"giant stride entry" Why can't you jump?

[Zef]

Its been half a century since I did those entries but as I recall there was also a forward arm motion that helped break your momentum and a scissors kick upon entry. Hard to do in full gear with a hand on the mask /reg.

Operative word = "derived"...as stated "derived from"...not identical, not performed exactly the same way, just derived from.

-Z

 

[yle]

When my instructor taught me "giant stride entry", he said that you must not jump when doing that. Why is that?

Spend some time watching people perform a giant stride. When it's done correctly, a diver will step away from the boat (or platform) and then drop straight down (feet first) into the water. Which is as simple, as arguably safe, as you could want.

Why not jump? You have a lot of weight on you, which seriously distorts your ability to balance. In my experience, most people lean slightly forward (to keep their balance) while standing at the entry point. With this posture, a jump tends to introduce a forward rotation... and the diver risks hitting the water face first. Watch enough new divers and you'll see some of them demonstrate this effect for you.

With that in mind, I was introduced (intentionally!) to the forward roll entry by one of my early instructors. If you have several feet of "drop" between your entry and the water (pretty common on dive boats here in California), you can take advantage of the natural forward rotation described above: with a forward lean and a small "jump" you can essentially sommersault into the water and land on your back (i.e. 3/4 rotation.) But have someone demonstrate before attempting it yourself.

 

[yle]

My wife and I did a decent one at Boka Onima with Bas Tol. Took fins off and held them to our chests. It was about a 16 foot drop.

Diving from a helicopter?

 

[Zef]

Maybe this was intended as a joke, but if intended as advice it is incorrect. You do NOT want to watch where you are headed on a giant stride entry! It can easily result a disloged mask or a shattered lens.

1. It was intended as a joke
2. It wasn't referring to giant stride entries.
3. I included a partial quote of an earlier post in this thread as reference....Go read that post for further info on what inspired my post.

-Z

 

[tarponchik]

It's a silly rule. When in you're in the ocean you'll always have your back turned to half of it.

So why do divers roll backwards off the boat?

Spoiler: Click here for the answer

...If we rolled forward, we'd still be in the boat!

​

I think it just means "be reasonably alerted".

 

[mcohen1021]

When my instructor taught me "giant stride entry", he said that you must not jump when doing that. Why is that?

 

[dmaziuk]

Oh how I wish someone had explained this to me before I trashed a bunch of muscles

I think I got this from water-skiing as a kid: I never ever wanted to step off the boat with my fins on. When your skis start sliding apart... or when the boat starts pulling and your tips aren't up...

 

[dmaziuk]

Diving from a helicopter?

Watamula

The site @Steelyeyes is talking about is a bit higher I believe: we haven't dived that side, only stopped to walk around in a few places.

 

[Steelyeyes]

P2090518

• Steelyeyes
• Aug 2, 2019

Boka Onima entry point.

Diving from a helicopter?

Cliff entry.

 

[scubadada]

I am often the first off the boat for drift diving in Boynton Beach. I generally just take a back step off the dive platform. That allows me to control my flag and reel, and lets me descend immediately