Becoming As Proficient As Possible

[rleslie]

I love diving and want to become as proficient as possible. So, my question is: How is that best achieved? Aside from practice, practice, practice, is it going thru DMT and IDC OR taking all of the specialty dive classes (eventhough many of them don't really interest me)?

A related question: When looking at DMT, I find course lenghts from 4 weeks to 4 months. Are the longer ones just a way for dive shops to keep free grunt labor?

I have no desire to instruct, only develope my own skills.

 

[CDNScubaMoose]

Outside of practice, practice, practice. I would strongly suggest finding a dive mentor who you can dive with on a regular basis and learn from. I would also suggest expanding your circle of dive buddies since you can always learn something new if you keep an open mind and ask questions. A good mentor should be willing to give you constructive feedback to your diving but if you do want to improve then you have to be willing to accept the feedback and encourage your mentor(s) to provide it. Another suggestion would be that if possible to dive in a variety of conditions and environments ... it will help you become a more well rounded diver.

As for the DM course ... for the most part you are going to gain knowledge with limited amount of time spent on actual in water skills. As far as the length of the course ... depends on how keen the candidates are to tackle the requirements and also on the instructor's schedule. There is a pile of information to learn in most DM courses and different candidates are able to absorb it at different rates. I'm sure there are shops out there that take advantage of the free labour but if you get that vibe then perhaps that would be a yellow flag to stay away from.

 

[DBailey]

In terms of diving skills, the DMT and IDC do very little in terms of making your dive skill better. These are not about you, but at making you a dive professional to help others with their diving. Many instructors that I know state that teaching has actually ruined their skills since doing the skills (per some agencies) has very little with true diving.

Sure, repetition of many of the skills might help you, but then again, these skills should already be at a level that you don't need help.

Now, with that said, I tihnk that being a DM or Instructor and being around students/new divers can really help your situational awareness. When I was a DM, I had many "ah-ha" moments. These are the moment when thinking back to rescue class the book describes the situation one way, but there is not good way to simulate it. Once with students, you see all of these situations develope exactly like the book says they will. Armed with this knowledge, you can start to head a lot of stuff off before it developes into something worse.

In terms of the length of the DMT, try to find out if you will be doing training with real students or simulated sessions? With live students, you are sometimes at the mercy of when the classes are scheduled. At the shop I work with, we only have open water dives for 6 months of the year, if the DMT starts during the off season, the person will have to wait for the classes to finish up. Also, depending on the volume of DMT going through the course might impact it as well. If candidates are observing actual classes, then too many candidate actually becomes a problem. I wouldn't judge the course based solely on the length of it, but instead, ask some questions.

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

I would follow scuba moose advice and expand your circle of dive buddies. You can always learn more from other divers. The DM and instructor course are great but if you are looking just to develop your own skills, you may find these courses don't fulfil your needs. The difference in time for the DM course depends on whether you take the practical or the internship approach. the practical is more classroom orientated with simulated scenarios whereas the internship you will spend more time shadowing instructors and existing DMs and learn a lot form their example. The internship is most popular with people who don't have as much experience and want to get their dive numbers up.

 

[Bryan.]

I love diving and want to become as proficient as possible. So, my question is: How is that best achieved? Aside from practice, practice, practice, is it going thru DMT and IDC OR taking all of the specialty dive classes (eventhough many of them don't really interest me)?

A related question: When looking at DMT, I find course lenghts from 4 weeks to 4 months. Are the longer ones just a way for dive shops to keep free grunt labor?

I have no desire to instruct, only develope my own skills.

To be honest with you... for me it really was and still is a combination of constant practice, buddies, and always being open minded to continually learning from the libary of information available to you.

I teach alot and in doing so you can pick up some bad habits so it is imperative to always be aware of this and keep your skills sharp. As an extreme example, look at technical divers or cave divers... to be proficient you must always be practicing s-drills to hone your abilities and you must surround yourself with like mind individuals who become your buddies and mentors. I believe this is no different for recreational diving. To be a safe and proficient diver, the rules are the same.

As for going through the DMT/IDC process, I believe at least the DMT is something of value due to the volume of information that can be learned. However, like anything else, it depends on your instructor/mentor that you choose and also the attitude that you take towards the course aswell. The IDC will then only teach you to teach due to the fact that you should have already mastered the skills.

Regarding Internship vs. Simulated... well I would recommend the Internship. Again... it is the attitude that you take into the course but if you find the right instructor for you then you will learn alot about the Dive Industry, you will hone your teaching skills and individual dive skills plus you will have alot of fun!! Plus, you will get alot of personal satisfaction from introducing students to our underwater realm!!

I hope this helps!!

Good luck and safe diving!!