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

[beester]

I'm not in the PADI world but I can tell you that the same happens with for example CMAS. I belong to a CMAS club (even boardmember since I'm the secretary). I'm at the moment working on my Assistant Instructor rating and am fundies trained (among other, TDI, etc). When I teach I will teach by example and in some easy instances relate to things learned in fundies (kicks, team) but not more.

The only place where I will go into friendly discussion is sometimes at the bar after a training, but that's it. What I have learned so far is that I can't convince people about certain advantages to a certain setup, skills, team, planning just by talking to them. I just dive and some pick up on some stuff, others don't. Very slowly you do see some changes.

An experienced diver and instructor who I dive alot with commented a year or so ago that we need to be in the water first at a quary to have good visibility. However when diving with him he was flutter kicking like mad and although his buyancy and trim where spot on his kicking was creating havoc to visibility as you can imagine. So I made a bet on the 2nd dive for some after dive beers that I would stay approx 1 feet from the bottom of the quary and he would follow behind me and I wouldn't kick up any dust. When we got out of the water he said... of course you're not creating dust... your fins are too high above the bottom , how do I do that? This guy who's got much more dives under his belt in various circumstances is now starting to dive a bp/wing and using different kick styles. He's not dir but he could recognise a good thing when he saw it.

On the other side of the spectrum there is a big starred instructor at my club who relegated my way of diving as nonsense... and just a few weeks ago he finished an IANTD solo course (selfsustained diver or something). Obviously the exact oposite of GUE diving however after last sundays dive he was telling new guys at the club about his new glued on sidepockets, with the fancy bungees that make it easy to get stuf out and back in. Something he learned at that course. So he won't pick up stuff from me because I'm a lowly AI to be... but will from people of authority (his SSD instructor).

Anyway I don't think that trying to force your diving religion on someone is counterproductive. Just dive, be an example, and some people slowly will pick stuff up.

 

[rlynch]

I don't think i would personally try and force a style on anyone (esp. when i have not been through the basic courses).
On the reference in doing it right - yes it is in the equipment section but i feel it frames up some of the "philosophy". However it’s all in how you personally apply it in the real world that matters i.e. it’s your attitude, which is true for many things in life.
From a teaching perspective, present a good argument, back it up, and listen to others points of view. But in the end you have to work within the constraints of the parent organization (GUE or Padi in this case depending on what you teaching for whom). You have the choice of teaching there. To move a mountain you have to do it one stone at a time
To change a system, work your way up to a leadership role in that organization. Anything else is just whining.
I’m working on a primer date of Aug 6th in high springs, with Doug, classes can be as small as 1 for primer, looks like there might be 2 of us.


I've gotten a lot of good thoughts out of here so keep it coming, and thank you.