a victim of the sea.

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In addition to safety, the spearfishing best practices are covered including gun handling and stalking. Game selection is just as important because choosing the right prey will lead to more successful and sustainable hunting.

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A course on spearfishing would not be complete without the inclusion of spearfishing equipment. It's important to have the proper setup for the locale you are hunting in. If you are hunting in cold murky water you will likely benefit from a much different setup than a warm, high visibility environment like Kona. This is where the particulars of how you set up your gear for safety and efficiency come into play. The type of prey you hunt can also have an impact on the type of equipment you use to hunt underwater.

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Once you have the right equipment and safety practices it's time to hone your hunting techniques. This is where the application of your classroom discussion is applied in the real underwater world.  The successful hunter puts themselves in the right place at the right time and uses body language to lure certain types of prey. It's important to know how to behave based on the different types of prey in the water. Hunting in lakes is going to be different than hunting in ocean caves or blue water.

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Spearfishing ethics are important because prey selection and spearfishing practices can have a positive or negative impact on our environment. Responsible prey selection means we will have game for the future to hunt. Kona spearfishing can be very challenging but there are still a limited number of fish in the sea. Often the largest fish are not the best to hunt for various reasons.

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Once you've landed your catch it's important to know how to deal with it. There's still a ways to go before it hits the dinner table. This is where it's important to handle your prey in the best and safest way. Injuries can occur even after the fish is in your grasp! Not only is it humane to know how to dispatch your prey effectively, it can save you the hassle of having to fight with predators for the prey you so diligently caught. If you want your family to appreciate your speafishing prowess it's important to prepare your catch properly for the dinner table. Spearing the fish is just the beginning!

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The spearfishing manual covers everything in the course and is a great reference after the course is over. It has a wealth of information that can serve as additional learning to supplement what was covered in the course.

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The practical part of the course will happen in the ocean with practice spearguns. These guns were developed specifically for this course and enable each participant to wield a speargun demonstrating handling and positioning to the certifying instructor.

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If you've been looking to up your spearfishing game there's no better way than taking a spearfishing course with Kona Freedivers. We love teaching freedivers how to be better at what they do. From diving deeper and more efficiently to improving safety and reducing the risk of danger we look forward to seeing you in the next spearfishing class.