First pool session, wow!

[David P]

Well its been a long day but I think I can remember this... First we swap the "crawl" on our right side for 4 laps (100m) then our left, then breast, then back. Then we learned how to clear our masks and don our fins and snorkle. We repeated the laps doing the flutter and frog kick. Then we received 10lbs of wait to swim around with. Then swim circuits and at each end of the pool, dive and touch the bottom, get out of the pool, do an entry of your choice, and repeat for 6 laps. Oh yeah cant forget about swimming from one end of the pool to the other on a single breath, and thentowing your buddy the length of the pool, tread water for awile (wich was quite relaxing actually) and then tread water with you hands out of water (I think it just a breathing drill).

Then when I get home thinking that I wont go swimming again for awhile, the wife tells me I need to jump in the pond (I like Japaneese Koi) and do some maintanance and then the same with the pool. Im not sure I will go swimming again before my next pool session next week now! It was a blast though, and I cant wait to do it again (except all those damn laps!)
Is this normal for certification?

 

[gussys]

Well its been a long day but I think I can remember this... First we swap the "crawl" on our right side for 4 laps (100m) then our left, then breast, then back. Then we learned how to clear our masks and don our fins and snorkle. We repeated the laps doing the flutter and frog kick. Then we received 10lbs of wait to swim around with. Then swim circuits and at each end of the pool, dive and touch the bottom, get out of the pool, do an entry of your choice, and repeat for 6 laps. Oh yeah cant forget about swimming from one end of the pool to the other on a single breath, and thentowing your buddy the length of the pool, tread water for awile (wich was quite relaxing actually) and then tread water with you hands out of water (I think it just a breathing drill).

Then when I get home thinking that I wont go swimming again for awhile, the wife tells me I need to jump in the pond (I like Japaneese Koi) and do some maintanance and then the same with the pool. Im not sure I will go swimming again before my next pool session next week now! It was a blast though, and I cant wait to do it again (except all those damn laps!)
Is this normal for certification?

Im tagging along with this just wishing i was there. My class is 6 weeks out now and i just cant wait.

 

[Gomer Piles]

Wow that's alot more than we did... This guy sounds more like a drill sergeant than a dive instructor... Doesn't seem like it could hurt though... In fact I bet it builds charachter...

 

[sharkdiver00]

Well David P, congrats on enjoying your first pool session. They certainly made you work hard, but don't fret.... after being able to do all that swimming, you know you will be able to tow your buddy back to shore when they are tired

Keep up the good work and enjoy your Koi.

cheers,
Maria

 

[jbd]

Hopefully you'll be too busy learning the skill and techniques of diving during the remainder of your course

 

[scuba_frog]

Wow, that sounds like a killer 1st class. Hopefully they have O2 and defib for old folks like me. The only swim requirements I had was a 300 yd swim (no time limit) and tread water for 10 minutes. That's it. The rest of the classes dealt with dive skills.

Good luck Dave. Keep with it. It's ALL worthwhile!!!

 

[kawboy579]

Wow, that sounds like a killer 1st class. Hopefully they have O2 and defib for old folks like me. The only swim requirements I had was a 300 yd swim (no time limit) and tread water for 10 minutes. That's it. The rest of the classes dealt with dive skills.

Good luck Dave. Keep with it. It's ALL worthwhile!!!

Mine was the same thing. I highly doubt most of the folks in my class would have been able to swim 25 yards on one breath underwater. We did do some station diving where tanks were evenly spaced the length of the pool on the bottom, and had to swim between them, turn on the air,etc....but no more than like 10 feet between them.

 

[David P]

This guy sounds more like a drill sergeant than a dive instructor... Doesn't seem like it could hurt though...

Funny you should say that, actually the guy is an X Frogman who trained Navy Seals and then setup the training for LAPD. The pool session ran from 9am to 12:30 so we had plenty of time learning entries, clearing masks, ditching weights belts, swimming 25meters, dive down 10 feet to pick up and don the weight belt in a single breath (if it werent for the freyed ends on my belt I could have done it in a single breath...) Ive heard from other dive shops that this guy is tops as far as training and if he goes out of his way to make sure Im this comfortable in the water with just fins and mask, then I think Im in for good training with full gear.

BTW, just wondering if any of you have heard of Los Angeles Couty Certification? Ive heard it is the about the toughest certification agency, unfortunately its not recognized world wide. (Im goin for Naui cert and posibly the LA county just for bragging rites)

 

[jbd]

BTW, just wondering if any of you have heard of Los Angeles Couty Certification? Ive heard it is the about the toughest certification agency, unfortunately its not recognized world wide. (Im goin for Naui cert and posibly the LA county just for bragging rites)

LA county was the first certification agency. Set up by Al Tillman, IIRC, back in the mid 1950's. A similar program maodelled after the LA county program was then started in Broward county in Florida. This was then introduced nation wide through the YMCA system. Then NAUI was created by Tillman in 1960. PADI came along in 1966 I believe and then we had an explosion of agencies all teaching the same stuff in their own way