Am I Retarded?

[mtdivegirl]

Having a blast despite feeling like a moron for not mastering this skill right off.
How could you not have fun being underwater? If i could just convince myself that I am not a fish and I will never have gills SCUBA might actually satisfy me completely!

 

[Walter]

Submariner is correct for most agencies, but not for all. YMCA, for example, has a 200 yd swim etc. entry test. You cannot go on SCUBA until you've completed the test. The exit test is 300 yds etc. I always just give the exit test at the beginning of the first pool session. I never thell them there are two standards to meet as the exit standards also meet the entry standards.

 

[Scuba Princess]

Mtdivegirl -

Please don't feel like a moron. I too, absolutely HATE mask clearing and have had difficulty doing it from the beginning. BTW - I just finished my last dive for my AOW last night! My instructor knows how difficult I find this skill and has worked wonders with me because he actually got me to do it. In the beginning, I wouldn't do it at all when it was my turn. But with practice, I have learned to relax before, and just remember to breath (although I still choke on water every once in a while). But because my instructor knows I hate it so much, he makes me do it every time I'm in the water. I guess its his way of making me more comfortable with it, but I still dislike it - although I am getting better at it. I have found though that we are not the only ones with this problem - so smile ut: you are part of an elite group!!!

 

[mtdivegirl]

you all have no idea how comforting it is to know that alot of people have this problem. I really am going to practice more this weekend and I have every intention of practicing it every single time i get my gear on in the pool.
After hearing how much you all use this skill, I worry about some of the other people in my class who have problems with this skill and yet managed to pull it off for the instructor.
I will work on relaxing!

 

[JimC]

Its the poeple who "manage to pull it off" then never think about it again that firghten me.

Admiting you have a problem, then dedicating yourself to resolve it is an excelent atitude. Once your comfortable with it, and your buddy fins your mask off, you will act on instict without a wory in the world. Replace, clear, continue dive. Your buddy probably wonl't even know untill after the dive when you chew him out for leaving a big red fin mark across your face.

The people who just did it 3 times for the instructor and never got comfortable with it are the ones who will be paniced and bolt when it maters.

 

[Scuba Princess]

Well Jim, I hope that is the case. But in my instance, I still am worried about it even though I do it every time I'm in the water. I just don't like it. I don't think I will bolt for the surface because I didn't even do that when I was having trouble with it in the shallow end of the pool. I toughed it out and made it through, but drank a bit too much of the pool water that I cared for. But my desire to get it right overcame the hatred. For me its a mental thing that I just can't get over. So I will do it if I have to, but I won't like it. Mtdivegirl, its a mindset to do it. You will get it, don't worry. I have faith in you to overcome your hesitation. I did.

 

[WreckWriter]

I never saw one who could clear the mask but then failed at a different skill. If someone is going to have trouble, it's almost always the mask.

Often the problem is lifting it too high, so high that you pull it completely away from your face when trying to clear. Try just using the heel of your palm against the upper rim and pushing it against your head. All you need to do is break the seal at the bottom, physics does the rest.

Relax, it's 90% attitude

Tom

 

[Scuba Princess]

Okay, I may be COMPLETELY WRONG HERE, but we HAD to completely remove our mask. We did half flood, full flood and them complete removal. I did the half flood and the full flood without any problem. It was the complete removal that I choked on. I can not stand to take my mask off my face. I can swim around all day with it full of water if necessary, but once you remove it from my face, I throw a fit! Later on in my classes I observed the Master class divers simply placing it on top of their head, then bringing it back down. So I adopted that way of doing it. But in real life, if someone kicks it off, it doesn't usually stay on the top of your head. It could be a foot away from you. So my thought is to just be careful where you put your face!!!

 

[landlocked]

Last Tuesday I tried out a new hood. We were not getting along real well. The dive was going miserably because.... well we just weren't freinds yet. So I took it off, under water. I really don't like mask removal but hey, it is nice to be able to do it when you want to. It saved my buddy and I both a trip to the surface. The dive was fun after that. So.... stick with it. I found at first, that it helped to hold my nose with some fingers for just a second, take a couple of breaths and then go on about putting it back on or whatever. Good luck.

 

[jbd]

all of those that have an issue with mask clearing or mask removal underwater to read the posts and the recommendations given by Walter about this subject. Also if its been awhile since you done some of the skills you learned in your OW class make it a point to practice them while you're diving. After all its only a skill when you have actually mastered it, not just gotten through it once or twice.