Cave training - GUE vs. TDI/IANTD (or other)

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No, you will lose the ability to teach for GUE if you dive solo. It’s part of the conditions of being a GUE instructor. Its a huge amount of work and a significant amount of money to become a GUE instructor, so if solo diving is important then don’t become one.

Solo diving in just cave / technical capacity or solo diving in any capacity? If you are a dive master on an NC boat, you have to jump in with the anchor and hook it to the wreck. Then you come up and give a dive briefing on vis and current. Does it mean that if you are a GUE certified diver, you cant be a boat DM on North Carolina wrecks? Or does that mean that when you go in to hook the anchor, you should take a dive buddy with you?
 
Solo diving in just cave / technical capacity or solo diving in any capacity? If you are a dive master on an NC boat, you have to jump in with the anchor and hook it to the wreck. Then you come up and give a dive briefing on vis and current. Does it mean that if you are a GUE certified diver, you cant be a boat DM on North Carolina wrecks? Or does that mean that when you go in to hook the anchor, you should take a dive buddy with you?
This guideline appears to apply to GUE instructors.
 
People train with and hold c-cards from multiple agencies, and GUE instructors are aware of that. GUE may strongly advocate their way of diving but they apparently understand reality.

Maybe if you're well known in the GUE community and to GUE leadership then you might feel the pressure to adhere to the GUE way--they might view you as a role model--but if you're so well known, then you're probably diving the GUE way anyway. If you're just Joe C. Card Holder, do what the sum of your training tells you is right. I suspect the system is largely self-regulating. There just aren't many people who are totally into the GUE system yet regularly skirt principles as central to the GUE system as team diving (i.e., no solo).
 
no one is taking your cert card away.
but if you plan on solo diving why take the gue course in the first place? it's astronomically expensive and seems silly to do if you aren't interested in diving that way
 
no one is taking your cert card away.
certain instructors seem to threaten this more and more the past few years. it never happens to mere students. I dont get the authoritarianism but it seems prevalent, especially around here
 
no one is taking your cert card away.
but if you plan on solo diving why take the gue course in the first place? it's astronomically expensive and seems silly to do if you aren't interested in diving that way
I cave dive solo from time to time and am currently full cave/rebreather certified. I plan on taking fundies and am seriously thinking about taking Tec 1 and Cave 1 as well.
I believe I've had very good instructors along the way and am a well rounded diver, but think I can always get better (which seems to be a key GUE philosophy).

I originally was just going to do fundies to enhance my skills. Over the past month I've been privy to watch several Cave 1 and Cave 2 courses while I was in cave country. The consistency in what the instructors taught the classes was impressive. Many of the things they discussed I knew from my courses, but especially listening to Mer's class recently, the way things are presented is slightly different and the planning involved is in much more depth than I've experienced.

So I think I would actually become a better diver taking the courses, but would likely not stop the occasional solo dive.
 
certain instructors seem to threaten this more and more the past few years. it never happens to mere students. I dont get the authoritarianism but it seems prevalent, especially around here
you mean taking the instructor's credentials away? I'm on board with that
 
no one is taking your cert card away.
but if you plan on solo diving why take the gue course in the first place? it's astronomically expensive and seems silly to do if you aren't interested in diving that way
Just because you sometimes dive solo doesn't mean you always will.
 

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