Anyone interested in taking the GUE dir fundamentals course?

[jonix]

good luck spoon!

btw, kahit pala intrested ako di din ako pwede...caloy, yosi break?

 

[clgsamson]

hehe cge pards

 

[shugar]

that's true... when i was just gettin in to diving the guy at nautilus said that if i plan to go tech then to start by buying tech equipment na... never heard of "dir" pa then, didn't even know it existed...

of course i also equated tech to commercial diving back then...

personally i still want to do tech... dir or not... kaso mahal lang talaga... haven't got my students' parents to care for me hehehehe... the way that dir sets its standards is inviting, scary lang kasi how narrow minded some of the others on the other forums seem to become because of it... short of saying "you're either dir or you're crap"... e ayoko ng ganun... philtech's motto nga of "doing it better" is actually more inviting

anyway, i'm having a hard enough time getting my *** in the water gagastos pa ako ng bagong course? hahahahaha talk about sure way never to dive again hahahahahaha

have fun and i really hope it's a great course... help me with the bouyancy part (w/c is a highlight i hear) nalang when we see each other

ingat!

Jag

 

[Spoon]

that's true... when i was just gettin in to diving the guy at nautilus said that if i plan to go tech then to start by buying tech equipment na... never heard of "dir" pa then, didn't even know it existed...

of course i also equated tech to commercial diving back then...

personally i still want to do tech... dir or not... kaso mahal lang talaga... haven't got my students' parents to care for me hehehehe... the way that dir sets its standards is inviting, scary lang kasi how narrow minded some of the others on the other forums seem to become because of it... short of saying "you're either dir or you're crap"... e ayoko ng ganun... philtech's motto nga of "doing it better" is actually more inviting

anyway, i'm having a hard enough time getting my *** in the water gagastos pa ako ng bagong course? hahahahaha talk about sure way never to dive again hahahahahaha

have fun and i really hope it's a great course... help me with the bouyancy part (w/c is a highlight i hear) nalang when we see each other

ingat!

Jag

will do. i have to admit the guy at nautilus sometimes is biased got into a lot of heated arguments with him about equipment and the like. i guess he just likes promoting the stuff he sells. its all good. i personally like talking to the people in philtech they are friends of mine and they really have answered most of my questions and most of my gear except for my bc was purchased there.

 

[chilipino]

I took the DIR-F course back here in Monterey, California last year. And, I'm not a tech diver. I'm a normal recreational diver that likes to take underwater photos. If you can look past some of the idealism that some DIR divers have and think about what is being taught, it's actually really good stuff. I don't subscribe to the thinking that the way I dive is better than anyone else's way of diving. All I know that, for me, it works and works well. I would not be able to take some of the shots that I do if it were not for the DIR-F course. Remember, it's a system (gear, skills, and buddy/situational awareness) that promotes safety, and hence, fun. If I didn't feel like my buddy would know what to do in all emergency cases, it would make me feel a bit nervous to focus on taking pictures of that one little cool nudibranch. If I didn't know how to fin without kicking up silt, I would be a terrible buddy for my other photographer dive buddies.

.mike

 

[happybuddha]

i've been interested din pero turned off ako sa almost nazi-esque mindset... at least based on the ones here on the board...

I've only met Martin once (haven't done Fundies yet) but he seems really chilled out and has an excellent reputation among the guys I dive with in Puerto Galera (whose opinion I value very highly)
.

I took the DIR-F course back here in Monterey, California last year. And, I'm not a tech diver. I'm a normal recreational diver that likes to take underwater photos. If you can look past some of the idealism that some DIR divers have and think about what is being taught, it's actually really good stuff. I don't subscribe to the thinking that the way I dive is better than anyone else's way of diving. All I know that, for me, it works and works well. I would not be able to take some of the shots that I do if it were not for the DIR-F course. Remember, it's a system (gear, skills, and buddy/situational awareness) that promotes safety, and hence, fun. If I didn't feel like my buddy would know what to do in all emergency cases, it would make me feel a bit nervous to focus on taking pictures of that one little cool nudibranch. If I didn't know how to fin without kicking up silt, I would be a terrible buddy for my other photographer dive buddies.

.mike

Mike makes an excellent point (or two), like Mike I've started down the DIR path because it makes sense-I don't go around telling people theirs is wrong because if it works for them great, but until someone can show me a better way DIR is the way I'll dive. You don't need to be a techie to want to be a good diver with good trim, situational awareness and efficient fin techniques.

To me DIR's greatest strength is what often gets stones thrown at it, the uniformity of everone following the same system with the same gear configuration and philosophy. I keep looking for holes in the system but can't find many (I personally find the SPG clipped off to the left waist D-ring a bit awkward, but it makes sense for trim and when going through restrictions, so I do it).

By the way Mike, one of the instructors in PG that dived with you told me you had the best situational awareness of any diver he's ever dived with (he's a tech instructor whose dived with some pretty good divers). It wasn't the knob that wanted to sell you the AOW course so you could do Canyons, he's no longer around.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[shugar]

drew! you hear about the guys here on the PPD subboard planning a dive soon? we won't be doing high-octane dives but you're as much a part of the forum as we are so if you happen to find yourself further south of china feel free to come along!

we hope to make the dive-o-rama a regular thing

Jag

 

[happybuddha]

drew! you hear about the guys here on the PPD subboard planning a dive soon? we won't be doing high-octane dives but you're as much a part of the forum as we are so if you happen to find yourself further south of china feel free to come along!

we hope to make the dive-o-rama a regular thing

Jag

Hi Jag,

Thanks, wish I could make it. You guys are planning around 9/24 I think and I'll probably be in Philippines the next weekend as its a holiday in China (for me China holiday = Philippines diving). I'm trying to put together a few of my colleagues in Guangzhou and Hong Kong for a dive trip to PG.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[chilipino]

You don't need to be a techie to want to be a good diver with good trim, situational awareness and efficient fin techniques.

Well said. I think that's the intellectual leap that people automatically make when they hear "DIR". They think "oh it's only for tech diving." In reality, all of the skills taught during the DIR-F course are very applicable (IMO, some should be necessary) for recreational OW diving. After my DIR-F course, I asked myself why I couldn't have been taught this during my OW course. It would have made me a much-stronger diver. I suppose that would also make me less inclined to take the other "specialty" ($$$) courses like AOW and Night Diving. It's all about the skills. Certifications do not mean much in the grand scheme of things.

To me DIR's greatest strength is what often gets stones thrown at it, the uniformity of everone following the same system with the same gear configuration and philosophy. I keep looking for holes in the system but can't find many (I personally find the SPG clipped off to the left waist D-ring a bit awkward, but it makes sense for trim and when going through restrictions, so I do it).

Personally, if I am at 100 fsw I would like to have the peace of mind that if I were to experience a gear failure my buddy would know what to do. In order for my buddy to be the most successful at addressing a problem, he/she would have to possess the appropriate skills, knowledge of procedures, and intimate familiarity with my equipment. To me, that is a "good thing". The thing I like about GUE is that the senior divers do relatively aggressive exploration projects and the things they learn doing those dives are trickled into the education system (DIR-F, Tech 1, etc.). In terms of individuality, I'm still tempted to string my backplate with hot pink colored nylon webbing

By the way Mike, one of the instructors in PG that dived with you told me you had the best situational awareness of any diver he's ever dived with (he's a tech instructor whose dived with some pretty good divers). It wasn't the knob that wanted to sell you the AOW course so you could do Canyons, he's no longer around.

Cheers,
Drew

Thank that instructor for me for those kind words (Was it Sam?). In PADI's world, I am nothing but an OW diver that can't go below 60 fsw

I can't wait to go back to PG. I'm shooting for Q1 of next year unelss I can sneak out sometime later this fall/winter. Maybe this time I won't flood my camera

.mike

 

[happybuddha]

(Was it Sam?).
.mike

Yes, and I'll see him next week in Subic for wreck course, so I'll tell him then.

Any chance you can get to PG for the Christmas/New Years season? Water can be a bit chilly (well not for someone that dives out of Monterey I guess) and weather a bit crappy (drizzly and chilly, at least for the Philiippines if you do 4 dives a day), but its always good fun. I've spent 5 of the last 6 holiday seasons there. There's normally a good group of regulars that always make it back for Christmas.

Cheers,
Drew