GUE (DIR) compatibility with other personal goals (PADI DM/instructor)

[rlynch]

My thoughts were to use a Jacket BC in the pool that is standardized to what the students are wearing and to switch to a BP/W for open water. At the heart of the matter is that if you are a PADI DMC or DM assisting a PADI class you need to play by their rules. you can focus on the basics of being a better diver but you need to stay within the confines set by the instructor or the shop offering the class.

DM and GUE Fundies serve different purposes in my mind with plenty of crossover but still the focus is different and my reasons for taking them are different as well, I’ll need to adapt my mindset as well as my gear to each of them.
I'm not a holier than thou type so i think the Ego will be in check for me personally, not to mention that the LDS has some vastly experienced Tech divers and Teachers whom i can learn a lot from regardless of the certifying agency.

My timeline is flexible on my personal diving education and is only a rough plan which will have to change to meet the realities of the offerings, my time, and making sure that i absorb what is being taught. Not to mention having time for my own practice dives as i get use to the new setup (s) before entering any class, and have some time for fun as well.

Definitely very interested in hearing from any locals (RDU) area whom are GUE (DIR) practitioners and other DM/Instructors in the area.
A mentor would be great for the GUE training and focus as well.

 

[rlynch]

Found my answer P66 Paragraph 2, of Doing it right: The Fundimentals of better diving.

 

[Ragnar]

I'm wondering what your motivation is to want to teach new students at all? Why not focus on more advanced students who may be more in line with adapting DIR? How could you want to teach some kind of diving that you no longer believe is the best way?

Excuse my ignorance, it's just that it would kill me to have to do it after 20 years of diving, but some are thankfully born teachers.

 

[TSandM]

How could you want to teach some kind of diving that you no longer believe is the best way?

I'm a pretty strong proponent of DIR diving, and I'm a PADI DM. I don't find the two to be in any particular conflict. There are conflicts with specific instructors or shops, but not with the PADI system itself. Yes, I would prefer that folks take more training than the standard OW class, but I also know that the GUE OW class has been out there a while now, and is VERY rarely taught. People are going to put their toes into diving before they jump in whole hog. And there is NOTHING in the PADI system that precludes teaching a good quality class -- and teaching it in a backplate and wing and long hose, if you want. There is nothing that precludes teaching people horizontal and neutral, and nothing that says you can't teach primary donation, either.

Personally, I enjoy mentoring people who are past the OW level, and are already interested in the DIR system. But I also enjoy helping my husband teach OW classes, and seeing the students try to emulate us and be horizontal and quiet in the water. Some do better than others, but they all come away with the visual model we want them to see. And they all come out of their OW class with us having had buddy diving explained and stressed throughout the class, even in the pool. We are not creating DIR divers, but we are trying to pass along some of the important ideas, and perhaps leaving folks with minds that would be receptive to DIR ideas, if they become regular, active divers.

I would echo the recommendation to do the DIR classes and put off the professional track stuff for a year. I think you may find, as I did, that you completely redefine the skill level you want to have for teaching, after you have seen what is possible.

 

[rlynch]

thank you for the thoughs and observations. In all likelyhood my Padi training will not start until March, normally just taught once per year at my LDS, whom i feel has a very good program which includes a signifiant internship, again is in line with my personal goals. in the mean time i'll be diving locally and getting use to my new Rig, practicing prior to taking GUE p and f when possible.

as far as teaching goes, i think there is a lot of value in the practice and skills provided by the GUE system. Which can enhance the standard course, within those certifying agiencies boundries (and the instructors as well).
My motivation for teaching, simple eventual lifestle change (i.e. retire from the IT sector), and i enjoy teaching and mentoring in my current profession, I am transfering that to diving.

 

[Ragnar]

Your students will be very lucky, given where I live I don't think I would ever have even heard of DIR if it wasn't for the internet. That said, and I'm not a teacher, it has been a bit frustrating as virtually none of my friends who I have educated about DIR principles have yet to adopt a single thing, they continue to just buy the crap hanging on the wall at the local shop. I cringe whenever I'm in a dive shop listening to it's employees sell the latest gear and the reasons they give for why it's good. That has to be nearly impossible for some of you to stand who are juggling what most dives shops push and what you actually believe is the best way to dive.

 

[TSandM]

That said, and I'm not a teacher, it has been a bit frustrating as virtually none of my friends who I have educated about DIR principles have yet to adopt a single thing, they continue to just buy the crap hanging on the wall at the local shop. I cringe whenever I'm in a dive shop listening to it's employees sell the latest gear and the reasons they give for why it's good. That has to be nearly impossible for some of you to stand who are juggling what most dives shops push and what you actually believe is the best way to dive.

What do I believe is the best way to dive? Well, it begins with having CONTROL in the water. Being able to control descents and ascents, so that you can stay with your buddy/ies. Being able to position yourself to be able to see what you want to see. Being able to deal with issues in the water, without losing buoyancy control or awareness of where you are. Being able to move through the dive site and leave it undisturbed, so that if you have to come back that way, you can still see, and so others coming behind you will enjoy the same things you saw.

In addition, you need to have control of the DIVE -- that means having planned it in advance, with an awareness of possible problems, and a plan in place to deal with them. That means planning your gas, your descent and ascent strategies, and having set up good communications before you get in the water. It means being familiar with one another's gear (much easier if that gear is standardized to begin with) and knowing the emergency protocols for lost buddy or out of gas situations.

It means being AWARE -- monitoring your depth and time, and your gas, and comparing what is happening against the plan you formulated before you dove. Watching where you are and comparing that to your briefing, or anything else you know of the site. Keeping a corner of one eye on your buddy, so your spare gas doesn't go swimming off into the haze somewhere.

Equipment, as prescribed by the GUE/UTD communities, certainly helps. But the core principles of DIR diving that make it dear to me, and that make me want to promulgate it, involve equipment as a somewhat secondary concern. I would much rather dive with someone like Charlie99, who doesn't dive a Hog rig, but is efficient, streamlined, safety-conscious and aware, than someone wearing a BP/W who is staring at the sand, and not monitoring his gas.

 

[Ragnar]

I agree completely, that's why I still dive with my friends However I don't prefer it since the gear configuration is an integral part of handling emergencies. I just wish more people would see the light after being shown the reasons why things are done as they are, they seem to agree and then just continue as normal.

 

[Peter Guy]

I don't prefer it since the gear configuration is an integral part of handling emergencies

At the recreational level, really, not so much. The only "emergency" is being OOA (with everything else being an inconvenience). [Before anyone jumps on this -- yes a heart attack, or a stroke, etc. would be an "emergency" but I'm talking about gear/scuba issues here.]

A good solid diver, and isn't that the goal of "DIR" training, to be a good, solid diver?, shouldn't go OOA thus the other person's AAS system should be pretty irrelevant.

 

[Ragnar]

Found my answer P66 Paragraph 2, of Doing it right: The Fundimentals of better diving.

I'll just reference this regarding gear configuration which states in part " The incomplete shift to DIR techniques results in wasted time, unnecessary effort, and reduced diving fun". I agree with you somewhat, but to say here in a DIR forum that the other persons gear configuration is pretty much irrelevant isn't DIR at all.