jenth
Contributor
Below is a little recap of my Fundamentals class with Marc Hall down in San Diego. Jamie and I were looking for a pass at the recreational level, though we wanted to do all of the "tech" requirements minus the doubles/valve drill.
Background:
Jamie and I are relatively new to diving. We were both certified in May 2009 and have done nearly all of our dives in BP/W with long hoses. We've been lucky enough to have significant others who have taken GUE classes and have helped us along the way. To add to that, we've also developed a great group of buddies here who like to go out nearly every weekend. When we started Fundamentals, I had 52 OW dives, 25 of them were in a drysuit.
Overall Structure of the Class:
Oct 4/5 - We spent the first day at the dive shop going through the GUE lecture slides and reviewing our gear. The most memorable part of this day was hearing some of Marc's stories and being told the GUE history. GUE started out with such a specific goal and hearing the evolution and lineage of divers was kind of fun. I was surprised, too, that Marc was so willing to share some of his "embarrassing" pre-GUE dives. Our scheduled day 2 of diving was blown out, so instead we headed out to the pool to do our swim test.
Oct 24/25 - We returned three weekends later for 2 days of diving (4 dives total). On the first day, Jana (one of Marc's previous Fundies grads) joined us to be our third buddy. First day was spent running through the basic 5, kicks, OOG situations, and ascents. Day 2 was spent practicing bag shoots, ascents with the bag and shared-air ascents. Each day ended with video review.
Jan 16 - Because we were blown out our second day of class, we had to schedule an additional 5th dive. With the holiday season and travel plans, the earliest our schedules aligned was in January. On our agenda were toxing diver, bag shoots and shared-air ascents. While we started off a bit rocky, our second round of bag shoots were pretty solid. As we were surface swimming back into shore, I remember Marc turned to us and said "If you don't already realize it, you guys have passed". Yay!!
Some Memorable Moments:
- During one SMB ascent, I was calling the stops and Jamie was bringing in the reel. We were at our 30' stop and I signaled to her to move to the 20' stop...she looked at me, then extended her arm out to show me her gauge. Turns out we had already floated up to 20'. Oops...
- Jamie was given the nickname "meth diver" after our first day in the water (Jamie, I hope you don't mind that I share this!!). I can confidently say, though, that she is no longer a "meth diver"
- Watching our videos at the end of the day was always full of laughter. I think I may have even cried a few times. Jamie has the happiest, peppiest flutter kick I've ever seen!!! And I had a weird, pre-kick fin twitch....that has now disappeared.
- Laughing through your regulator is possible. I never realized this until I took this class. So many times during our ascents, I just wanted to stop and crack up...but no...a few happy chuckles and then it was on to the next stop. Best part is looking over to your buddy and reading in her face the same sort of "this ascent is ridiculous!!" look.
- Food is always a great way to end a day of diving (I'd add drinks to that...but I'm not that much of a drinker). At the end of the days, Marc would join us for lunch/dinner and there were always other divers around to add to the fun. Charles and Chris joined us for dinner one night...and Nick, Chris and Klaus joined us for lunch another day. Lots of great stories shared over good food.
A Few Thoughts:
- I'm actually glad we had the extra time between our first and last dives (about 3 months...because of scheduling issues). Jamie and I both took those 3 months and did a lot of diving. I was able to get in roughly 40 dives...and Jamie had even more. And out of those 40ish dives, only 3 of them were practice/drill dives. The rest were a mix of boat dives, shore dives, shallow dives (30' or less), deeper dives, dives at new sites, dives with new buddies, etc. Chris and I often discuss the balance of "fun" and "drill" dives. And after this experience, I agree with him...the best way to "practice" is to go out and dive. Sure, every now and then a drill dive helps to polish out some skills, but experience and strength is gained through challenging yourself. Going out to the same site to do the same set of drills isn't really that challenging...
- Having the right chemistry with the instructor really does make all the difference. I think both Jamie and I felt comfortable with Marc. While we had the respect any student would have for their instructor, he was as much a buddy as he was an instructor.
- Having the right chemistry with your buddy is just as important. Jamie and I were at about the same level when we started the class. I think we both had great attitudes throughout the class and were never angry with each other. Instead we always surfaced from our ascents laughing at our own failures. I like to think that we bring out the worst in each other, which made us perfect buddies for the class since we weren't strong enough to mask the others' weaknesses. In the end, we only made each other stronger and became stronger as a team.
- Having the right resources is a tool. I know I've been pretty lucky in my dive career. I was able to join a great community of divers in LA and have access to the minds of great divers here on the boards. Whenever I come across any issue in diving, all I have to do is ask around and there's always someone who can help or knows the answer.
- Where does my diving go from here...my goal for the next few months is to just go out and dive. I'd like to dive within my training and push those limits as much as I can before I consider doubles or taking a new class. There's a lot of diving to be done within my range and I'm still enjoying it all. I'm looking forward to all of the upcoming "payoff" dives where I can put what I've learned to use and comfortably enjoy all there is to see.
- I'd recommend this class and instructor to anyone without hesitation. Ken Liu had told me before that no matter what level you're at, you're always going to gain something from this class. I get what he means now. Even though I've passed the class, I still have a lot to work on (back kick, hitting the stops better, etc.). The class gave me the opportunity to see myself and get feedback...and also helped to provide a better foundation for my dives and future instruction.
- Fundamentals really is a FUN class...well worth the time and effort!
Background:
Jamie and I are relatively new to diving. We were both certified in May 2009 and have done nearly all of our dives in BP/W with long hoses. We've been lucky enough to have significant others who have taken GUE classes and have helped us along the way. To add to that, we've also developed a great group of buddies here who like to go out nearly every weekend. When we started Fundamentals, I had 52 OW dives, 25 of them were in a drysuit.
Overall Structure of the Class:
Oct 4/5 - We spent the first day at the dive shop going through the GUE lecture slides and reviewing our gear. The most memorable part of this day was hearing some of Marc's stories and being told the GUE history. GUE started out with such a specific goal and hearing the evolution and lineage of divers was kind of fun. I was surprised, too, that Marc was so willing to share some of his "embarrassing" pre-GUE dives. Our scheduled day 2 of diving was blown out, so instead we headed out to the pool to do our swim test.
Oct 24/25 - We returned three weekends later for 2 days of diving (4 dives total). On the first day, Jana (one of Marc's previous Fundies grads) joined us to be our third buddy. First day was spent running through the basic 5, kicks, OOG situations, and ascents. Day 2 was spent practicing bag shoots, ascents with the bag and shared-air ascents. Each day ended with video review.
Jan 16 - Because we were blown out our second day of class, we had to schedule an additional 5th dive. With the holiday season and travel plans, the earliest our schedules aligned was in January. On our agenda were toxing diver, bag shoots and shared-air ascents. While we started off a bit rocky, our second round of bag shoots were pretty solid. As we were surface swimming back into shore, I remember Marc turned to us and said "If you don't already realize it, you guys have passed". Yay!!
Some Memorable Moments:
- During one SMB ascent, I was calling the stops and Jamie was bringing in the reel. We were at our 30' stop and I signaled to her to move to the 20' stop...she looked at me, then extended her arm out to show me her gauge. Turns out we had already floated up to 20'. Oops...
- Jamie was given the nickname "meth diver" after our first day in the water (Jamie, I hope you don't mind that I share this!!). I can confidently say, though, that she is no longer a "meth diver"
- Watching our videos at the end of the day was always full of laughter. I think I may have even cried a few times. Jamie has the happiest, peppiest flutter kick I've ever seen!!! And I had a weird, pre-kick fin twitch....that has now disappeared.
- Laughing through your regulator is possible. I never realized this until I took this class. So many times during our ascents, I just wanted to stop and crack up...but no...a few happy chuckles and then it was on to the next stop. Best part is looking over to your buddy and reading in her face the same sort of "this ascent is ridiculous!!" look.
- Food is always a great way to end a day of diving (I'd add drinks to that...but I'm not that much of a drinker).
At the end of the days, Marc would join us for lunch/dinner and there were always other divers around to add to the fun. Charles and Chris joined us for dinner one night...and Nick, Chris and Klaus joined us for lunch another day. Lots of great stories shared over good food. A Few Thoughts:
- I'm actually glad we had the extra time between our first and last dives (about 3 months...because of scheduling issues). Jamie and I both took those 3 months and did a lot of diving. I was able to get in roughly 40 dives...and Jamie had even more. And out of those 40ish dives, only 3 of them were practice/drill dives. The rest were a mix of boat dives, shore dives, shallow dives (30' or less), deeper dives, dives at new sites, dives with new buddies, etc. Chris and I often discuss the balance of "fun" and "drill" dives. And after this experience, I agree with him...the best way to "practice" is to go out and dive. Sure, every now and then a drill dive helps to polish out some skills, but experience and strength is gained through challenging yourself. Going out to the same site to do the same set of drills isn't really that challenging...
- Having the right chemistry with the instructor really does make all the difference. I think both Jamie and I felt comfortable with Marc. While we had the respect any student would have for their instructor, he was as much a buddy as he was an instructor.
- Having the right chemistry with your buddy is just as important. Jamie and I were at about the same level when we started the class. I think we both had great attitudes throughout the class and were never angry with each other. Instead we always surfaced from our ascents laughing at our own failures. I like to think that we bring out the worst in each other, which made us perfect buddies for the class since we weren't strong enough to mask the others' weaknesses. In the end, we only made each other stronger and became stronger as a team.
- Having the right resources is a tool. I know I've been pretty lucky in my dive career. I was able to join a great community of divers in LA and have access to the minds of great divers here on the boards. Whenever I come across any issue in diving, all I have to do is ask around and there's always someone who can help or knows the answer.
- Where does my diving go from here...my goal for the next few months is to just go out and dive. I'd like to dive within my training and push those limits as much as I can before I consider doubles or taking a new class. There's a lot of diving to be done within my range and I'm still enjoying it all. I'm looking forward to all of the upcoming "payoff" dives where I can put what I've learned to use and comfortably enjoy all there is to see.
- I'd recommend this class and instructor to anyone without hesitation. Ken Liu had told me before that no matter what level you're at, you're always going to gain something from this class. I get what he means now. Even though I've passed the class, I still have a lot to work on (back kick, hitting the stops better, etc.). The class gave me the opportunity to see myself and get feedback...and also helped to provide a better foundation for my dives and future instruction.
- Fundamentals really is a FUN class...well worth the time and effort!
