In a Short Time the World Has Changed and Some Things for the Better
Emily, the shop owner, said; the country went into lockdown, there were no tourists on the island, and we needed something to keep the academy alive and buzzing.
Luckily for us, Vincent had experience in running webinars and online courses from his business consulting time, and we were quite keen on looking at the different options. At about the same time Molchanovs introduced as the first and only freediving agency the brand-new ‘T Certification’, and now it was also possible to really certify the students for their online course.
We now have an online event calendar filled with webinars, events and online freediving courses to teach people freediving online. We invested heavily in new cameras, lighting and classroom setup, and it all came together pretty quick.
We are now quite excited about the new normal, and for sure we’ll continue with the online teaching after COVID-19, so our students are well prepared when coming to Panglao.
Accepting the New Normal! Because the ‘New Normal’ turns out to be Pretty Cool!
We’ve started mid-August 2020 with the first webinars, and right from the start, it was a big hit – even though there were still some technical difficulties. Shortly after we ran our first T1 course – which is the new Theory Course from Molchanovs – we knew it for sure!
We are Going to Embrace Online Teaching and Make it Fun and Exciting!
We separated the online events into two categories; the Paid For and Free online events. The free online events are the webinars as listed below for the beginner freediver all-the-way up to master and instructor. We also started hosting free live interviews and Q & A’s with top-level athletes and other exciting industry leaders via different live events. We’ll announce all the exact dates in our iMagazine. The Paid For events are the real freediving courses – it is now really possible to learn freediving online! You can now earn yourself the T certification, which is an official certification derived from the Molchanovs Wave 1, 2 3 and 4 courses.
Please note, we are inviting all people who’ve signed up for a Zero-to-Hero freediving program or internship to join the online courses. When we certify you as a T Freediver, you get access to the free dry training programs on the Molchanovs Community website – this will be excellent preparation to get you strong and ready for your visit to Panglao.
You Can Now Learn to Freedive Online!
Everyone can Join the Freedive Academy Webinars and Events for Free!
With the current calendar, we run at least one free webinar per week. This means we’ll run the frenzel workshop at least twice a month and the webinar about developing your training plan and the webinar about nutrition and supplements for freediving both at least once a month. We’ll have to see how this schedule holds up since we also try to include additional free events like the Q & A’s and we need to schedule it all in together with the Molchanovs T Courses and the Molchanvos Remote Instructor Courses. We’ll announce the exact dates and times in our iMagazine and on Facebook and Instagram.
Online Workshop: Learn How to Equalise via the Frenzel Methode
There are different ways of equalising, but by far the most important is the Frenzel technique – the Frenzel Fattah technique. Frenzel equalisation is the holy-grail of equalisation – not mouthfill equalisation which is nothing more than an advanced Frenzel. Although not mandatory for pass the Level 1 course, during the Level 1 you will learn why this way of equalisation is so important and a ‘must-do’ for all freedivers regardless of their level.
During this free workshop, we’ll teach you how to create awareness of the different muscle and body parts involved in Frenzel equalisation. We’ll teach you how to control the muscles involved and how to strengthen them, so you never have to worry about equalisation again.
At the end of this workshop, you’ll receive a handout with the description of all the needed exercises to do dry or in the pool – you learn equalisation not in the ocean but in front of the mirror and in the pool.
- Cost: FREE
- Audience: Beginner and Advanced
- Length: ~90minutes
- Developed by: Freedive Academy
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom, Michal Plawski or Edwin Castillon
- Participants: 10 to 100
Next Live Workshop: No new dates are set yet. Please subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
Online Workshop: How to Start with Dry Training for Freediving!
You got half an hour to spare, no access to a pool or the ocean but you want to train to hold your breath a little bit longer – then proper dry training for freedivers is a great way and offers lots of possibilities.
We highly highly recommend all beginner to intermediate freedivers to do dry training at least 2 or 3 times a week since it will result in a great foundation for your future freediving, but how do you start with dry training?
In about an hour we teach you what you can train, which benefit it has for freedivers, and how to get started in dry training.
Your instructor will explain the different methods, which methods are best suited for your needs and how to do the exercises. We’ll show you different training schedules and how to progress smartly and effectively.
- Cost: FREE
- Audience: Beginner and Advanced
- Length: 60 to 90minutes
- Developed by: Freedive Academy
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom, Michal Plawski or Edwin Castillon
- Participants: 10 to 100
Next Live Workshop: No new dates are set yet. Please subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
Online Workshop: Training Planning and Scheduling
Master freedivers don’t just go out to do some fun dives. They think about what they need. They will look at their timelines, plan and schedule their training and do training sessions with a purpose, with a goal and don’t just ‘see what happens’ when they head out for the ocean or pool. Vincent will teach the audience why and when to do certain dives, how to approach long-term and short-term scheduling, what to do when you don’t have access to the ocean, what kind of warm-ups you might need, and much much more.
Vincent shares stories about his own training and teaches you to train smart and effective, how not to overtrain and how to get the most out of your training while keeping it fun. In about 1, 5 to 2 hours, we’ll discuss different goals, time plans and schedule the training accordingly. The free workshop/webinar ‘Training Planning and Scheduling’ is suited for all freedivers with a Level 2 or Master Level freediving experience.
- Cost: FREE
- Audience: Level 2 and higher
- Length: ~120minutes
- Developed by: Freedive Academy
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom
- Participants: 10 to 100
Next Live Workshop: No new dates are set yet. Please subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
Online Workshop: Nutrition and Supplements for Freediving
The ‘Nutrition and Supplements’ workshop was a workshop we’d plan to run for the Masters training with us in Panglao but is now available online. Overtraining in freediving happens a lot since we freedivers ask a lot from our body and mind while diving deep. Getting essential vitamins and minerals via supplementation is not only a great way to get the most out of ourselves but also a great way to recover quicker from your dive sessions.
Vincent loves biohacking and getting the max out of his body and mind, and during this workshop, Vincent shares the supplements he personally takes during training periods and offseason. He explains why he takes them, why he takes a specific brand and what way or time to take the supplements.
This workshop will help you to take your training and life to a higher level!
- Cost: FREE
- Audience: Master
- Length: ~90minutes
- Developed by: Freedive Academy
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom
- Participants: 10 to 300
Get Notifications of our Online Events via our iMagazine
Every week we’ll be running different live online events. These online events can be Molchanvos Theory courses, free webinars, interviews and Q & A’s with top-level freedivers or industry leaders.
Once a week or sometimes bi-weekly we’ll send out our Freedive Academy iMagazine with all the latest news about what’s happening in Panglao. In the iMagazine, we’ll also publish all the latest updates regarding the live events and interviews that we’re organising.
Also, please let us know if there are any topics – or guests you would like to see during the live events!
Begin or Continue Your Recreational Courses by Starting Online!
Besides the Regular Open Water and Pool Certifications, Molchanovs Developed the Theory Certification
It is quite extraordinary what the Molchanovs corporation is doing. From all the different freediving agencies, they are the first and only agency to offer free training programs in-between the different freediving courses. Then they are the first to take freediving to the level far deeper than what is considered recreational freediving with their Molchanovs Wave 4 course – a 10-day program going seriously deeper than any freediving agency takes their students. Then Molchanovs also developed their pool courses unlike any other agency ever did. SSI, PADI, Raid freediving, they all have only one pool level, but Molchanovs developed four different pool courses called the Lap 1, 2, 3 and 4.
And because of COVID-19, Molchanovs is changing the industry even further by launching as first freedive agency the T Certification. The T or Theory certification is the Theory of each Molchanovs course.
What you need to know about the different Molchanovs T Courses!
- The T courses are courses run online, and they can be hosted via video call or Zoom, Whatsapp, Facebook video or Skype. We do prefer to use our paid Zoom subscription for hosting the webinars and courses.
- The T1 is all the theory and dry exercises of the Wave 1 beginner freediving course. The T2 comes from the Wave 2, T3 of the Wave 3 and of course then the T4 of the Wave 4 course.
- When you complete the T certification of a particular course, you can complete the pool parts with any active Molchanvs Lap Instructor. The same applies to ocean sessions. You can complete the ocean (and then of course also the pool) sessions with any active Molchanovs Wave Instructor to become a certified Wave freediver. When you receive the T certificate, you don’t need to redo the theory part and can you only focus on the in-water training.
- Each T course exist out of multiple sessions and an exam. For example, the T1 course is two 3 hour sessions followed by the online exam which you would normally get with you Wave 1 course too. After attending the two sessions and successfully passing the multiple-choice exam, your instructor will certify you and will you receive the official Molchanovs certification via email.
- After the T1 course, you will get access to the 100% free dry training programs of Molchanovs. The Molchanovs dry training programs are programs available via the Molchanovs community site where World Champions and National Record holders like Alexey Molchanovs, Goran Colak, Adam Stern, Vitomir Maricic and Thibault Guignes teach the skills and exercises via entertaining videos and webinars.
The Freedive Academy and Molchanovs T Courses
Important information to know for our guests and customers.
- We have courses scheduled already which you can join, but just like the regular freediving courses here in the Philippines with the online freediving courses, we can be quite flexible. This means we can run them at the weekend. We can run a T2 course, for example on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday or we can run them three consecutive weeks on a Monday or Tuesday night.
- We invite all the customers who booked a Zero to Hero freediving program, a freediving internship or those who booked a combo freediving course or freediving package to join the T1 course for free. The students won’t pay anything extra for this, but will greatly benefit from the free dry training programs and thus is well prepared for their visit to Panglao.
- A side note for Molchanovs Instructors; if you are not yet certified to teach online courses but are interested in doing so, please feel free to contact us so we can run a one-session workshop to get you certified.
Beginner Certification: Molchanovs Theory 1 Course
In two 3-hour online sessions, your instructor will introduce you to the world of freediving. In these two days, you will get a proper understanding of the physiology involved with freediving – why we can dive as deep as we do. We’ll teach you how freedivers breathe. We’ll teach you different relaxation techniques, and we’ll teach you how to safely freedive. Other topics we cover are equalisation, gear and much, much more. The T1 course is a lot of fun and packed with lot’s of useful and necessary information to prepare you for pool and ocean freediving.
- Cost: $145
- Duration: Two sessions, ~3 hour each
- Prerequisites: Be at least 18 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and be able to swim 200m without fins and without any buoyancy devices.
- Developed by: Molchanovs
- Participants: max. 8
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom, Michal Plawski, Ben Yavar, Igor Klimovitsky or Edwin Castillon
Contact us: for scheduling, questions about the course or program please contact us.
Advanced Certification: Molchanovs Theory 2 Course
In two days, your instructor will deepen your knowledge of freediving and will take you to the advanced level in freediving. This means we’ll be discussing things like physiological depth adaptation, your freediving potential, pressure and Henry’s Law, decompression illnesses, the dangers of freediving, the injuries and how to safely freedive. The Molchanovs Wave 2 or T2 course is an advanced freediving course preparing you for greater depths, and longer breath holds.
- Cost: $165
- Duration: Two sessions, ~3 hour each
- Prerequisites: Completed the Wave 1 course or an equivalent level from another agency
- Developed by: Molchanovs
- Participants: max. 8
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom, Michal Plawski, Ben Yavar, Igor Klimovitsky or Edwin Castillon
Contact us: for scheduling, questions about the course or program please contact us.
Master Certification: Molchanovs Theory 3 Course
The Molchanovs Wave 3 freediving course is a Master level freediving course where we teach students to dive to depths considered deeper than recreational. By taking the Molchanovs T3 course, you will learn advanced equalisations skills to theoretically take you to any depth you want. After the course, you will know more about warms ups, (half-empty) lung diving, and we’ll teach you how to organise and plan your training but also how to coach others. And of course, just like with any other course we’ll discuss topics like the dangers of depth diving and how to avoid risk and possible injuries. Your instructor will take you on a three-day journey to the depths of the ocean by sharing stories, telling about his experience and sharing anecdotes from industry leaders. The Molchanovs Wave 3 course is serious freediving, but also serious fun.
- Cost: $245
- Duration: Three sessions, ~3 hour each
- Prerequisites: Completed the Wave 2 course or an equivalent level from another agency
- Developed by: Molchanovs
- Participants: max. 8
- Instructor: Vincent Sparreboom
Contact us: for scheduling, questions about the course or program please contact us.
For more information about the recreational online freediving courses
If you have any questions about the different freediving courses, please feel free to contact us at any time. Also, feel free to check out our freediving knowledge base for more general questions about our services and courses.
Get Notifications of our Online Events via our iMagazine
Every week we’ll be running different live online events. These online events can be Molchanvos Theory courses, free webinars, interviews and Q & A’s with top-level freedivers or industry leaders.
Once a week or sometimes bi-weekly we’ll send out our Freedive Academy iMagazine with all the latest news about what’s happening in Panglao. In the iMagazine, we’ll also publish all the latest updates regarding the live events and interviews that we’re organising.
Also, please let us know if there are any topics – or guests you would like to see during the live events!
Start your Molchanovs Instructor Course Online or do the Cross Over Fully Remote!
Aspiring instructors can start their Molchanovs Instructor course online while finishing in Panglao with us. Freediving instructors from other agencies can now fully remote cross over to the Molchanovs Training System. Molchanovs Instructor Upgrades are also possible to do fully remote.
It’s important to make clear; new instructors can not do their instructor course fully online or remote. New instructors can start online but have to finish their course in Panglao. Only experienced freediving instructors can upgrade fully online, and freediving instructors from other agencies can cross over fully remote or online.
Now that we know this, there are different reasons why someone would want to do an online freediving instructor course.
Perhaps you have a limited travel time, and you want to save a few classroom days – of course, we get it when you travel to Panglao; you want to be in the ocean as much as you can. Then starting your instructor course online is a great idea!
Or perhaps you are starting the online instructor course online to save some money since starting online is slightly cheaper than doing it fully in Panglao. It doesn’t matter what your motivation might be, but ever since Molchanovs launched their online freediving instructor courses, it has been a big hit and are we running courses regularly.
Already a Freedive Instructor with a different agency? Remote Instructor Cross-Overs are Possible Too!
The instructor levels that are possible in a remote or online setting are the Molchanovs Wave 2 and Wave 3 Freediving Instructor levels and the pool equivalent, which are the Lap 2 and Lap 3 Instructor levels, but these are the same courses.
We can run these courses for new instructors or for instructors from other freediving agencies.
If you want to join the Molchanovs movement, please contact us because the cross overs, courses and upgrades are fun, entertaining and very convenient!
Remote Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor Cross-Over Course
The Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor can teach Molchanovs Wave 1 and 2, the Lap 1 and 2 courses, Theory 1 and 2, and the Discover Freediving program and guide the Base Training Level 1 to 4 programs.
Prerequisites: The candidate must be a freediving instructor with another agency with a similar level and have a First Aid Certificate (no older than two years).
Duration: 3 or 4 days
Performance & Course Completion Requirements:
- Constant Weight Bi Fins (CWTB): 40mtr. (dive time 80-90s)
- Free Immersion (FIM): 40mtr.
- Constant No Fins (CNF): 30mtr.
- Dynamic Bi Fins (DYNB): 100mtr.
- Dynamic No Fins (DNF): 60mtr.
- Static Breath-Hold: 4:00min.
- Standby Rescue (1min. Rescue Hang): 15mtr.
- BO Rescue (50mtr. tow incl. Rescue Breaths): 25mtr.
- CO2 Dive: 60sec. then 20m CWT dive
* All skills need to be demonstrated at an instructor-level quality.
Price per person: $700
Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discounts may apply.
Please note that before starting the Molchanovs FITC, you will have to pay an additional $100 for the Molchanovs professional registration - we will put this on your invoice since we need to pay this to Molchanovs before the course starts. Then, once we certify you as a Molchanovs Wave 2 or Lap 2 Instructor, to become an active instructor, you must pay Molchanovs the first-year annual fee directly, which will also be $100 annually.
Remote Molchanovs Wave 3 Instructor Upgrade or Cross-Over Course
The Wave 3 Instructor can teach Wave 3 Courses, Teach Lap 3 Course, Guide Base 1-4 Levels, and Assist in a Wave 2 Instructor Course. Apply for the Instructor Trainer Course (ITC) after one year of active status and a minimum of certifications.
Prerequisites: The candidate must be an active Wave 2 Instructor or show proof of Master Instructor Certification from another agency. Have at least one year of teaching experience as a Wave 2 Instructor (or equivalent in other agencies) with a minimum of 50 Certifications (min. 10 Wave 2). Certifications from other agencies account for 50% (e.g., 60 certifications from another agency are worth 30 Wave certifications), and the record of leading min. 20 Base Sessions
Duration: 2 - 3 days
Performance & Course Completion Requirements:
- Constant Weight Bi Fins (CWTB): 50mtr. (dive time 100-110s)
- Constant No Fins (CNF): 35mtr.
- Dynamic Bi Fins (DYNB): 110mtr.
- Dynamic No Fins (DNF): 75mtr.
- Static Breath-Hold: 4:00min.
- Standby Rescue (1min. Rescue Hang): 20mtr.
- BO Rescue (50mtr. tow incl. Rescue Breaths): 30mtr.
- CO2 Dive: 60sec. then 25m CWT dive
* All skills need to be demonstrated with instructor level quality.
Price per person for the W3I remote upgrade: $650
Price per person for the W3I remote cross-over: $700
Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discounts may apply.
Please note that for those upgrading from the Wave 2 instructor level, you'd have to pay an additional $50 for registration. Instructors crossing over to Molchanovs have to pay the $50 registration fees, and to become active instructors, they must pay the first-year annual fee directly to Molchanovs. The yearly fee for an Independent Instructor is currently set at $100 a year.
~Oct 3 - 12, 2024
AIDA ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Oct 17 - 21, 2024
Molchanovs W2 ITC Cross Over
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Oct 25 - 31, 2024
Mermaid ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Nov 8 - 16, 2024
Molchanovs W2 ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Nov 18 - 27, 2024
AIDA ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Dec 1 - 10, 2024
SSI FITC Level 2
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Dec 14 - 18, 2024
Molchanovs W2 ITC Cross Over
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Jan 6 - 15, 2025
Molchanovs Wave 2 ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Jan 20 - 25, 2025
AIDA Cross Over
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Feb 3 - 12, 2025
AIDA ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Feb 17 - 23, 2025
Molchanovs Wave 2 ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Mar 3 - 12, 2025
SSI FITC Level 2
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Mar 17 - 23, 2025
Molchanovs W2 ITC Cross Over
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~Apr 7 - 16, 2025
Molchanovs Wave 2 ITC
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
~April 21 - 26, 2025
AIDA Cross Over
Location: Freedive Academy Panglao
Please note that the above courses are happening, but we still might be able to move them one or two days.
We have an approximate schedule for this year - in addition to the Freedive Instructor Training Courses (FITCs) for the Zero to Hero programs and the freediving internships. When you're ready to plan your trip, contact us.
Our support team - who are all freedivers, too - is ready to answer all of your questions. They know precisely the seats available for the different FITCs and the dates of the master-level courses. Since we run many beginner and advanced freediving courses each week, we don't have to schedule them - we can start them any day, but the master freediving courses need to be scheduled somewhat in advance.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime.
For a quick reply, please email us at [email protected] or use the form on this page or for more detailed information about Courses, Accommodation, Prices, etc. Please follow the below links.