Since the weather is currently great I figured I would try a new activity this week which is scuba diving. I had never scuba dived before and have always been wanting to try it out but never really had a chance until today. I woke up early and headed to the Kuwait Science Club next to 360 Mall with Nat. There we met up with some members of the Kuwait Diving Team who were going to take us through the Discover Scuba Diving course.

The first thing we had to do was sit and watch a short video about scuba diving. After that we were verbally instructed on the basics of scuba diving, some safety advice and given a bunch of other information before we headed to the pool for a live test.

The idea behind the Discover Scuba Diving course is to give you an idea of what it’s like to breathe underwater. When I first put the air regulator in my mouth it felt a little uncomfortable but I quickly got used to the idea of breathing in and out from my mouth. The scuba gear on your back isn’t as heavy as it looks which was surprising since I thought it would be much heavier than that.

We spent a short period of time in the shallow end of the pool practicing how to breathe, how to put the regulator in and out of our mouth under water, how to signal if everything is ok or if we need help, etc… We then proceeded to swim to the deep end which goes down to 5 meters and we then spent the rest of the time at the bottom there swimming, throwing a small toy torpedo around and generally getting comfortable swimming, breathing and spending time deep in the water without going out.

It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Nat is going to continue scuba diving by taking the open water course with them but I on the other hand don’t think will have time for scuba diving with all my other activities.

The Kuwait Diving Team guys are really great, they love what they do and they’re extremely dedicated. If they aren’t spending their time instructing they’re out in the sea saving the coral reefs, recovering sunken ships or performing some other environmental heroism. The Discover Scuba Diving course is free and runs for around 3 hours. Once you take the course and feel like scuba diving is something you want to get into then you can sign up to the Open Water / Advance course which is KD140. That course involves 5 pool dives, 5 classroom sessions and 4 open water sea dives. Once you complete that course you would get your scuba diving certificate and will be able to go diving with other certified scuba divers without a need for an instructor.

For more information or to setup an appointment for a Discover Scuba Diving course you can contact PADI Instructor Meshari Alkhabbaz on 97900714.

Me and Nat passed by Sidekick Academy earlier tonight and signed up to their courses. Nat’s going to be taking their Be-Safe womens program which I previously posted about while I’ll be taking private lessons in mixed martial arts.

It was my first time passing by their training facility and I was really impressed. The place is huge and feels like a great place to train in. They also told me Royce Gracie will be coming back to Kuwait in around 2 months time which is great.

So now I’m pretty much set up with activities on a daily basis. I’ve got Core Fitness four times a week, mixed martial arts once a week and I’ll be building and racing radio controlled cars with Pro-Hobbies also once a week. And people say there is nothing to do in Kuwait…

Update: Here are the prices if anyone is interested

Program Pricing (6 times a week)
1 month = KD70
3 months = KD200
6 months = KD375
1 year = KD720

Be Safe Program (twice a week/women only)
1 month = KD45

Private Lessons (per hour)
KD10 = Private lesson with a red belt instructor
KD20 = Private lesson with a brown belt instructor
KD30 = Private lesson with a black belt instructor

Their phone number is 99965562 99975562

Update: Sorry I posted their wrong phone number, the correct number is 99975562

With temperatures soaring over 50 degrees it’s the perfect time to go ice skating. Entrance is just KD1.5 and that includes the rental of your ice skates. The place is usually empty during the day but fills up at night. Call ahead to see what the rink schedule is since they close for around 30-45 minutes every few hours for the zamboni to resurface the ice. The ice skating rink is located in Kuwait City right off the 1st ring road. For more information you can call them on 22411151 or 22411152.

Not sure if this can be counted as an activity or not but it is more entertaining than sitting at home doing nothing. A reader emailed me to tell me that his friend’s band perform live unplugged music every Friday and Saturday at Applebee’s. On Friday they play at the Gulf Road branch while on Saturday they play at the Fintas branch. They start at 8:30PM and play until midnight.

Thanks Osama

Sidekick Academy have a self defense program for women called Be-Safe. Nat was telling me there weren’t any activities for women and this is one of the first activities I thought of as a response. It’s indoor and it sounds like something fun and educational. Their lessons are twice a week and are a mixture of striking, Jiu-Jitsu and self defense. They’ve got a newly opened 1000m2 training facility right behind Tilal Complex and their prices are very reasonable. It’s KD45 per month and their lessons are every Sunday and Tuesday Monday and Wednesday from 5 to 6pm. The classes are for women only.

I first found out about Sidekick Academy when they brought UFC legend Royce Gracie to Kuwait for a 3 day seminar. There’s and amazing team behind Sidekick Academy that are trying to do something really great here in Kuwait. Visit their website for more information on all their programs. [Link]