Who nose?

[vladimir]

I am surprised that Karibelle is okay with the nose-holding. As an instructor, her opinion is no doubt more relevant to your question than mine. (And I doubt she is incompetent--perhaps I overstated my case.) Nevertheless, I think somebody not at ease without a mask is not well-suited for diving. What if your mask comes off while holding a down line in a current? One hand goes for the mask, one goes to your nose, leaving none for the line. (Let's not even talk about the camera you'll probably be carrying after your eighth dive.) This is not a far-fetched scenario, it is typical, I think, of the kind of "cascade" of failures that lead to trouble or even tragedy.

 

[vladimir]

Here is my thought on this - if my mask comes off in the water, guess what I'll do first? I'll hold my nose because that is what I am comfortable doing. Then I would hopefully pull out my spare mask, don it, clear it and off I would go.

You can do this with one hand (the other being on your nose the whole time)?

 

[Karibelle]

You're really missing out on a teaching opportunity there. You could explain to the student why it would be good to exceed the minimum PADI requirements for that particular skill.

You presume too much about me and about how I conduct my classes.

Would I encourage a student in this situation to work on this? Of course I would.

Would I FAIL him because although he met the standard of the program but did not do it in the way that the majority of the armchair quarterbacks in an internet forum tell him he should? Of course not.

Oftentimes, I find that students who feel supported by me, their instructor, exceed their own expectations. I hope you know that when I post, it is with a little experience behind me. I don't tend to speak up when I know nothing about a particular topic. What would be the point?

kari

 

[Zeldah]

Thanks Karibelle for the instructor clarification. Although I completed the 1 min underwater without holding my nose the first day, I was upset and shaken as I had swallowed so much water. Holding my nose allowed me to remain calm and complete all excercises safely. Hope I get an open minded instructor on my OW dives.

 

[Robert Gillcash]

Um, is it possible that you are getting water up your nose because your gead is tilted back too far? Try leaning it a bit more forward....as soon as the mask comes off, look down.

 

[WreckDiver1321]

OP, I somewhat do feel your pain. I pulled my mask off in the pool for the first time and I freaked out. However, I just sat breathing for awhile and allowed myself to calm down. Then I put my mask back on and cleared it. when we did the swimming around with the mask off, I had to work to keep my breathing under control, but I did it. That night I jumped in my hot tub and practiced until I could take off my mask, look around, breathe thru my snorkel, put my mask back on, clear it, etc. I'd say just practice. It really does help.

 

[Zeldah]

I am surprised that Karibelle is okay with the nose-holding. As an instructor, her opinion is no doubt more relevant to your question than mine. (And I doubt she is incompetent--perhaps I overstated my case.) Nevertheless, I think somebody not at ease without a mask is not well-suited for diving. What if your mask comes off while holding a down line in a current? One hand goes for the mask, one goes to your nose, leaving none for the line. (Let's not even talk about the camera you'll probably be carrying after your eighth dive.) This is not a far-fetched scenario, it is typical, I think, of the kind of "cascade" of failures that lead to trouble or even tragedy.

You have a valid point there Vladimir! I will work at this skill dilligently as I don't want to drop my camera when I buy one of those nice ones I can put my mask on with two hands ... I take a big breath and then breathe out slowly through my nose and use both hands to put my mask on and clear. Thanks for showing me a scenario where it might not be wise for a one hander out there

 

[g1138]

Zeldah, you're one of the unlucky few who have yet to realize control over your soft palate. When you breathe you breath through your nose, even if you try to breath through your mouth, you still inhale air through your nose.
There are two "valves" controlling air flow.
Your epiglottis and your soft palate.
The epiglottis closes up between your lungs and throat.
The soft palate closes up between your nose and mouth. (you're having problems with this)


What you should do is practice on the surface of the water, standing in the shallow end with a snorkel. Practice breathing through your snorkel just with your face in the water and your feet standing firmly on the bottom. This takes practice.

You can supplement this with dry practices.
Open your mouth wide, breath through your mouth, now cup your hand over your mouth so it's air tight and try to inhale and exhale. You should not be able to get air and there should be no air flow through your nose.
Here's the tricky bit, you have to make sure your really not closing your epiglottis.
As you're trying to inhale (to no avail) randomly remove your hand and you should get an immediete rush of air in your lungs, that's how you know you were using your soft palate.

Controlling this is surprisingly simple, all it takes is an aHA moment in your brain, getting to that phase can be really hard for some people. You're going to have to be patient. Sometimes if you can't get it with enough practice, just sit down, close your eyes and really try to meditate and feel all the muscles in your head.

Good luck!

 

[Karibelle]

I am surprised that Karibelle is okay with the nose-holding.

As an instructor, students surprise me day after day. Many times I find myself thinking "is what just happened okay?" and when I consult my slates which contain the standards, I find that yes, it was okay. Does every student execute every skill the way that *I* would? No, they don't. If they meet the standard of their training agency is that okay? Of course it is, unless I think that I'm somehow better than my agency. Do I think, that given that, I am still a "good" and conscientious instructor? I do. What I'd like us all to take away from this is that there is NOT one "right" way to do skills. Each student will have his own way of doing things, and as an instructor it's my job to guide the student's progress as a diver and evaluate performance against requirements. It is not my job to make students little clones of my perfect self. :blinking:

 

[Zeldah]

Um, is it possible that you are getting water up your nose because your gead is tilted back too far? Try leaning it a bit more forward....as soon as the mask comes off, look down.

I have my chin down but still water goes up the nose... just always been that way - could be the vacuum in my head pulling it up