DIR- GUE Fundies Rec vs Tec rating

[JacobAdkins]

Keep in mind that the tec pass is useful only for GUE tec courses. Another requirement for GUE tec courses is a minimum experience of 100 dives (and, depending on the case, instructors may suggest you dive even more before enrolling on a technical course).

So, if you really have less than 49 dives, as your profile says - don't even think about the tec pass, simply because you don't need one

I don't find doubles harder than a single, but it's personal. On the other hand, I see way more complicated the management of a drysuit.

Now, you have two options:
- do some premier courses (drysuit and/or doubles) before the fundie, possibly with the instructor you chose
- enrol on the fundies without previous experience
Fundies with doubles and a drysuit can be complicated if you don't have previous experience. If you get a provisional, you will have only six months to upgrade to a rec-pass for free (after that, you will have to pay the inscription fee again, if I remember well). So, if you can't dive AND practice a lot after the course, I suggest you start with some specific training for the drysuit and/or the doubles. Otherwise, just go for the fundies; even if you get a provisional is perfectly fine (I did )

By the way, the solution to all these problems is simple:
- identify an instructor you like
- speak with him

Should I practice any before fundies? Like ascents hovering etc.

 

[ginti]

Should I practice any before fundies? Like ascents hovering etc.

The reason why fundies is so hard to pass is not due to complicated skills. The reason is that many people have bad habits, and they first need to forget those bad habits before learning the new skills. Now, forgetting bad habits takes a massive amount of time and effort.

Therefore:
- if you can practice with people who can explain to you how to properly do these things, practice is a good idea (guess who are these people? Yes, 90% of the time they are instructors)
- in all the other cases, never ever practice alone; the risk of "installing" bad behaviours in your brain is too high in my opinion

Do you know any instructor who is willing to dive with you?

 

[AJ]

Should I practice any before fundies? Like ascents hovering etc.

The better your buoyancy is, the easier Fundies will be for you. The most important skill imo is hovering. Being able to hold your position is very impotant to do the skills.

 

[ginti]

The better your buoyancy is, the easier Fundies will be for you. The most important skill imo is hovering. Being able to hold your position is very impotant to do the skills.

Are you suggesting to practice buoyancy and hovering before the course?

If yes, I kinda disagree. Buoyancy itself can be fine even with a bad trim; a decent trim can be achieved even with a slightly unbalanced rig; and so on.

Practising alone to achieve a decent level of abilities involves the risk to do all the skills with some minor details that are not ok. While at the beginning these minor things may not pose any issue, I guess they can in the long term.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Should I practice any before fundies? Like ascents hovering etc.

Yes and no. Be comfortable with your gear is the main thing that will help ensure your success. And sure, if you can already hover (that is, maintain position and depth without flailing around) that's good. But relax--the whole purpose of the course is to teach you. You're not expected to have any prior knowledge of the specific skills taught by GUE. There is such a thing as over-preparing; don't do that.

I recall a great article on how to prepare (and not prepare) for Fundies by--I think it was--John Kendall, a GUE instructor, but I can't find it. Anyway, some good advice from another GUE instructor here:

Prepare for Your Fundies Class in 5 Easy Steps | Wet Rocks Diving

Prepare for Your Fundies Class in 5 Easy Steps by Meredith Tanguay and the Wet Rocks Diving Team There's a lot to think about when you're preparing to take your GUE Fundamentals class; a common mistake is to over-think it. There is also a lot of outdated and incorrect information online (mixed...

www.wetrocksdiving.com

Maybe also have a look at this:

Anatomy of a Fundamentals Class

GUE Instructor Examiner Guy Shockey explains the thought and details that goes into GUE’s most popular course, Fundamentals, aka “Fundies,” which has been taken by numerous industry luminaries. Why all the fanfare? Shockey characterizes the magic as “simple things done precisely!”

gue.com

 

[Lorenzoid]

The reason why fundies is so hard to pass is not due to complicated skills. The reason is that many people have bad habits, and they first need to forget those bad habits before learning the new skills. Now, forgetting bad habits takes a massive amount of time and effort.

That's an important point. I sometimes think I had such a difficult time with Fundies because I already had been diving for 10 years and had done 200 dives in a jacket-style BC. For me, my initial Fundies course--in a wetsuit and single Al80--was hard enough. And after that, it took me three years to achieve the tech pass upgrade because in doubles and a drysuit it was like learning to dive all over again.

 

[tmassey]

But relax--the whole purpose of the course is to teach you. You're not expected to have any prior knowledge of the specific skills taught by GUE.

Boy, does this remind me of my class review. So many of us tightly-wound scuba divers – and so many poor instructors – focus on evaluation, not instruction.

@Lorenzoid, in my opinion, hits this issue pretty squarely on the head: why would you try to practice a skill to get better at it on your own and then take the class, when that is the exact reason you are taking the class? In many cases, it might be because you need some magic piece of plastic to be able to do something. Which means you’re not really taking a “class“, you’re actually just taking an exam.

Fundies is not like that. For many reasons really, but the biggest one being: unless you are ready to take a cave or trimix level diving class tomorrow, there’s no need for you to walk away with a little piece of plastic that allows you to do something. So don’t worry about striving for that tiny piece of plastic.

And remember: this is a “fundamentals“ class. It’s designed to show you the most basic skills, and help you to become proficient in them. Unless you already have those skills, it is likely to change the way you dive in some, well, fundamental way; given that, any practicing that you do without those fundamentals in place – including the understanding of the why of them, not just the mechanics – means that you are practicing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Because you simply will not know what the right reasons are, even if you are able to mimic the best YouTube videos.

In short: don’t practice before the class. That’s how you end up putting the class off for 10 years like someone I know well.

 

[BlueTrin]

Like previous posters said, you just want to be comfortable in your kit.

You don’t need to train for days specifically for and before the class, that’d be probably counterproductive. But on the other hand, showing up without being able to reach easily your rear dump on the wing or unable to clip stuff on your d-rings may not be ideal either.

 

[OrcasC205]

The other thing that you can prepare for in advance that Fundies students often struggle with is the valve drill. Check to see if you can reach back and touch your valve well enough to be able to manipulate it -- chances are it will take some practice and/or stretching exercises to be able to do it reliably. You'll learn the doubles valve drill during the class, so just focus on touching/holding the knob before the class.

Edited to add: You may find that adjustments to your harness fit and potentially drysuit/undergarment fit will be necessary to improve the flexibility for the valve drill. You Fundies instructor is the best resource to see what is limiting you if you are still not able to manipulate the valve.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You don’t need to train for days specifically for and before the class, that’d be probably counterproductive. But on the other hand, showing up without being able to reach easily your rear dump on the wing or unable to clip stuff on your d-rings may not be ideal either.

And even those kinds of "deficiencies" are not unexpected. When my Fundies instructor saw I was fumbling with clipping stuff off on my chest D-ring, he gave me a homework assignment to build muscle memory--something to practice that evening before the next day's class. He gave me a bolt snap with something attached to it and said to sit in front of the TV or whatever and just practice clipping it off and removing it, over and over. It worked.

Now I'm Cave 1 and similarly trying to build muscle memory and fluidity removing a pigtail from my pocket, attaching a marker to a line, and clipping the pigtail back off in my pocket, and that lesson from my original Fundies class has not been forgotten. We learn to practice even the seemingly simplest movements until they are effortless.