DIR Fundamentals

[Tekkie]

Hey,
This is for all of you DIR divers and anyone else who wants to answer. I have read about the equipment style and procedures used in DIR diving and I was going to get the GUE book called (I think) DIR Fundamentals of Better Diving (or something like that). I was wondering if I can use the gear setup and (for example) the long hose technique without taking the GUE DIR Fundamentals class. Would it be safer to take the class then use the DIR techniques or can I just read the book and use the DIR techniques?

Ok that was a little confusing. What I ment is can I just read the DIR book and be a DIR Diver or do I have to take the GUE class to be a DIR diver?

Thankz
Tekkie

If my post is a little misleading please tell me.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I'll let someone else answer your question(s).

Let me just say that the book doesn't contain what you can only learn by taking the class. Anyone who has taken the DIRf will tell you the same thing.

 

[jbd]

the book and you can learn quite a bit from it. Add the videos and you'll probably learn even more but you won't have the real benefit of having a knowledgeable person critique and correct your actual performance and fill out your actual knowledge.

If you're truly interested in the DIR diving skills then take the class if at all possible.

 

[Ontario Diver]

The book is worth reading. The videos are good as well.

But there is so much more to DIR than that.

When you certified, did you just read the OW manual to become a certified diver? Nope. Same thing with DIR.

 

[merkin]

Along the lines of the original question... I plan to eventually take the class (Feb, March), but am buying gear now and was planning to go ahead and get the long hose to be familiar with it before the class - am I going to strangle myself or is diving with that hose relatively simple? [I thought about going ahead and buying the book - would this help?]

 

[Cave Diver]

Reading the book is a good start.

Taking the class is even better.

Neither by themselves (or together for that matter) make you a DIR diver.

It will however, open the door for you to understand exactly what it means to be a DIR diver and give you something to work towards.

Contrary to popular belief on this board, just diving a bp/wings setup with a long hose is not what DIR is all about. I put together a rather lengthy discription about DIR in answer to a PM someone sent me and I will email it to you as an attachment if you wish to read it.

 

[Cave Diver]

merkin once bubbled...
Along the lines of the original question... I plan to eventually take the class (Feb, March), but am buying gear now and was planning to go ahead and get the long hose to be familiar with it before the class - am I going to strangle myself or is diving with that hose relatively simple? [I thought about going ahead and buying the book - would this help?]

The book will help explain the use and routing of the long hose and it is a good idea to be familiar with the gear prior to taking the class. Also, the long primary hose is the only *required* gear for the class, although a bp/wings setup and fairly stiff fins are highly recommended (split fins dont work well for some of the kicks you will learn).

Diving with the hose is relatively simple and strangulation should be no problem unless you just have a total Charlie Foxtrot.

 

[jbd]

the long hose yet but my dive buddy ckharlan has the long hose. It doesn't seem to be any different than diving with the regular hose that you are using now. I have done OOA drills with ckharlan and I can see how it would be much easier to swim out of a cave or a wreck with the long hose.

 

[crab]

A common thread throughout the book (which I have read) and I am sure the class (which I have not taken) is that DIR is a holistic approach to diving. Being a philosophical concept, that is subject to a certain amount of interpretation, one could argue that incorporating the discrete elements (and not swallowing the whole pill at once) is either foolish, thoughtful, or somewhere in between. I have noticed one of the frequent gripes of individuals who subscribe to and practice the complete DIR approach is the co-optation of the DIR name by people who have grasped a few of the principles, yet have not subscribed to the genuine holistic approach.

To address your question-- I have read the DIRF book and have adopted many of the equipment elements (including the long hose) and I have not experienced any manner of a dangerous learning curve that you seem to be worried about. The area where I am looking for the most impact in my actual diving is skills. In particular buoyancy, weighting, and trim. The learning and application of concrete skills can only be accomplished in the hands-on environment of a class. Did I mention that I am planning to take DIRF as well?

 

[Fetch]

Jumping onto the long hose without any special classes works, BUT:

1) Do some pool dives, and then some very very easy OW dives. Like any other big gear change, try to have CF's occur under otherwise manageable conditions.

2) Get all of the pictures/diagrams/videos you can, first (fifthD has some great video from DIR-F training that you can download and watch). It'll better help you understand how the equipment is configured and deployed.

I'd recommend doing the above, and then becoming comfortable with your gear at least a month prior to a DIR-F class, you'll get a lot more out of the class (bouyancy, trim, being a team, etc) than you will if you're struggling with gear (as John and I witnessed in our class).

jeff