Day 1:
I arrived at Island Divers Hawaii, promptly on time at 0730 and met up with Jim and Fish. As we stood around the infamous rinse-bucket we started to wonder when Mark the fourth student (whom none of us ever met before) would arrive at the diveshop. Mark arrived on-time and shortly after Jim, Fish and myself introduced ourselves to Mark our instructor Stephen White arrived with Dreadi-Master Jo in tow.
The majority of the morning was spent going over administrivia, intros, an overview of GUE and most importantly expectation management. Even though the team makeup included two instructors, one trimix certified diver and a relatively experienced diver with ~150 dives we knew that the next 4 days would challenge all of us. As Stephen laid out the requirements for recreational and technical passes it became apparent that GUE sets the bar very high.
We took ten minutes to get some food, and Stephen continued to lecture through lunch and until the early evening. Lecture included the basic skills that Stephen expected us to perform, to include video of how the skills were to be performed. The day concluded with a swim test and a breath-hold swim both of which all of us passed. In its entirety the first day took approximately ten hours.
Day 2:
After getting my morning coffee I promptly arrived at 0800 the next morning at three tables. This was the day were we were to do our first couple of dives. Stephen would essentially see where our skills were, while Jo would video tape us .
Dive #1:
After going through all the land drills, and the pre-dive checks (GUE EDGE/Mod Valve Drill/Mod S-Drill/Bubble Check) we surface swam until we arrived at a spot that was about 20ft at its max depth. Stephen and Jo descended, tied off the float and laid out a rectangular course with cave line. Stephen proceeded to demonstrate the various kicks to us which we then emulated while Jo was so gracious to film us (more on that later). Of course all of these kicks and skills that we were doing had to be done in perfect trim/buoyancy.
Dive #2:
The second dive included going through the basic 5 (Regulator removal/replace, Reg removal/Switch to Backup, S-Drill, Mask Clear, Mask Removal & Clear) and our favorite the BACK KICK of course Stephen made it look easy while some of us struggled with it .again Jo was so nice to get it all on camera.
On the way back to the shop we stopped for lunch for about 30 minutes and enjoyed some Mexican food in Haleiwa (spelling?).
First thing on the agenda back at the dive-shop (HAFB Gym conference room) was the video review. While I have used video on a very limited basis for some of my classes let me tell you something it doesnt matter how perfect you THINK you are underwater when you start watching video of yourself performing skills you will find stuff that you never thought you did. I never realized, that while minor, my trim changed by ~10-15 degrees from horizontal while doing certain skills underwater. The point being you likely wont know how to improve your skills (even minor stuff) unless you take an honest look at what you are doing wrong and video is a great tool to do that! While I was probably cursing Jo initially for filming us having him as a dedicated camera guy provided valuable feedback and made all of us better divers in a very short amount of time. The rest of the day was spent with lecture, and we left around 1930 that evening. . In its entirety the first day took approximately eleven hours.
Day #3
We met at three tables. After various land drills to include valve drills and S-drills we proceeded to gear up and headed down to the water.
Dive #3
During this dive we had the opportunity to do Valve Drills and S-Drills. Lets just say that while not horrible, the small minor details are what got most of us. GUE has a very distinct way of doing things, and for some of us it was a change in the order that steps were done (especially during the valve drill) that caused problems.
Dive #4
Out of Gas swim in a team of three. We rotated the 4 students through the team of 3 conducting this skill so that everyone had the chance to be the donor, out of gas diver, buddy or an observer. When you are the donor, and leader your awareness can quickly go out the window
Dive #5
Unconscious Diver Rescue.
The rest of the day was spent again with video reviews, lecture and the test (all of us passed).
Day 4:
Dive #6:
This was our experience/training dive In other words, Stephen wanted us to go and execute the planned dive as though it was a training dive, he was just there to observe. I was glad that we had the opportunity to do this dive as it presented an opportunity to redeem myself for the previous days small screw-ups. Myself and my buddy ended up conducting our Valve Drill and S-Drill relatively well...of course there was that humorous moment but I wont sell-out Jim here hell have to tell you himself 
Dive #7:
On the last dive we conducted SMB deployments (Bag Shoots), Ascend/Descend Drills and Backup-Light deployments. While we did decent on these skills Stephen and Jo did give us awesome feedback/pointers on some of the finer points.
We finished the day with individual evaluations. All of us passed at one level or another which speaks volumes for the team overall.
Lessons Learned:
1) No matter what level diver you are, you will benefit from taking this class.
2) Video is an awesome tool for feedback.
3) Be honest with yourself; if you truly want to be a better diver allow others to critique your diving. Yes your ego might be hurt for 10 minutes, but in the long-run you will become a better and safer diver.
4) GUE does not push certain brands of gear; at least it did not happen in my class.
5) I should have taken this class 3.5 years ago instead I learned about GUE-DIR diving from 2/3rd hand sources and/or the internet. Not everything you hear 2nd/3rd hand or on the internet about DIR is correct. Bottom line: Go to the source for the info take the class.
How I would make the class better:
There is only one improvement that I think the class could have .add another day to give people a chance to absorb the information and to refine their skills. I was fortunate that I have a relatively sound foundation; however I can see how others could get very frustrated with the course based on the limited amount of time allotted to absorb the info. I understand that the intent is to teach and show the skills and then allow the students to practice on their own after the class to be re-evaluated on another date. However, for some locations (like Hawaii) getting re-evaluated maybe problematic.
Overall Impression:
Stephen White is an asset to GUE and a true educator. The class was well worth the money, and anyone taking Fundies will improve their diving skills. Thanks Stephen and IDH for a job well done.
By the way...I am sure I missed a ton of details...it's midnight here...so forgive me
I arrived at Island Divers Hawaii, promptly on time at 0730 and met up with Jim and Fish. As we stood around the infamous rinse-bucket we started to wonder when Mark the fourth student (whom none of us ever met before) would arrive at the diveshop. Mark arrived on-time and shortly after Jim, Fish and myself introduced ourselves to Mark our instructor Stephen White arrived with Dreadi-Master Jo in tow.
The majority of the morning was spent going over administrivia, intros, an overview of GUE and most importantly expectation management. Even though the team makeup included two instructors, one trimix certified diver and a relatively experienced diver with ~150 dives we knew that the next 4 days would challenge all of us. As Stephen laid out the requirements for recreational and technical passes it became apparent that GUE sets the bar very high.
We took ten minutes to get some food, and Stephen continued to lecture through lunch and until the early evening. Lecture included the basic skills that Stephen expected us to perform, to include video of how the skills were to be performed. The day concluded with a swim test and a breath-hold swim both of which all of us passed. In its entirety the first day took approximately ten hours.
Day 2:
After getting my morning coffee I promptly arrived at 0800 the next morning at three tables. This was the day were we were to do our first couple of dives. Stephen would essentially see where our skills were, while Jo would video tape us .
Dive #1:
After going through all the land drills, and the pre-dive checks (GUE EDGE/Mod Valve Drill/Mod S-Drill/Bubble Check) we surface swam until we arrived at a spot that was about 20ft at its max depth. Stephen and Jo descended, tied off the float and laid out a rectangular course with cave line. Stephen proceeded to demonstrate the various kicks to us which we then emulated while Jo was so gracious to film us (more on that later). Of course all of these kicks and skills that we were doing had to be done in perfect trim/buoyancy.
Dive #2:
The second dive included going through the basic 5 (Regulator removal/replace, Reg removal/Switch to Backup, S-Drill, Mask Clear, Mask Removal & Clear) and our favorite the BACK KICK of course Stephen made it look easy while some of us struggled with it .again Jo was so nice to get it all on camera.
On the way back to the shop we stopped for lunch for about 30 minutes and enjoyed some Mexican food in Haleiwa (spelling?).
First thing on the agenda back at the dive-shop (HAFB Gym conference room) was the video review. While I have used video on a very limited basis for some of my classes let me tell you something it doesnt matter how perfect you THINK you are underwater when you start watching video of yourself performing skills you will find stuff that you never thought you did. I never realized, that while minor, my trim changed by ~10-15 degrees from horizontal while doing certain skills underwater. The point being you likely wont know how to improve your skills (even minor stuff) unless you take an honest look at what you are doing wrong and video is a great tool to do that! While I was probably cursing Jo initially for filming us having him as a dedicated camera guy provided valuable feedback and made all of us better divers in a very short amount of time. The rest of the day was spent with lecture, and we left around 1930 that evening. . In its entirety the first day took approximately eleven hours.
Day #3
We met at three tables. After various land drills to include valve drills and S-drills we proceeded to gear up and headed down to the water.
Dive #3
During this dive we had the opportunity to do Valve Drills and S-Drills. Lets just say that while not horrible, the small minor details are what got most of us. GUE has a very distinct way of doing things, and for some of us it was a change in the order that steps were done (especially during the valve drill) that caused problems.
Dive #4
Out of Gas swim in a team of three. We rotated the 4 students through the team of 3 conducting this skill so that everyone had the chance to be the donor, out of gas diver, buddy or an observer. When you are the donor, and leader your awareness can quickly go out the window
Dive #5
Unconscious Diver Rescue.
The rest of the day was spent again with video reviews, lecture and the test (all of us passed).
Day 4:
Dive #6:
This was our experience/training dive In other words, Stephen wanted us to go and execute the planned dive as though it was a training dive, he was just there to observe. I was glad that we had the opportunity to do this dive as it presented an opportunity to redeem myself for the previous days small screw-ups. Myself and my buddy ended up conducting our Valve Drill and S-Drill relatively well...of course there was that humorous moment but I wont sell-out Jim here hell have to tell you himself 
Dive #7:
On the last dive we conducted SMB deployments (Bag Shoots), Ascend/Descend Drills and Backup-Light deployments. While we did decent on these skills Stephen and Jo did give us awesome feedback/pointers on some of the finer points.
We finished the day with individual evaluations. All of us passed at one level or another which speaks volumes for the team overall.
Lessons Learned:
1) No matter what level diver you are, you will benefit from taking this class.
2) Video is an awesome tool for feedback.
3) Be honest with yourself; if you truly want to be a better diver allow others to critique your diving. Yes your ego might be hurt for 10 minutes, but in the long-run you will become a better and safer diver.
4) GUE does not push certain brands of gear; at least it did not happen in my class.
5) I should have taken this class 3.5 years ago instead I learned about GUE-DIR diving from 2/3rd hand sources and/or the internet. Not everything you hear 2nd/3rd hand or on the internet about DIR is correct. Bottom line: Go to the source for the info take the class.
How I would make the class better:
There is only one improvement that I think the class could have .add another day to give people a chance to absorb the information and to refine their skills. I was fortunate that I have a relatively sound foundation; however I can see how others could get very frustrated with the course based on the limited amount of time allotted to absorb the info. I understand that the intent is to teach and show the skills and then allow the students to practice on their own after the class to be re-evaluated on another date. However, for some locations (like Hawaii) getting re-evaluated maybe problematic.
Overall Impression:
Stephen White is an asset to GUE and a true educator. The class was well worth the money, and anyone taking Fundies will improve their diving skills. Thanks Stephen and IDH for a job well done.
By the way...I am sure I missed a ton of details...it's midnight here...so forgive me
