DIR-F for me?

[Derek S]

Jplacson,
Thanks. I'm not good enough for DIRF but it's always nice to know what I should be looking at. BTW I'm still getting used to my kit so when I'm more comfortable with that I may end up doing DIRF at some point but PADI Rescue is next for me.

From what I know, DIR-F isn't about being "good enough". It is about learning to become a better diver. I'm going to be taking it in a little over 2 weeks and I can't wait. I've heard people with hundreds, maybe even thousands of dives take the course and come away from it a better diver, and isn't that what it's all about?

I don't think I myself can say that about any of the PADI courses I've taken thus far (besides BOW obviously).

I think that the earlier you take Fundamentals, the better off you are. You don't have bad habits ingrained that will be harder to break, and it is much less likely that a diver will come away with a bruised ego. I'm new, I know I suck, which is why I'm taking the class. To become a better diver.

 

[H2Andy]

I've heard people with hundreds, maybe even thousands of dives take the course and come away from it a better diver, and isn't that what it's all about?

I don't think I myself can say that about any of the PADI courses I've taken thus far (besides BOW obviously).

DIR-F is by far the best course I have ever taken, including cavern and intro. cave.
while both cavern and intro. cave were very educational, DIR-F basically forced
me to look at the building blocks (er... the fundamentals) of diving. the approach,
teaching method, and feedback sessions were the most useful diving experiences
i've ever had.

 

[jplacson]

Exactly! DIRF is, and I feel SHOULD be, the first class anyone should take. If you just finished your OW class... jump right into DIRF. If you're not yet certified... and aren't in a rush... wait for GUE's OW class. I think it'll be more than worth it since it will already include the DIRF lessons.

DIRF teaches things I feel all the other agencies SHOULD teach divers from the very beginning.

 

[Derek S]

DIR-F is by far the best course I have ever taken, including cavern and intro. cave.
while both cavern and intro. cave were very educational, DIR-F basically forced
me to look at the building blocks (er... the fundamentals) of diving. the approach,
teaching method, and feedback sessions were the most useful diving experiences
i've ever had.

I can't wait...March 17th isn't going to get here fast enough!

 

[Jason B]

while both cavern and intro. cave were very educational, DIR-F basically forced
me to look at the building blocks (er... the fundamentals) of diving.

How did you make it out of either of these classes without being able to mod frog, mod flutter, helicopter and back-up? Trim and buoyancy while task loading is essiential for these classes. I can see where DIR-F would have made these classes easier (as far as the diving goes) but these skills are taught here also.

Jason

 

[MASS-Diver]

More about Tech one please.

I have not taken Tech one - I just know what I was told when I took DIR-f. It seems like these days, for divers without a tech background, a good route to go is to take and eventually pass DIR-f, then take rectriox, then take tech 1 or cave 1 or whatever.

Since you are from NY, if you want to check out a cool team of GUE trained divers check out http://www.ne-ue.com one of the founders (Vadim - who is also on SB) is living in NY. He's a nice guy and a really squared away diver, I'm sure he'd be willing to offer you some advice.

 

[dbulmer]

Derek,Jplacson

I dive in a club environment - my (tor)mentor is DIR. Good enough was a poor choice of words on my part - safe enough would be better and more accurate.
BTW the reason for Rescue is to have at least a clue if one of my DIR buddies has an issue - my drysuit skill is not very good and I need to be comfy in the bag before I go anywhere near Mr Kerslake. BTW this is advice given to me by UK Dir blokes so given what I know about diving could be written on a postage stamp I think it wise of me to listen to that advice. That said I do admire you chaps that have done DIRF - I have a pretty good idea of what skill level I need to have and the honest truth is that I'm not at that level yet. Thanks for the encouragement boys - I might get there one day.

 

[jplacson]

Hmmm... from what I've heard, Rec Triox isn't really needed if you intend to go to Tech/Cave 1.

Unlike DIR-F which is a requirement.

Rec TriOx is like GUE's "Basic Nitrox" class. I think it will cert you for a 30/30 Trimix or something like that.

For recreational purposes, it may be a bit overkill to do a trimix. You might as well just save up...practice more... and go straight to Tech 1.

 

[H2Andy]

How did you make it out of either of these classes without being able to mod frog, mod flutter, helicopter and back-up? Trim and buoyancy while task loading is essiential for these classes. I can see where DIR-F would have made these classes easier (as far as the diving goes) but these skills are taught here also.

Jason

well... yes and no...

briefly, the concentration on cavern and cave were on post-fundamental
skills. while i could do them, i was not DEAD ON because i didn't have the
basics down pat.

if i had taken DIR-F first, my cavern and cave classes would have been a lot
more productive.

in essense, i went into overhead with less than perfect trim and bouyancy, and
this affected all the other skills i learned.

hope that makes sense.

oh, and we didn't cover the back kick in cave/cavern, but yes to the frog, mod frog,
and mod flutter.

 

[jplacson]

dbulmer... hmm... ok. I can't say I agree with you in that you have to be better to take DIRF. I was fresh out of PADI AOW (which really doesn't teach you squat except how to read a friggin' compass underwater!) So I can't say I was a great diver by any means before the course. I'm not loads better now... but I know I will be now that I know what to improve on!

The DIRF course is designed to make you a better and safer diver. Not to tell you that you suck. It will show you where you suck though. And you will realize that you may fall short in a lot of techniques. But that's all part of learning.

A lot of instructors and tech divers have failed the course... so you can imagine how I felt getting into it. The previous class was composed mostly of DMs and Advanced Nitrox divers. None of them passed either. All provisional.

I don't know if any of them will train to be re-evaluated to pass DIR..or if they just took the course to learn a little more. But either way, they learned a lot as well.

DIRF is something I feel you should take.. regardless of your current skill level. The only people who actually FAIL (and not just get a provisional rating) are total "strokes" ... usually unsafe, gung-ho, ignorant divers. These are the guys who dive deep just to prove they can. The type who leave their buddies with the whole "what can go wrong?" attitude. From what I was told... it kinda takes a lot as well to FAIL the DIRF class.