DIR-F: March 10-11, erm, March 9-11: Part 1
- Thread starter amascuba
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SparticleBrane
Contributor
Let us know how it goes. I was considering taking it with him, but...:11:
SparticleBrane
Contributor
In that case, I openly admit that I was speaking out of complete ignorance.
Carribeandiver
Guest
yes, the workbook was not yet available. So charging for the printed version of the slide presentation was justified because it is a rule to bleed you if possible? $500 for the course, $80 for spring diving fees, $xx for cylinders/gas, some misc fee something or other I forgot what, $25 for the 100 page outline,,,
Doug is a nice guy and good diver. Mark is an excellent diver. Mark was courteous and prepared. My problem is the entire week from registration until the start of class, I emphasized and emphasized that I wanted to learn buoyancy and trim. During the slide presentation Mark stated over and over that we would work on buoyancy and trim even if we did nothing else on every dive.
10 minutes into my first dive, with gear that wasnt fitted properly, I was struggling to keep from rolling over, I had poor buoyancy and zero trim. I had to hold onto the platform to keep from drifting off and instead of working on that teeny tiny problem, Mark signaled for me to come forward and perform kicks. I felt right then the course syllabus was more important than completing each task proficiently and Mark lost his credibility with me. I dont care what you are doing, dont make promises you fail to keep. And that applies to everything, period.
I did everything they asked to the best of my ability but left with no more control of buoyancy and trim then when I started. The entire first dive was wasted because the gear didnt fit. Part of the class and pre-dive preparation was to check for gear fitting. What did I know? I just bought the rig a few days before, some the day before, it seemed ok to me.
Mark may be great, everyone seems to imply he is a terrific teacher, I might take Fundies again but I will have a different instructor. Plus charging for the printed slide presentation is petty after paying 500 bucks for the course.
With OW, I may not have left a good diver but I left with added knowledge. With my Fundies course, I left with a visual idea of what could be done. I got this through demonstrations by Doug and Mark. But then again, I got that from a 29.95 video I bought from 5thd-x. Watching that video has taught me as much or more than I got from the course.
It could all be my fault but with 1 on 1 instruction, you would think at least one skill could be improved.
Doug is a nice guy and good diver. Mark is an excellent diver. Mark was courteous and prepared. My problem is the entire week from registration until the start of class, I emphasized and emphasized that I wanted to learn buoyancy and trim. During the slide presentation Mark stated over and over that we would work on buoyancy and trim even if we did nothing else on every dive.
10 minutes into my first dive, with gear that wasnt fitted properly, I was struggling to keep from rolling over, I had poor buoyancy and zero trim. I had to hold onto the platform to keep from drifting off and instead of working on that teeny tiny problem, Mark signaled for me to come forward and perform kicks. I felt right then the course syllabus was more important than completing each task proficiently and Mark lost his credibility with me. I dont care what you are doing, dont make promises you fail to keep. And that applies to everything, period.
I did everything they asked to the best of my ability but left with no more control of buoyancy and trim then when I started. The entire first dive was wasted because the gear didnt fit. Part of the class and pre-dive preparation was to check for gear fitting. What did I know? I just bought the rig a few days before, some the day before, it seemed ok to me.
Mark may be great, everyone seems to imply he is a terrific teacher, I might take Fundies again but I will have a different instructor. Plus charging for the printed slide presentation is petty after paying 500 bucks for the course.
With OW, I may not have left a good diver but I left with added knowledge. With my Fundies course, I left with a visual idea of what could be done. I got this through demonstrations by Doug and Mark. But then again, I got that from a 29.95 video I bought from 5thd-x. Watching that video has taught me as much or more than I got from the course.
It could all be my fault but with 1 on 1 instruction, you would think at least one skill could be improved.
Honestly, Caribbeandiver, I understand your frustration but I'm not entirely sure I'm on your side about it. Buoyancy control takes TIME to develop. Yeah, you work on it, but it doesn't come with a snap of the fingers and there's no magic bullet to fix it. I'm at about 300 dives now and still working constantly on mine.
Mark clearly wanted to get through some of the rest of the course material so you would have at least some idea of what to go home and practice. If you'd spent the whole weekend trying to get neutral and horizontal, would you feel as though you had gotten your money's worth?
My buoyancy control was good enough to do the kicks in Fundies, but fell apart with S-drills and an attempt at a bag shoot. Still, my instructor had my do those things, and I'm glad he did, because when I got my buoyancy going better, I could go on to practice those skills, too.
Mark clearly wanted to get through some of the rest of the course material so you would have at least some idea of what to go home and practice. If you'd spent the whole weekend trying to get neutral and horizontal, would you feel as though you had gotten your money's worth?
My buoyancy control was good enough to do the kicks in Fundies, but fell apart with S-drills and an attempt at a bag shoot. Still, my instructor had my do those things, and I'm glad he did, because when I got my buoyancy going better, I could go on to practice those skills, too.
SparticleBrane
Contributor
Learning buoyancy while task loaded is of the upmost importance. While just being able to hover while doing nothing is great, if you can't hover when you need to do something, then what's the point? I believe he was trying to get you to do things while having good buoyancy and trim.
Carribeandiver:
CD, of course you are entitled to your opinion, I am sorry that you feel ripped off. But I wanted to make sure you knew, especially since it seems to be one of the bigger issues, that the "workbook" IS a printed version of the presentation. I say this because you seem to think that you were supposed to get a "workbook", but instead had to settle for a printed version of the slide presentation. The workbook is usually 20-ish bucks plus shipping and handling, so $25 bucks is not completely outrageous. Every course I have taken I had to pay for the material (book, etc.), so this did not seem abnormal to me. When my sister-in-law signed up for Fundies with Mark she was told about needing the workbook, the dive sites fees, rental fees for tanks, were you not told about these fees?
Carribeandiver:
Is the only thing you left with a visual idea? You did not learn or gain from anything else that was taught in the classroom or in the water? I admit, the 5thd-x video is a GREAT video, but it didn't even come close to what is covered in the class. You can't ask questions or get clarification from a video. That is a shame.
OP
To bad the GUE instructors can't just give you the PDF file of the presentation, because it is password protected. The PDF had some demonstration videos attached the presentation that could quiet helpful right now. I guess I'll have to stick with my 5thd-x video while I'm doing field drills at home.
I'm with Jason on this one though CaribbeanDiver, You basically got a pre-released version of the new workbook. I would love to be going back through the presentation this week before diving on Saturday. Try to buddy up with some DIR divers in your area and start practicing. You sure are allot closer to Florida that many of us.
I'm with Jason on this one though CaribbeanDiver, You basically got a pre-released version of the new workbook. I would love to be going back through the presentation this week before diving on Saturday. Try to buddy up with some DIR divers in your area and start practicing. You sure are allot closer to Florida that many of us.
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