Common Fundies Mistakes

[lamont]

well, i could restructure it, to focus on "stuff for every fundies course" vs. "additional hassle of non-local instructors"

i tried to point out that the whole thing is what you should think about if you're flying an instructor in, without the help of a shop, and you need to do all the site and gas logistics yourself. and that isn't going to be easy.

 

[GFuterfas]

>making the class look unapproachable.

I definitely don't feel ready for it at this point after reading some of the posts here. It's a confusing topic because I hear people say 'Take Fundies as soon as possible so you don't develop bad habits' and yet there are skills in there that I know I don't have even close. At 30 dives now, my trim is a joke, buoyancy is so-so, never used an SMB, but I'm eager to learn. I did have a couple of good dives recently and feel like it's getting better. It's intimidating to read about instructors with hundreds of dives who struggle with Fundies.

This list is great, Lamont. Very helpful to have these things to think about and know going in.

Thanks,
-Graham

 

[Lobzilla]

I just came a cross this thread and want to say that this summary makes me feel that we 'died' for a good cause in a recent course (covered ad nauseam in another thread) where we violated a lot of these suggestions.

The service Lamont and Laura provide to the GUE/DIR community in the North West is exemplary and I wish we could copy just a fraction of that here in the North East.

 

[Lobzilla]

>making the class look unapproachable.

I definitely don't feel ready for it at this point after reading some of the posts here. It's a confusing topic because I hear people say 'Take Fundies as soon as possible so you don't develop bad habits' and yet there are skills in there that I know I don't have even close. At 30 dives now, my trim is a joke, buoyancy is so-so, never used an SMB, but I'm eager to learn. I did have a couple of good dives recently and feel like it's getting better. It's intimidating to read about instructors with hundreds of dives who struggle with Fundies.

This list is great, Lamont. Very helpful to have these things to think about and know going in.

Thanks,
-Graham

I am sure others will chime in but I feel that you could/should enter Fundies early with the expectation to just learn and then come back later for a pass after skill development/refinement.

Or get prepped through Primer and with competent, local GUE support for a chance to earn pass or provisional on the first try.

It is the middle ground that can be painful depending on how your skills match your expectations.

 

[Lobzilla]

I don't know whether the demands of team diving are worth mentioning. That was the game changer for me. Playing an instrument by yourself is one thing, playing it in an orchestra another.

We had a couple of folks in our class that bit the dust on that challenge including divers that were much more experienced and competent than me.

If you think that your buoyancy and trim skills are sufficient, you could dive with a buddy before class and write each other notes to see whether the additional distraction and task load pushes you over the edge.

 

[limeyx]

>making the class look unapproachable.

I definitely don't feel ready for it at this point after reading some of the posts here. It's a confusing topic because I hear people say 'Take Fundies as soon as possible so you don't develop bad habits' and yet there are skills in there that I know I don't have even close. At 30 dives now, my trim is a joke, buoyancy is so-so, never used an SMB, but I'm eager to learn. I did have a couple of good dives recently and feel like it's getting better. It's intimidating to read about instructors with hundreds of dives who struggle with Fundies.

This list is great, Lamont. Very helpful to have these things to think about and know going in.

Thanks,
-Graham

Graham, if you treat this as an opportunity to learn some new stuff, improve your diving and have fun, then I would say go for it.

Both Karim and Steve M are local and so you dont have those issues of flying someone in, or having to fly out of town.

It's supposed to be a learning/teaching opportunity, followed by an evaluation, not simply an evaluation of what you can already do.

IMO your diving will improve markedly if you go in with the right attitude and dont plan things like a military operation.

Yes, there will be some long days, frustrations etc etc but I really wouldn't sweat the whole thing too much.

Just my opinion.

Nick

 

[lamont]

It's supposed to be a learning/teaching opportunity, followed by an evaluation, not simply an evaluation of what you can already do.

The problem is that people expect to be able to come into the course with no prior preparation other than the gear, slap on doubles a few dives before the course, and are shocked they don't get a Tech pass.

Viewed from that perspective, you will most likely go into the course and get instructed on how you should have been practicing and then get evaluated and will fall short.

So, that's why right up near the top there I suggest taking Primer or just going for a Rec pass. Get into it earlier, do it in a somewhat easier gear config with standards that are not that you could take Tech 1 tomorrow. That's kind of the point.

There's also this persistent meme that students should not be allowed to practice and should not get any mentoring prior to going into fundamentals (I know where that comes from, but I obviously couldn't disagree more), so you're just kinda screwing students at that point. Tell them to not practice, immediately get into the course, show them the tools, but then evaluate them and they typically fall short. That often just leads to frustration. I'd rather be honest in that there's no way to get a Tech pass out of fundamentals first shot through without a lot of mentoring, and it takes at least 25-50 dives between introducing the skills and getting a Tech pass, so if you don't have the background already you can expect to not measure up -- and the course will seem unnecessarily evaluative if students come in with that expectation.

And I don't understand at all where the "bootcamp" comments are coming from. Get in shape, clear your schedule, manage your food and hydration. All these are good suggestions for 5 days straight of fairly demanding diving. Most everything there is just what you need to be thinking about if you're going for a 5 day trip as well.

 

[Mayor]

I was luckily enough to take a tech prep / intro to tech from a GUE trained instructor. This let me come into class with some good skill but I still had to fight to get the pass. Equipment was part of my issues. One being that my tanks were wrong for my body type (fighting to stay flat) and my new dry suit would not let me get to my valves (cut was wrong). So after getting a fresh set of alum 80 and a custom TLS 350 things got so much better. Take a prep something or primer!

Setting up a meeting with your instructor before class and review all gear choices. Why fight the gear when you can have some that will work with you. If your going to buy an item for class call the instructor and talk about it.

 

[Lobzilla]

<snip>
There's also this persistent meme that students should not be allowed to practice and should not get any mentoring prior to going into fundamentals (I know where that comes from, but I obviously couldn't disagree more), so you're just kinda screwing students at that point. Tell them to not practice, immediately get into the course, show them the tools, but then evaluate them and they typically fall short. That often just leads to frustration. I'd rather be honest in that there's no way to get a Tech pass out of fundamentals first shot through without a lot of mentoring, and it takes at least 25-50 dives between introducing the skills and getting a Tech pass, so if you don't have the background already you can expect to not measure up -- and the course will seem unnecessarily evaluative if students come in with that expectation.

<snip>

+1 from personally experiencing the predicted agony

 

[limeyx]

The problem is that people expect to be able to come into the course with no prior preparation other than the gear, slap on doubles a few dives before the course, and are shocked they don't get a Tech pass.

Hmmmm....now maybe there's a reason the original "class" wasn't a class at all, with no "rec" or "tec" passes to worry about (or any passes at all)