Apparently the first course is just to provide basic familiarization. and to help keep you from accidentally killing yourself or your buddy in an emergency situation?
Yes! To a great extent, that is quite true. I tell OW students that, at the very best, their initial Open Water Diver certification is (only) a Learner's Permit. Put another way, in the OW course, the student should learn what they need to learn, in order to begin to learn how to dive. Whether you go through a semester long OW course as a university student, or a 3+ weekend course as often taught today - across multiple agencies, in fact - you simply do not come out of the OW course as the diver you (hopefully) WANT to become, and (ideally) WILL become
IF you go out and practice what you have learned. Even if you achieve mastery of the skill in training - i.e. you can perform it repeatedly with a minimum of difficulty and without assistance - that doesn't mean that you will be able to do it from that point on. DevonDiver's description of the development of buoyancy control is very appropriate - it is an evolution from conscious to unconscious (or subconscious), from adjustment to stillness. Every diver also has to learn what works best for them, what breathing pattern is optimal for them. And, that takes time. It is interesting to note that one poster appeared to dismiss the notion of the time required by linking a video of the UTD Extreme Scuba Makeover course - which is a great experience by the way, and does represent another course, in that case for ALREADY CERTIFIED DIVERS. It is interesting because AG himself (founder and head of UTD), repeatedly emphasizes, in another video describing the ESM concept, that '‘We’ve got to build each step, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly’ (did he say 'slowly' enough times), and that the course itself does not create the skills - the diver
must have the attitude of, 'Man, I’ve got to cement these skills, I’ve get out and practice. And, that’s the best part, go out and practice, cement those skills and get them hammered into yourself.’
It appears that if I want to actually know how to be a proficient diver, I need to sign up for an untold number of additional courses, for a fee of course, whereupon the mysteries shall be revealed.
Not necessarily. In fact, a lot - if not most - of the burden of development of proficiency is on you. I have taken a lot of courses in my adult life, beyond primary training, in my primary profession, in scuba, in aviation. In scuba, I continue to take dive-related courses, I continue to participate in webinars, attend seminars, etc. Learning doesn't stop at the point of initial credentialing - if anything it really begins there. But, I will also say that EVERY dive for me is a training dive, whether I am teaching, whether I have a specific 'mission', or whether I am just swimming on a Caribbean reef looking at pretty fish. And, I went through some of the very same issues you describe - trying to figure out how to breathe, and realizing that l-o-o-o-n-g, slow, d-e-e-p breaths were - for me - not the best way to maintain good buoyancy, and that simply breathing more oir less like I do on land was the best approach. For that matter, EVERY flight is a training flight, whether I am on a cross-country trip for business (mission-oriented), or just flying around the local AP.
One additional observation:
Javik:
I am coming more and more to the conclusion that buoyancy management for new divers like myself is being taught completely wrong
I taught biostatistics for many years. I would tell students at the beginning of the first class, every semester, that how students learn is very individualized. I can explain a concept one way, and 75% of the class will 'get it'. If I then explain the same concept a second way, another 20% will 'get it'. I may have to explain the concept a third way, even a fourth, in order for all students to 'get it'. And, even then, some students have to go home, think about what was said, maybe come to the next class and ask questions, in order to understand the concept. So, I am not sure the way buoyancy is taught in the OWD course is 'wrong'. In fact, the way you go on to describe how it should be taught seems to be quite similar to how I, and apparently some other posters in the thread, teach it. But, it apparently was not right - for you. You may be in the 20% that need a second explanation, or the 5% that need the third, or fourth explanation. Nothing wrong with that, it is what it is. In any course, some students will hear certain things and lock onto them. For example, 'Never hold your breath.' Yes, that is often stated, just that way. Perhaps, a better way to say it for some is, 'Remember, always breathe.'
This was not explained in the PADI OWD course at all.
When you say 'This was not explained . . ' I presume you are referring to Nirvana's post. And, I cannot say that the concepts are explained in those exact words in the PADI OWD course (or any other OWD course for that matter). The concepts of drag, delayed response in buoyancy associated with breathing, etc. are certainly supposed to be taught in the PADI course and presumably others. But, none of us were present in
your OWD course, so you have the advantage of the experience.
The fact that you showed up on SB, that you took the time to start the thread. and make the comments that you did, is great. You have a new Learner's Permit, and you are now beginning to learn how to dive. Please, keep it up.
