The Beginning(?)

So first post, first blog.  Kind of jumped on the band wagon with all these blogs, but hey, why not.  As the title suggests, I'm from Irvine, CA, and I'm a spearo, or spearfisher.  Queue the required background story.  Wasn't born in Irvine, but grew up here.  Went to Irvine High, and then UCI, and now in the process of applying for more school. Enough of the boring stuff, and onto the awesome!  Spearfishing is something I recently took it up due to a number of factors *it being pure awesome for one*, but the main reason is that I'm getting fat, and need some sort of activity to help force me to get into shape, and what better motivation is there than the high possibility of death!  Seriously, with spearfishing (which will lead into free diving, which will be covered soon, ei now) one skirts with death with each dive down into the briny sea.

Let's back up a few steps now.  Before one can spearfish *not with a wooden spear by the way.  Usually at least*, one must learn how to free dive.  Free diving is what it is; you go out with a wet suit, snorkel, mask, fins, and a weight belt, and you go down.  No air *other than what's in your lungs*, no air tank, no fancy regulators, octos, bcs (buoyancy compensators), maybe a wrist computer/watch, just yourself free sinking down into the unknown.  Sounds easy, but its so much further from easy than one would think.  First, one has to be in pretty damned good shape (reason 1.  See above) to be able to free dive effectively.  Secondly, being able to be completely relaxed in the water is a huge mental barrier, at least for the average joe out there.  You tell me that you're fine going down into depths of 30, 40 feet off the bat with that much pressure *literally and figuratively* on you.  Yea, thought so.  Thirdly, and probably the most important reason, is the understanding of limits.  Limits on breath holding, limits on how deep you can go, how far you can push it.  The most dangerous thing for free divers isn't something extreme like getting eaten by sharks, getting pulled down deeper than a fish they speared into the depths, never to return.  It's actually the last 10 feet rising back to the surface that's the number 1 killer.  This is where shallow water blackouts happen.  Putting aside all the scientific mumbo jumbo *which will come later down the line, in a future post*, if you push yourself while ignoring your body's natural response that screams BREATH DAMN IT!, and then attempt to surface, the change in pressure essentially makes you lose whatever oxygen you have left, and, with an oxygen deprived brain, you black out, sink down, and thanks to us human's natural response to breathe when passed out, you take in water, and then drown.  There's no signs of shallow water blackout, no warning signs.  You just slip into blackness, and then, if you're unlucky, you won't wake up.  Pretty depressing, eh?

So back to the spearfishing.  Why do I do it one asks, especially my family.  The risks are high, but the rewards are high as well.  Getting into better shape, enjoying and exploring the unknown depths, eating the freshest seafood possible, and surprisingly enough, helping the environment all are included.  With these reasons of many, I think this hobby/sport is something worth investing, and through this blog, I want to chronicle my progress, successes, and most importantly, pass along information on this seemingly niche sport for those that have seen guys and gals in wetsuits, carrying pole spears, spearguns, and a stringer full of fish walking out of the water and onto the beach, and want to join their ranks.  Happy hunting to those spearos out there, and don't be afraid to ask questions newcomers, for knowledge is the key to power!