Learn the surface dive: dive down, fetch a ring from the bottom, surface calmly. Step by step from shoulder depth to 2 metres, with ear equalisation and safety.
A surface dive means: you dive down from the surface, fetch an object from the bottom and hold it above the water. The honest answer to "Is it hard?": the movement is not. The pressure on your ears and the feeling that the surface is "far away" are. You can train both.
The skill appears in almost every test level. For the Seepferdchen (beginner badge) you fetch an object from shoulder-deep water, for Bronze once from about 2 m, for Silver twice, for Gold three times within 3 minutes [1]. Two metres is about the length of a tall adult standing upright in the water. For lifesavers it gets serious: a 5 kg diving ring, as heavy as five bags of flour, from 2 to 3 m [1].
Be realistic: diving to shoulder depth often works after a few sessions. The 2 m usually take longer because ear equalisation has to work (experience, not a study value).
The DLRG requires that middle-ear equalisation is taught before the first diving exercise [1]. Diving medicine tells you why: inadequate equalisation of the middle ears can even trigger severe vertigo [2]. The usual way: pinch your nose and blow gently against the closed nose. Milestone: at 1 m depth you feel a soft "pop" in your ears. If it hurts, you rise a little at once.
Place three rings in shoulder-deep water, measured against your own height [1]. Fetch them one by one and hold each briefly above the water. Milestone: three out of three without rushing up in a hurry.
Breathe in normally, bend your upper body forward and stretch your legs upward. The weight of your legs pushes you down. Your arms pull you toward the bottom, your chin stays on your chest. Milestone: you reach 1.5 m depth without your legs staying at the surface.
For Lifesaver Bronze both are required, head-first and feet-first. In the feet-first dive the feet must reach the required depth first [1]. You push your arms upward and sink vertically. At the bottom you push off with your feet.
Grab the ring, push off and rise calmly. When bringing it up, the object must be lifted above the water surface, and you must not have your head underwater while doing so [1]. Milestone: one ring from 2 m, calm ascent, object above water.
For the higher badges you dive several times in a row. Between dives you may not hold on to the pool edge [1]. Breathe normally in between, not greedily.
While diving down, fix your eyes on the ring, not on the surface. If you look up, your head lifts and your legs sink again. Imagine you are "falling" toward the ring instead of forcing yourself down. One more trick: practise first with a ring you can see. Only when that runs calmly do you take one lying in shadow or among other rings. This trains underwater orientation without the stress growing at the same time.
For the German Swimming Badge Bronze you dive once to about 2 m and bring up an object, for example a small diving ring. For the Seepferdchen shoulder-deep water is enough [1].
With depth, the pressure on the eardrum rises. Equalisation balances it through the Eustachian tube. That is why it is taught before the first diving exercise, and inadequate equalisation can cause vertigo [1][2]. If it hurts, rise a little at once.
Breathing in normally is fine. A maximum of four breaths is allowed, continued hyperventilation is prohibited [1]. It can lead to unconsciousness underwater [3][4].
Not for tests: all exercises are done without aids, so without goggles [1]. You may use them to practise, but get used to open eyes early.
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