elgoog
Contributor
Awesome!! Again, I think this is crucial and is what pushes the learning experience to the next level.Tech instructor I am planning on going wth through AN/DP is someone I already know and like very much. He taught my Nitrox class. He also does SM.
That's totally fair.Given how I've struggled with some scuba things, I feel it's better I separate out SM from ITT.
Here's why I suggested combining them. When you take the SM class, you're basically going to be taught similar skills you would in ITT with modifications/considerations for the SM setup. At least, that's how I see it.
Another thing I would like to mention is about the skills and technique vs allowed deviation from perfect/standard/whachamacallit. This is from my experience only, so take it for whatever that's worth. I found that trying to stay inside the allowed deviation right from the beginning was making me use bad technique to achieve that. After a lot of frustration, I had to force myself to stop worrying about that, just focus on the technique and make sure I was doing the right thing. The improvements in trim and buoyancy came automatically with that and my variances are improving with time and practice. You do have to train your body to do something different and the better your muscle memory gets with the right technique, the better the results end up being.
So, for now, I'd suggest not to worry too much about staying within the tech standard for trim and buoyancy. Do ITT and SM and you'll get a ton of feedback and direction from your instructor on how to get to the tech level.