Ben_ca
Contributor
So where's your full report? 
You do know that's a requirement don't you?
You do know that's a requirement don't you?
DIR-F completed
- Thread starter goodeatsfan
- Start date
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OP
goodeatsfan
Guest
tonka97:Goodeatsfan,
What is one tip that made you go AHA?
Sorry, what's AHA mean?
Congratulations.
Gideon is a great instructor. I took my fundies with him.
Gideon is a great instructor. I took my fundies with him.
Ben_ca
Contributor
AHA as in "Oh Now I get it" or "That's why...." or a "Light bulb" going off above your head kinda moment Is what I think Tonka meant
OP
goodeatsfan
Guest
ok... I've never done a report in a looooong time, so please forgive any and all glaring ommissions or/and mistakes.
Background
My wife and I have been diving for only about a couple of years and pretty much since the beginning, we've heard and read about the fundamentals course from friends, Scubaboard and other forums. We had the opportunity to sit in on a classroom session very early on when Gideon was conducting a video-review section and we were quite sold on his level of professionalism, granted we weren't experienced divers, but we were very experienced classroom students
Anyway, after slightly over a year of procrastination, we got around to signing up for the class in november last year, and on the advise of some here on the boards (THANKS!), did some pool sessions on propulsion techniques prior to the course. (IMHO, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!)
Day 1
Met Gid and 2 other fellow coursemates for the first classroom session and with a ratio or 1:4, the attention and time each student got to ask questions and seek clarification on any issues was MORE than adequate. We started out with Gid asking us our reasons for taking up this course and following that went into the the intro and philosophy of GUE, as well as the course overview. Interpersed with stories about his personal experiences over the years and his views, he went into issues about weighting, trim and bouyancy and how to achieve control over these areas. 6 hours of theory later, we went on to adjust the fit of our backplates (and I had previously thought I got my wife's and mine fit perfectly) and we headed out to hit the water.
We did some dry-runs on the propulsion techniques and it was a blast! Tiring because of gravity(?) but loads of fun. Our first session in the water wasn't half bad, but loads of issues showed up in the videos the next day that we never knew existed! Loads of practice doing Frog kicks, flutter kicks, modifieds, and the ever elusive back kicks and helicopter turns. We finally called it a night at about 9.30-10pm.
Day 2
What can I say. Horrors upon horrors. Our flaws were put up for all to see and it was humbling. Laughter abound but Gid was extremely professional about it and well, what can I say, he's seen it all before too often! The video is a great tool and I'm surprised why it isn't up more often. It's such a simple and effective tool.
Well, after the issues we needed to work on for were noted and expanded on, we went into the the academic portion of the day and discussed about the Basic 5, S-, OOG drills. Also about equipment configuration and the why of it. GUE EDGE, Gas management, dive planning, situational awareness and other topics were gotten into over the next 7-8hrs.... I thought I suffered a brain haemmorhage around the 3rd to 4th hour, but I managed to get through it... No in-water session that day.
Day 3
First thing we did was our Swim test at a pool. Gid made us swim 300m and about 20+m breathhold! Completed it in about 7mins. The 2 ladies had some minor issues with the breathhold initially, the could do it, but they were doing it on the surface of the water. Gid made them do it underwater before he let them go. Not a problem, it's all in the mind anyway.
Went on with our in-water practice and that went on for about 2-3hrs. Practicing the same skills as before including those new skills practiced on day 2. Also attempts were made on slow ascends and stops.
Went back to the classroom for the video reviews and even more diving theory, this time on decompression and gases. Gid also went on into Nitrox theory and the whys and hows of it. After a short 3-4hrs of theory, the day was called to an end.
Day 4
We had another couple of hours discussing about gas management and planning, followed by theory about twin tanks setup. Final in-water sessions for the course were done in Nitrox 32 with additional skills like OOG Ascents and SMB Deployment practiced and lasted about a couple of hours.
Headed back to the classroom for video reviews and theory. What can I say... I did see a huge improvement of both my wife and my overall diving skills. Gid passed all four of us, but that said, there's tonnes to work on.
Ok thanks for reading! Also, Thanks to Gerauld, Leon and Irene for helping out in different measures during the course.
Background
My wife and I have been diving for only about a couple of years and pretty much since the beginning, we've heard and read about the fundamentals course from friends, Scubaboard and other forums. We had the opportunity to sit in on a classroom session very early on when Gideon was conducting a video-review section and we were quite sold on his level of professionalism, granted we weren't experienced divers, but we were very experienced classroom students
Anyway, after slightly over a year of procrastination, we got around to signing up for the class in november last year, and on the advise of some here on the boards (THANKS!), did some pool sessions on propulsion techniques prior to the course. (IMHO, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!)
Day 1
Met Gid and 2 other fellow coursemates for the first classroom session and with a ratio or 1:4, the attention and time each student got to ask questions and seek clarification on any issues was MORE than adequate. We started out with Gid asking us our reasons for taking up this course and following that went into the the intro and philosophy of GUE, as well as the course overview. Interpersed with stories about his personal experiences over the years and his views, he went into issues about weighting, trim and bouyancy and how to achieve control over these areas. 6 hours of theory later, we went on to adjust the fit of our backplates (and I had previously thought I got my wife's and mine fit perfectly) and we headed out to hit the water.
We did some dry-runs on the propulsion techniques and it was a blast! Tiring because of gravity(?) but loads of fun. Our first session in the water wasn't half bad, but loads of issues showed up in the videos the next day that we never knew existed! Loads of practice doing Frog kicks, flutter kicks, modifieds, and the ever elusive back kicks and helicopter turns. We finally called it a night at about 9.30-10pm.
Day 2
What can I say. Horrors upon horrors. Our flaws were put up for all to see and it was humbling. Laughter abound but Gid was extremely professional about it and well, what can I say, he's seen it all before too often! The video is a great tool and I'm surprised why it isn't up more often. It's such a simple and effective tool.
Well, after the issues we needed to work on for were noted and expanded on, we went into the the academic portion of the day and discussed about the Basic 5, S-, OOG drills. Also about equipment configuration and the why of it. GUE EDGE, Gas management, dive planning, situational awareness and other topics were gotten into over the next 7-8hrs.... I thought I suffered a brain haemmorhage around the 3rd to 4th hour, but I managed to get through it...
No in-water session that day.Day 3
First thing we did was our Swim test at a pool. Gid made us swim 300m and about 20+m breathhold! Completed it in about 7mins. The 2 ladies had some minor issues with the breathhold initially, the could do it, but they were doing it on the surface of the water. Gid made them do it underwater before he let them go. Not a problem, it's all in the mind anyway.
Went on with our in-water practice and that went on for about 2-3hrs. Practicing the same skills as before including those new skills practiced on day 2. Also attempts were made on slow ascends and stops.
Went back to the classroom for the video reviews and even more diving theory, this time on decompression and gases. Gid also went on into Nitrox theory and the whys and hows of it. After a short 3-4hrs of theory, the day was called to an end.
Day 4
We had another couple of hours discussing about gas management and planning, followed by theory about twin tanks setup. Final in-water sessions for the course were done in Nitrox 32 with additional skills like OOG Ascents and SMB Deployment practiced and lasted about a couple of hours.
Headed back to the classroom for video reviews and theory. What can I say... I did see a huge improvement of both my wife and my overall diving skills. Gid passed all four of us, but that said, there's tonnes to work on.
Ok thanks for reading! Also, Thanks to Gerauld, Leon and Irene for helping out in different measures during the course.
OP
goodeatsfan
Guest
Ben_ca:
heee..... I though it was an acronym for something! sorry! There wasn't any one thing that went AHA for me... I read up and practiced as much as my wife and I were willing, so we went in with some idea of what to expect. I daresay I could have handled abit more, but in all fairness to Gideon, who was VERY professional in the way he instructed and guided this class, if I went in with no preparation, it would have been just a little overwhelming. Again, it's all individual perspectives and expectations.
OP
goodeatsfan
Guest
Thanks!
goodeatsfan:
Just wondering; what are you going to do now? Did you take the course "just to see" or do you have plans to continue with GUE for more education.
Also, I must say I'm impressed with the fact that all 4 passed. Of the courses I've been involved with (either as a student or as the video guy) the average has been about 1 in 10 pass; and most of those were 2nd time around.
Ben_ca
Contributor
Did you go for Rec or Tech?
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