I have always wanted to try freediving, especially after I started scuba diving. I thought this diving discipline is really cool, as you can just go and enjoy the underwater world without having to worry much about equipments. But I keep putting it off trying out freediving…as you know, I was quite afraid of unknown. I’m not exactly comfortable in the water at depth without my scuba equipments on. What’s worst is that in freediving, it will challenge your physical endurance as it involves alot of breath holding.

The thoughts of not being able to breathe at depth was frightening, but I have recently started mermaiding, which is also a form of freediving, albeit a more freestyle and artful one at a shallower depth of 5 meters at most. While mermaiding, my feet are bounded together with a monofin that’s all wrapped up in a mermaid tail skin. I have to hold my breath while mermaiding as well, but of course, unlike freediving, mermaids don’t really challenge themselves to hold breath as long as they can, and when they feel like they can’t hold their breath, they’ll just come up for air. After a few months of mermaiding, swimming and diving without my scuba equipments on doesn’t seems so scary or traumatic anymore, and I decided that perhaps, it’s high time that I go and try freediving as well.
I was contemplating on which dive centre and which instructor I should go with, as to me, it’s really important to have an instructor that you are comfortable with and able to trust your life with, considering the nature of the sport.

And then, by chance or luck, Scuba Dobedo Divers organizes a freediving tryout session with Instructor Swen Becht. And I thought, this is just perfect. I’ve always been comfortable with Scuba Dobedo Divers and it’s crews. Even my first scuba fun dive after my certification was with them and they’re nothing but a bunch of professional people who not only put divers’ safety as a priority, but treats people with genuine warmth as well. A plus point that encourage me to sign up for the tryout is that I’ve seen Instructor Swen Becht in action with his students prior to the tryout announcement during my weekly lake dive clean up session at Bandar Saujana Putra Lake, and I was somewhat impressed on how he teaches and takes care of his students.

So yea, I signed up for the tryout. Here’s a picture of me with Instructor Swen and Bryan. They were the one who took care of us during the tryout.
I’ve already have half a mind to follow this through to the end, if I were to be honest with you. But of course, after all the nightmares of not knowing my instructor better during my Open Water Diver certification 3 years back, there’s still nagging doubts and I would like to get to know my future freediving instructor better before I made any commitments, and the tryout session was the perfect opportunity for me to do so.

So here’s yours truly, at the freediving tryout session organized by Scuba Dobedo Divers at Kelab Golf Negara Subang’s pool.

Yours truly and her mermaid buddy Kelly. Kelly has been kind enough to come to the tryout with me and keep me company. I am so grateful that she came with me the other day.

Pretty ladies who were there during tryout session as well.

Getting my fins on before the session starts. To be honest, I got a little nervous cuz I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

Happy excited faces during the tryout.

Class in session. We were split into two groups for the session. We were quickly briefed on what we should do, what we shouldn’t do and some short introduction on the freediving discipline that’s available. We were told that during the tryout, we would be doing a little duck dive and a dynamic swim of 25m underwater and static apnea. For those who are not familiar with the term, static apnea is where you hold your breath as long as you can without moving.

@elliecleffairy
Freediving tryout with Scuba Dobedo Divers

♬ Here I Am – Bryan Adams

And here’s a video of us in action during the tryout.

So how did I do? Was I happy? Did I think freediving was fun and it’s something I would like to pursue further? Well, I was practically sold. I didn’t change my mind after the session and I really wanted to go on with the full course. I was so happy as well because I finally managed a 25m dynamic swim during that session. I never did hit a 25m underwater swim in one breath before. And oh here’s sharing my first static apnea record:

Static- 1 min 20 sec
Static- 1 min 30 sec
Static- 1 min 38 sec

I wouldn’t wanna gloat but hey, I think I deserve a little pat on the back for this. I thought I wouldn’t be able to hold my breath pass 30 seconds.

And of course, apart from the personal achievement, I was also very happy that I got to spend time with my buddies from Scuba Dobedo Divers as well. Here’s Farah and Yin Chao. They’re Scuba Dobedo Divers in- house scuba instructors. They’re both my dive buddies.

This is my Laoshi (mentor), Tom Chan. People generally knows him as a scuba instructor or a PADI Course Director in Scuba Dobedo Divers, but he doesn’t teach me scuba diving. Instead, he teaches me Chinese martial arts, which is Qigong, Taichi and Taichi weapons. I got to know him by fate during lockdown as well.

Two years back I spent alot of time with some of these buddies online during lockdown, especially with my Laoshi . I was practically still sane because of them. Without them I would probably have gone cuckoo cuz of being locked up at home for so long. And here’s us spending some time offline together.

There is a saying that says; ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’. But that saying is not applicable in real life situation at all, as sometimes, no one wants to accompany you at the beginning, so you will have to go alone on your own, or you’ll never go anywhere at all. This is especially true for me, as there are many things I want to do, and yet, most of the time, whenever I asked my friends to join me or to accompany me, they would refuse as the things that I would like to do is usually not their cup of tea. But you know something? Don’t worry about being alone. The right people will always appear along your journey as you start walking further.

If you have been following my social media, you would know that it’s no secret that apart from scuba diving and Chinese martial arts, I’m now also into mermaiding. There are two main reasons why I started mermaiding. First it’s because despite being a scuba diver, I’m still scared of depth without my scuba equipments, and this must be fixed if I were to go divepro; which I fully intend to do. Secondly, many sad and traumatizing things happened last year, and once again I found myself battling with anxiety and depression. It’s been difficult, but I’m not going to elaborate on that, cuz I decide to take charge and give myself something new to focus on; something that I’ve never done before and that’s mermaiding.

Although this diving discipline itself is very challenging and requires alot of practice, I find it pretty amazing and healing. My life changes tremendously when I decided to start being a mermaid. I started getting to know more and more amazing people who practically vibrate on positive energy. Although I’m still not good at mermaiding, they’re always full of encouragements and supports, which helps alot in my healing journey. It’s nothing short of amazing.

Anyway, as I’ve said, I was blessed with wonderful people around me. I’ve befriended some via social media and recently I managed to meet some of them during the recent mermaid event; Braveeer Mermaid Tail Exhibition. It’s an event by Braveeer and supported by PADI.

The exhibition showcased beautiful silicone mermaid tails, and events attendees were allowed to try them on and swim in it. I didn’t try the silicone tail on during the event, but I’ve had the opportunity to try the tail prior to the event at Onshore Mermaid (this is where I learn mermaiding at) during my weekly practice, and it was nothing short of amazing. These mermaid tails are worth RM4000 and above, but during the event it was being sold at a discounted price of RM2799, which is quite a steal. I must say that I had half a mind to make a purchase in the near future, when I’m better at mermaiding and when financial permits, of course.

Here’s sharing with you some fun time in the sun with other mermaids at Braveeer Mermaid Tail Exhibition.

Spectacular scene where mermaids descending and swimming together.

Some mermaizing moments during the event.

Beautiful people I managed to catch up with at the Braveeer Mermaid Tail Exhibition; my mermaid buddy Kelly and my BSP lake dive buddy Darryl . Darryl is another one of those rare scuba diver who enjoys limited vis diving like me.

Who says you must wear sexily to be a mermaid? That’s an absolutely wrong assumption. You’re free to wear anything you want, including modest clothings as you go mermaiding. Say hi to the beautiful Muslimah PADI Mermaid Instructor Nur Fathiyah . Prior to the Braveeer Mermaid Tail Exhibition, we were only friends on Facebook. I’m grateful that I get to meet her in person and even go mermaiding together with her during the event.

Say hi to PADI Mermaid Trainer Ser Ling . Yes, people. It’s safe to go mermaiding even when you’re expecting, provided you have a pass from your doc and your energy level is high. This radiant mer-mama deserves all the respect she can get. Not many expecting ladies are blessed with abundance of stamina and up to doing sports during their pregnancy. I was one of those who were constantly low on energy throughout my pregnancy. I was cursed with morning sickness practically up to my third trimester and could only eat properly during the two final months before my due date. I wouldn’t dream of walking more than 100meters back then, what more go mermaiding.

For those who are curious; yes. It’s actually okay to swim, freedive or mermaiding when you are pregnant. However, please get your doctor’s clearance before doing these activities, ya? I’m all for fun and safe sports, so safety first, ladies.

With SSI Area Manager Vincent Lai and PADI Regional Manager Mark Hedger . Who says you can’t be friends with divers from different agencies? We’re not enemies or rivals. Both of these agencies are under WRSTC, and the aim is to produce safe and competent divers of all disclipline, and uphold the highest training standard. I know there are many bias against this agency and that agency, but don’t get me started on things like this. I took my Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver with PADI, but I decided to go for Rescue, Mermaid and hopefully divepro soon with SSI and therefore, I will always be friends with everyone. There’s nothing wrong with that. No matter where our diving certifications originates from, we are all still good friends.

I’m glad I get to meet Mark and Vincent today. They’re both inspirational people and vibrate on extremely positive energy.

Last but not least, yours truly with SSI Mermen and PADI merman. I know you people thinks mermaiding are for ladies and there are no male version of mermaids. Good grief. You are very wrong. Actually there are plenty of hot hunks in the mermaiding world and most of the mermen I know can swim way better than I do. You should see them in action. They’re mermaizing!

It’s been an amazing and healing journey so far. So many new friendship has been forged, and if anything, I’m grateful that I decided to pursue the mermaid pathway. Hopefully there’s more events like this in the future where I can meet like-minded people to exchange knowledge and have fun together.

If you’re following me on my social media accounts, eg: Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, you’d know that I’m quite an active person and I lead a very healthy lifestyle. I practice Qigong&Taichi and plays with cold weapons like sword, sabre and spear roo. Apart from practicing Chinese martial arts, I’m an active scuba diver as well. I dive almost every other weekend with my buddies.

You can say that I’m not a person that can stay still, and recently, I started taking interest in mermaiding. All of these things that I’m doing are energy demanding sports, and I’m somewhat prone to getting cramps, especially on my left leg. This rarely happens when I’m practicing Taichi, but it usually happens when I’m diving or mermaiding for long hours.

SSI Mermaid training -Duck dive& back flip

Uploaded by Elizabeth Toh on 2023-02-02.

If you haven’t heard what mermaiding is, here’s sharing with you one of my mermaiding videos.

Anyway, as I said, I’m prone to cramps. Luckily for me though, there’s somewhat a solution to prevent my leg cramps during these activities; which is Himalaya Sports Candy. It was recommended by a runner friend, who is also prone to cramps when she’s running.

Made with the natural Himalayan Salt, this sports candy comes in really handy should your body need some extra sodium before or after an intense workout. The candy is helpful in maintaining hydration in the body with natural salt and glucose. And the best part? It’s refreshing mint-like flavour is ideal for anyone who needs a minty fresh breath as well. And a bonus? It’s really good to sooth itchy or sore throat as well.

I’d usually take one Himalaya Sports Candy before any of these activities and one after I’m done with the activities, and I can assure you that it’s been quite helpful in preventing my leg cramps.

I rarely get any cramps when I take em candies prior to activities, in comparison to when I don’t consume them.

Himalaya Sports candy comes in two flavours – Lemon and Ginger Lemon. And the candy is also available in the new Himalaya Vajomba range which is available in two variants, Himalaya Vajomba Honey Lime Mints and Himalaya Vajomba Actiwhoosh Mints. My favourite is the Lemon flavour and the new Himalaya Vajomba Actiwhoosh Mints.

If you’re a gym goer, runner or someone who leads a sporty lifestyle like me and kinda prone to cramps, or simply need something to instantly perk you up after your activities you might wanna give this a try. I can assure you it’s really helpful. The candy is easily available in your neighborhood stores, convenient stores and yes, it’s also available in major pharmacies in Malaysia. Just look for them in candies and mints section.

The candy is certified Halal by JAKIM, , so no worries about it not being safe for consumption.

For more information on the Candie’s, visit: www.himalayacandy.com