DIR- GUE GUE fundamentals, tec pass?

[AJ]

Thanks for the heads up. What would you say is the hardest part to achieve the tech pass? Or in other words, what held you and your buddies back from getting it?

The hardest part? Keeping completely still and horizontal, meaning: no unintentional movement!. Not moving hands, fins, etc. and no change in buoyancy. If you can achieve that kind of stillness when doing for instance a valve drill in drysuit you're ready for a tech pass.

It's not meant to harress you, but when you're in team position you are very close to each other (almost face to face). Keeping position and not having your teammates to back kick is tremendous important in GUE team diving. Having said that, make sure your back kick is real solid Meaning, you can stop forward motion and back up any time when you want so you can keep team position not matter what you're doing.

 

[RLima]

I have not taken fundamentals but as someone who started diving doubles in the last few months I can say it takes several dives to start to get the hang of it. I had to start with doubles, do a few dives, then gradually start adding skills and equipment to get comfortable. A rule of thumb I read on SB and has served me well is No more than one major mod to equipment or two minor mods on each dive.

first time I dove doubles I felt like a drunk turtle, definitely would not want to do that in a class where you are performing multiple skills on each dive.

Thanks, it makes sense. I suppose the doubles would be my one major equipment mod.

 

[RLima]

The hardest part? Keeping completely still and horizontal, meaning: no unintentional movement!. Not moving hands, fins, etc. and no change in buoyancy. If you can achieve that kind of stillness when doing for instance a valve drill in drysuit you're ready for a tech pass.

It's not meant to harress you, but when you're in team position you are very close to each other (almost face to face). Keeping position and not having your teammates to back kick is tremendous important in GUE team diving. Having said that, make sure your back kick is real solid Meaning, you can stop forward motion and back up any time when you want so you can keep team position not matter what you're doing.

Thanks, I'll try to emphasize the back kick part during training.

 

[rjgiddings]

I just took Fundies... and yes : the class itself is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. I'm now going to pursue my own skills buoyancy/ trim before I attempt to finish this class. Believe me when I say : It was a humbling experience.

 

[Nirvana]

I have not taken fundamentals but as someone who started diving doubles in the last few months I can say it takes several dives to start to get the hang of it. I had to start with doubles, do a few dives, then gradually start adding skills and equipment to get comfortable. A rule of thumb I read on SB and has served me well is No more than one major mod to equipment or two minor mods on each dive.

first time I dove doubles I felt like a drunk turtle, definitely would not want to do that in a class where you are performing multiple skills on each dive.

I think that people's reaction to diving doubles can vary substantially. In my case, I first tried diving doubles in a pool, as the focus of a practice session in preparation for taking intro to cave. I started like you described, often rolling into my back. After this practice, I was feeling quite comfortable. I then went for a weeklong dive trip diving doubles, also before the first intro to cave class.

Taking the class with me was a guy who had never divid doubles before. He struggled with them on the first day, but got to be comfortable enough to successfully completing the course.

I have also met people who had no problems at all with doubles, that reported feeling even more stable than with a single tank.

The hardest part? Keeping completely still and horizontal, meaning: no unintentional movement!. Not moving hands, fins, etc. and no change in buoyancy. If you can achieve that kind of stillness when doing for instance a valve drill in drysuit you're ready for a tech pass.

It's not meant to harress you, but when you're in team position you are very close to each other (almost face to face). Keeping position and not having your teammates to back kick is tremendous important in GUE team diving. Having said that, make sure your back kick is real solid Meaning, you can stop forward motion and back up any time when you want so you can keep team position not matter what you're doing.

To complement AJ's point above, the valve drill involves manipulating the valves while staying in place, with no significant shifts in position, while signalling with the flashlight and maintaining visual contact with team members (you can't keep your head down and just look at the floor). It may require doing subtle corrections in position with back kicks and helicopter kicks.

 

[RLima]

I just took Fundies... and yes : the class itself is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. I'm now going to pursue my own skills buoyancy/ trim before I attempt to finish this class. Believe me when I say : It was a humbling experience.

Could you explain what makes the class physically, mentally and emotionally demanding?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Could you explain what makes the class physically, mentally and emotionally demanding?

Enjoy reading the reports people have written about their DIR courses, including Fundies, here: DIR Class Reports - A Consolidated Inventory?

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

Could you explain what makes the class physically, mentally and emotionally demanding?

1. Fundamentals is not like Open Water training. It's a bootcamp for GUE technical diving, which involves performing at a higher standard of knowledge, judgment, and skill. It can feel like a firehose, even for experienced divers with tech training from other agencies.
2. All of your time will be used productively - sometimes as much as 17-18 hours per day, depending on how much time you need to spend on gear set-up and breakdown. There will be significant amounts of theory and planning homework in the evening after dinner.
3. Although you already have a lot of the base skills needed (and will be refining them), the procedures may be very different from what you are taught. You'll need to pay close attention during land practice, in-water rehearsal, and skill drills in order to learn the new procedures effectively.
   
4. You may have needed to make changes to your gear configuration for the class, which you will be adjusting to while you are working on #1-3.
5. GUE is a team-based diving philosophy, which requires more attention and skill in communicating and coordinating with one another.... while you are working on #1-5. Your team skills are as important as your individual skills.
6. Although passing is not the point (improving your skills with structured coaching is!), many people experience some level of performance anxiety with an instructor and with being filmed.
7. You will be filmed, you will watch it with the instructor, and you will have very detailed conversations about it. You'll also need to let go of any fears about embarrassing yourself in front of the instructors.
   
8. While all of this is going on, you're going to be continuously reviewing what you've learned, evaluating your understanding, kicking yourself for mistakes, re-thinking all of your past dives in a new frame of mind, and keeping up with everything else going on around you at the same time.

I don't want you to think it's not a rewarding class -- because it is! -- but I don't want anybody reading this to think that it's an easy class -- because it's not!

 

[RLima]

One of the main components of trim is weight distribution, which could require, depending on the configuration, new fins. I worry that by using doubles and a 5mm wetsuit I will have to replace my quattro style fins for a shorter, stiffer and heavier one. Should I bring randomly picked tech fins to the class or there could be other ways to compensate light feet if necessary?

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

One of the main components of trim is weight distribution, which could require, depending on the configuration, new fins. I worry that by using doubles and a 5mm wetsuit I will have to replace my quattro style fins for a shorter, stiffer and heavier one. Should I bring randomly picked tech fins to the class or there could be other ways to compensate light feet if necessary?

Fins might be an issue, but you should route all equipment questions through your instructor between now and your class.