The management is a mess. The instructor wasn't told I was coming to the confined water session. No messaging, no check-in ahead of the class because the instructor didn't know I was coming. I was lost, called and no one picked up the phone because everyone was in water. They expected me, a complete beginner, to put on all the gears myself and swim to the teaching location (the confined water pool is at least 7ft, someone not comfortable with water can potentially drown without supervision). As a result I missed half of the class and wasn't qualified for the open water session. I asked for a refund and they pointed to me to their one-year free instruction policy, which will cost me non-trivial hotel, flight expenses for another trip. Despite of the above, Max was very patient catching me up when I was late to the class. I appreciate his instruction. read more

this is a review for Neal Tyagi. My partner and I took the Level 1 Free Diving class and also did a private coaching session with him. Neal has great energy and is passionate and knowledgeable about the sport of free-diving. he is also very attentive, detail-oriented and challenges you in a gentle way. i learned a lot from our time together about the mind-body connection present in free-diving, and by the end of our session together definitely saw shifts in how i related to the physical act of diving and understanding how to better my technique. thanks Neal, for the gems. hope to get out there with you again soon! read more

I just took a level 3 course with Daniel. I had an amazing time and learned more than I was expecting. The level of dedication and knowledge that these instructors had is world-class. If you want to be prepared to dive deep and dive comfortably, this is the school for you! read more

I took both my L1 and L2 courses with Dan of Deep Freediving Instruction and 5 stars all the way! Quality of Instruction There's actually a lot more to freediving that stuffing your lungs full of air, swimming down, and holding your breath as long as possible. Dan presents all the required information in an organized and easy to understand manner. He has a lot of personal experience in competitions, spearfishing, etc that his supplemental information can be another book in itself. It also helps in reframing how information in the manual is presented which helps in overall understanding because of the additional perspectives. His demonstration of skills are also very clear and deliberate so you can tell exactly what he's doing underwater (very helpful cause you don't exactly freedive with a full-face mask and 2-way radio). I think the term for this is "good demonstration quality." Superb service Dan cares about what his students learn and how they progress in their freediving experience. He patiently observes dives and corrects any issues a student has. He asked me what my goals are and I told him that I want to be able to freedive shipwrecks. Before the course was over, he took the time to teach and evaluate me in a few things that are unique to wreck freediving. He's there as an enthusiastic diver who wants to share his experiences and see others progress in their freediving journey instead of an instructor who simply has his students go through a checklist of skills required for the certification. Big kudos to Dan. Highly recommended for any kind of freedive training! read more

I am dedicating my #600 review to Deep Freediving: This is a life changing experience. Feeling safe in water is very important if you want to enjoy the water. We took FII Level 1 class taught by Daniel Koval last year. I highly recommend his class to any waterman. We took his class because we could not find any other water safety classes around... at least that is what my partner told me. I am glad we took the class. Now we feel safer in water, especially my partner feels safer that he knows I could save him. Now I know I could go 66 feet deep and hold breathes longer! Thank you Daniel for the great class! read more

We completed our Level 1 Free Diving class with Neal. Very good instructor - amicable, knowledgeable, good teaching. We feel more confident and safer in the water, as the course puts focus on good safety practices. Very good!!! read more

Fii Instructor Dan Koval is a master of his craft and an excellent instructor. I have been freeediving for two years now and completed my level 2 Fii certification last year. I came out to Oahu to train with him and do some private lessons focusing on spearfishing and deep diving. He has taught me about fish identification and behaviors, what equipment to use, and even let me shoot two of his guns. A few days into our lessons and I was hunting comfortably and safely at 90 feet, 30 feet deeper than my California best. In one of our training session I set my new PR of 118 feet, and ran safety for him as he attempted his 200 foot dives. The guy is no joke, he is a true waterman, and now a friend. We also spent some time on dry land doing breathing techniques and stretching, which I have now implemented into my daily yoga routine. If you dive with Dan you will see that he not only lives up to the Freediving Instructors International reputation, but he exceeds it. Diving deep and diving safely is the dudes life, that and the occasional Ono BBQ! Check out his website www.deepfreediving.com and book a lesson, you'll be glad you did. It might safe a life some day, maybe even your own. Mahalo, go deep, get stoked yewwwwww! read more

Deep Freediving Instruction - Free Diving Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Took a class this past weekend, had an excellent time. I would have never believed I could hold my breath for 3 minutes and dive comfortabley to 66ft. BIG thanks to Dan and Whitfield for great weekend of training! I would strongly recommend the Level 1 freediving class to anyone that is a casual or advanced freediver. I am a better, safer diver because I took it. read more

The good: Dan is very knowledgeable about freediving. He will be able to answer any question you have about freediving. The bad: Dan lacks even the most basic professionalism, customer service, social, and communication skills. TLDR: Dan is awful to deal with on a professional level and you should try to avoid him if possible. I initially took the course in April 2016 with my girlfriend. I could not finish the course because of equalization issues. Dan didn't do very much more than glaze over this part, despite mentioning on several occasions how important it is. Even after I moved away, I was very interested in finishing up my freediving certification, and planned a trip back to Hawaii March 7th-15th. The ENTIRE REASON for my trip to Hawaii was TO COMPLETE my freediving certification. I knew this shouldn't be difficult because I had finally mastered equalizing. January 19th-25th, 2017 I had multiple communications with Dan from the end of January, expressing my desire to finish up my course with him on his March 11th weekend class. Dan was hard to get a hold of, and When I did get a reply, Dan could not grasp my reason for coming to Hawaii was to finish my certification. He expresses that he cannot guarantee me a spot unless I pay the deposit again. I say I understand and look elsewhere for places available that weekend to finish my cert. I called up a place in Kona to see about taking their course. They were very friendly, but mentioned that Dan would have to give them the money I paid to finish the class with them. The instructor said she would contact him to get my course information from him. Only a few minutes after I spoke with her, Dan calls me with a complete 180 degree attitude change. He expresses that he will have an assistant instructor for the course and could handle up to 16 students. The overall vibe of the conversation was that there would be no need for me to fly to Kona, I should just finish up the course with him. He still mentions that if I want a 100% guarantee I'd have to make the deposit. However, his exact words were "It's not a guarantee, but it's pretty much a guarantee" that I would have a slot with him even if I didn't do so. I book my flights, and email Dan that my flight is booked. He, of course, doesn't respond. I plan on finishing up with him the weekend of the 11th. I arrive in Hawaii about 5 weeks later, and attempt to get in touch with Dan. He doesn't answer so I leave a voicemail. I notice that his course is 100% full. I mention that I can try to look elsewhere if I absolutely have to, but would like to see if there is something we can work out so that I can still attend. March 8th-9th Dan returns my call hours later and begins the conversation with an abrupt "Who is this?" This question seemed odd as I had just left him a voicemail with my name and reason for calling. He mentions that he can't accommodate me. He seemed to have complete amnesia on who I was, or why I was coming to Hawaii (this was probably the 5TH TIME I had told him either via email or phone conversation). I find this really difficult to comprehend as I can't imagine very many people make it a habit to fly back from the Midwest to Hawaii for the sole purpose of completing his course. He eventually offers me private instruction for $200. I decide to think on it, and say goodbye to him on the phone. He says "thanks Pat, talk to you later." So he forgot my name again. This last bit really cemented for me the lack of attention or care that I feel he gives to his clients. At this point I began frantically searching for someone to help me finish my freediving cert because , I just did not, absolutely DID NOT want to give Dan my hard earned money. Sunday March 12th around 8pm The days go back and I'm unable to find anybody at such short notice. Realizing that my time in Hawaii is coming to a close I reluctantly ask Dan through text if he can just finish up my cert for the $200. I just wanted to complete my certification even if I had to make a deal with the devil. He doesn't respond until my last full day on the island, on... Tuesday March 14th Dan responds strangely (not surprising) with a picture of his Kona flight itinerary from February 24th and a picture of a cat and then says "I would be able to finish it up tomorrow morning". I'm not entirely sure this text was meant for me, maybe he sent me the first stuff by accident. All in all my experience with Daniel Koval was nothing short of awful. I would ABSOLUTELY NOT recommend him on a professional level for any reason whatsoever, if you can go somewhere else do it. I probably won't be able to finish up my freediving cert before my 1 year expires in April, and my hope is that I can spare some of you guys from having to finish up, start, or deal with Dan. read more

My wife and I took level 2 with Daniel in Southern California and suffice it to say, we learned a lot. Daniel is an excellent teacher, very patient and passionate about the sport. We enjoyed his course and he then invited us to come out to Kona at the Big Island to train with him there. We just got back from our trip and we really enjoyed our time there. Very happy we had Daniel as our instructor and we plan to go back and continue our training. Strongly recommend Daniel if you're considering taking a freediving course. read more

This review is way overdue as i took the level 1 freediving class probably 2 months ago now. Daniels class is a must take if you are even curious about freediving. Its a 2 day course and in those 2 days the amount of knowledge and experience daniel teaches you is awesome. Dans a great guy and stresses all the safety aspects as well as techniques. Would recomend taking this class to anyone looking to get into freediving or even just looking to expand their breath hold. Thanks dan! read more