Why No Fundies for DIR Agnostics

[lamont]

I disagree, Lynne.

It is as simple as adding a course that produces perfect trim, buoyancy, and control before a fin ever moves.

-until then,

Most respectfully,
Dennis

Just sign up for fundies. Right now. And take it in a single tank and shoot for a Rec pass.

With 200+ dives you're not going to get any more prepared.

 

[lucca brassi]

Just sign up for fundies. Right now. And take it in a single tank and shoot for a Rec pass.

+1 waiting on 18.06. in Piran Slovenia , Fund istructor Tom Karch .

 

[lamont]

whoops. dup.

 

[BluewaterSail]

gsk3,

I visualize the whole course flying past while I obsess on my much needed buoyancy and trim issues. I've seen some of you guys and you are that good. I need a rock-solid foundation first. I believe that GUE-F moves past this one fundamental skill much too quickly for me.

I crave the skills, but remain realistic. I'm still convinced that once buoyancy and control are spot on, I can get the most from GUE-F. Until then, I'd be a charity case or a poser. Not my style.

lowviz

I also feel very intimidated by the thought of Fundies, because I don't really have the basics down. Not that I care about looking bad, or about passing, rather exactly what lowviz said... the course would "go flying past" and I would end up not being able to absorb much.

So I signed up for a Primer later this summer. Hopefully that will put me far enough along the path of reasonable basic skills that I will be able to fully participate in Fundies some time in the not so distant future.

Lowviz, why don't you do the same?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

gsk3,

I visualize the whole course flying past while I obsess on my much needed buoyancy and trim issues. I've seen some of you guys and you are that good. I need a rock-solid foundation first. I believe that GUE-F moves past this one fundamental skill much too quickly for me.

I crave the skills, but remain realistic. I'm still convinced that once buoyancy and control are spot on, I can get the most from GUE-F. Until then, I'd be a charity case or a poser. Not my style.

I came into this honestly and with no bias against GUE. For now, I think that I'll just let it go for a while and give it a good rip when I'm ready. The best part of this whole thread is that I now know what I need to know. Thanks all. I hope the OP got something from this also. -too much time spent on my concerns...

It will happen.

Best,
lowviz

I used to think like that too ... waited till I had almost 900 dives to take Fundies, and went into it thinking that my buoyancy control and trim were spot on. Boy was I mistaken. See, the problem is that although I had pretty good skills, I'd developed them by compensating for some bad habits ... and trying to correct bad habits once ingrained makes the class all that much harder. I had a teammate with only about 35 dives (Lamont) who did much better than me, because he wasn't fighting either bad habits or expectations like I was. I came out of the class with a provisional, a severely bruised ego, and a strong desire to burn my gear and take up golf. But a kind soul (Uncle Pug) took me under his wing and helped me unlearn the bad habits and relearn proper ones ... and when I took the class again the following year with a different instructor, I still learned quite a bit and came out of it with the certification card I desired.

My takeaway from that experience is that taking Fundies sooner is better than later ... and don't go into it with the expectation of getting a c-card. Go into it with the expectation that you're going to work on correcting the things that you've grown comfortable doing that are holding you back from progressing, and because you've ingrained those habits into muscle memory, you're going to need to spend some dives "rewiring" that memory. Think of it as an investment ... a means to a goal rather than the goal itself ... and you'll get a lot more out of the class by "deconstructing" your current issues than you will by continuing to build on them in an effort to reach a certain performance level.

Passing the class isn't what matters ... having someone show you how to achieve your desired skill level is. You probably won't get there during the class ... but you WILL come away from the class with a very clear roadmap that'll get you there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lowviz]

Just sign up for fundies. Right now. And take it in a single tank and shoot for a Rec pass.

With 200+ dives you're not going to get any more prepared.

If I just wanted to be GUE or get a card, that would be the way to go. Problem is, I'm interested in squaring away myself in a double HP100 hogarthian rig and who should be able to do it better than you guys? People that know me in real life have seen me dive all sorts of rigs, but wonder-of-wonders, the basic Hogarthian rig now seems to be best for me. I just got a can light during my last class, mounted on right waist, and the long hose issues disappeared. Go figure.

I have a lot of great input on how to proceed (Fundies/Primer etc.) and I will do something, probably soon. It really shouldn't be a big deal. I just can't let go of the idea that GUE-F is like drinking from a water hydrant. Not my style...

Thanks again Lamont,
Dennis

Bob:
I agree with most everything in your post, even "passing is not the issue". Sounds a bit odd, though. I don't start things with the premise that I won't be able to succeed. (But we've beaten than point to death)

Let's get back to the OP's point: Fundies for DIR agnostics. PPB done right?

Why not?


Thanks all, I have gained much value from this thread. I'm off, starting to feel really guilty about a world-class hijack...

 

[mweaver40]

I came out of the class with a provisional, a severely bruised ego, and a strong desire to burn my gear and take up golf.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I just finished the class and I can agree completely with this statement. In fact my instructor asked me if I had considered taking up golf. On the other hand he spent personal one on one time with me on a Sunday to help prepare me since a buddy was not available at that time. 2 guys who took the class last year and have dived their butts off since are now looking pretty good and will probably get their tech pass soon. It is not supposed to be easy and it is embarrassing to realize your not nearly as good as you thought. I intend to carry on because I do believe it is is going to be it worth all the pain and frustration and I will be a very different and better diver when I am done. I have dropped a lot of cash on equipment and class costs and it is even getting me in trouble with my wife but it takes a long time and a big effort to become a GUE instructor and they deserve at least what they are getting if not significantly more. One of the 2 guys I mentioned above is a college student and it has taken him most of year to collect all his gear but he did it so even a student can manage the costs over time. The rec pass if you rent the plate and wing is not prohibitively expensive since you don't need the primary light and doubles or other tech essentials.

 

[elan]

Just sign up for fundies. Right now. And take it in a single tank and shoot for a Rec pass.

With 200+ dives you're not going to get any more prepared.

Or even simplier sign up and take it in doubles and shoot for a rec pass. I found doubles are more stable if you balance them and easier to do everything. For rec you will not have to do the full valve drill and manipulate the light AFAIK

 

[lowviz]

Or even simplier sign up and take it in doubles

stop whining and just suck it up. Yeah, that's where I'm leaning at the moment.


-still think that there is a better way, but *sigh*.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

GUE has the skills that I crave, but I just can't get though the prickly parts. We aren't all "unbendables". -a few scraps for us commoners...

It sounds to me like what you're looking for isn't a Fundies class, but a skills workshop. There are sufficiently skilled instructors out there who can provide one. It's not a "class" ... there's no c-card involved. It's just a day or two with an instructor who can take you diving, observe what you're doing, and give you pointers on how to improve. If you can find one who takes video of you underwater, so much the better ... that's a powerful way to see what you're doing, and once you have the visual it's easier to make modifications to achieve your goals.

I do know that some GUE and UTD instructors do these workshops ... I've taken a few of them. There are probably even some mainstream agency instructors out there with adequate skills to address the issues that concern you. A week-end with an instructor who knows what they're doing would probably suit you better than a class at this point ... and at least assure that when you go work on these skills, you're doing so with a pretty good sense of how to improve without ingraining some habit that's going to inhibit you later on ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)