Gue/iantd

[dsong9]

I've just been certified with IANTD Basic Nitrox and currently doing my IANTD deep air and advanced nitrox.
I'm new to this field of diving(tech) and would like to pursue my interest. After doing a bit of research, trying to find a difference in the agencies, I found that IANTD at the upper levels, could possibly by preferred, since they offer techincal wreck, as well as rebreather instruction. And since GUE was mostly founded by a group of cave divers, they've continued their dive education towards that perspective:, Tech Diver 1 thru 3 and Cave 1 thru 3, and those are all the courses offered, period.
Now, while the experience in the different fields(cave, wreck, mixed gases, rebreathers) of diving as well as the history and reputation of IANTD entices me(Dick Rutkowski, founder of IANTD, former diving sup from NOAA, etc); on the other hand, the diving skills, perfect buoyancy and trim, deco with utilising the hang bar, of the GUE divers are an equal catch. The IANTD instructor taking me currently for Deep air and AN isn't the most impressive, that's why I'm having second thoughts of continuing with IANTD.
Not sure where I should take off from here to continue my tech education. Can any experienced tech divers out there offer advice and insights?

 

[PerroneFord]

Are you interested in learning to dive, or learning to look good while diving? There are GUE divers who are not the smoothest underwater, and there are IANTD or other tech agency divers why are unreal under the water. None of that matters.

GUE, IANTD, TDI, NAUI, ANDI, PDIC, all have good courses. Find an instructor you like, and take a course from them. I am lucky enough to have instructors from almost all major agencies near me. Most teach for more than one organization. So I just needed to pick one and take classes. You should do the same.

Best of luck.

 

[Kevrumbo]

In Southeast Asia, for either IANTD or GUE Training:
http://www.asiadivers.com/techasia/index.php
(Dave Ross/Martin Lorenzo are excellent Instructors!)
For GUE:
http://www.livingseas.com.sg/
(Gideon Liew is highly recommended as well. . .)

 

[dbulmer]

Dsong9,
I think a lot of techies would urge you to get good on your basics - trim, buoyancy control, 00A drills, mask removal etc and dive a lot to get in water experience before venturing into the tech realm.

 

[BarryNL]

Dsong9,
I think a lot of techies would urge you to get good on your basics - trim, buoyancy control, 00A drills, mask removal etc and dive a lot to get in water experience before venturing into the tech realm.

This is the advice I received when I first asked about the IANTD Deep & Adv. Nitrox, to get at least 100 dives under my belt first. I think it's good advice, you can't start concentrating on the advanced stuff if you're still having to think about bouyancy control. If you can't comfortably make an ascent including safety stop and DSMB deployment from 20m+ with no visual references and only a couple of meters visibility then you're not ready for tech training.

Still, about another month and I should have those 100 dives... still dodgy on that DSMB deployment though..

 

[dbulmer]

Yeah DSMBs are fun aren't they ?
I have no intention of going the tech route - I'm not good enough and I don't have the mindset for it but one thing I've found among the tech folks is that by and large tech divers always look for a good instructor ie a lot of time is spent researching the instructor and finding out if he/she dives the way he/she trains - the agency seems less of a concern - it's in-water skills and planning along with attention to detail that seem to be a generic trait and if your basic skills are not up to scratch your techie will tell you in a very direct manner.

 

[BarryNL]

Yeah DSMBs are fun aren't they ?
I have no intention of going the tech route - I'm not good enough and I don't have the mindset for it but one thing I've found among the tech folks is that by and large tech divers always look for a good instructor ie a lot of time is spent researching the instructor and finding out if he/she dives the way he/she trains - the agency seems less of a concern - it's in-water skills and planning along with attention to detail that seem to be a generic trait and if your basic skills are not up to scratch your techie will tell you in a very direct manner.

Yeah, the shop I'm going to do the Adv. Nitrox with recommends doing their own master class first, which is similar to the DIR-F, but with more pool and OW sessions and the extra benefit that they video everything you do for review, rather than just telling you you're doing it wrong

 

[grazie42]

The way I see it the big difference between gue/iantd, for you now that you´ve started with IANTD, would be that you´d have to take dir-f first to get to the training you want.

Some will say that that´s a benefit of going with gue, that you´ll KNOW, that your basic skills meet a high standard. Others will argue that scuba-dollars are a scarce resource that should be spent taking you were you want to go. Which route would be best for you? That depends on were you feel you are (and were you really are) skills wise.

From your post I´d say it´s clear that you need to find a different instructor. Before you commit to another class with an instructor, I´d suggest you have a serious talk with your potential instructor. Before you commit I´d suggest you know that you and the instructor fit personality wise, that he is clear on where you want to go and that you know what he feels you need to do to get there and that you´re both ok with that.

The instructor I took my tech training from prefers that you do a regular dive (to the level you´re trained to) where you can "audit" each other. He feels that the whole planning of such a dive and the execution of it tells both him and the student whether they´re compatible and where he feels they need to start. This would be my tip to you as well. Go out and dive with your potential instructor, after all, thats what the courses are all about...the agency thing, to my mind, is mostly just the colour of the piece of plastic you end up with when you´re done...

YMMV

 

[MikeFerrara]

Yeah, the shop I'm going to do the Adv. Nitrox with recommends doing their own master class first, which is similar to the DIR-F, but with more pool and OW sessions and the extra benefit that they video everything you do for review, rather than just telling you you're doing it wrong

For the record, every GUE class that I've seen (from DIRF to cave) used video including in the cave. I don't know if it's a written standard that must be followed but a large part of the GUE classroom sessions that I've witnessed was centered around a review of the video. While other instructors use video (I have too when I could arrange it), I don't know of another agency who has made better use of video as a teaching aid.

some of the best dive instruction I've seen was by GUE instructors. There are a good many things I like about IANTD standards also but in the field you may find something different than standards suggest they should be. I read someplace that IANTD was sold and no longer under the leadership of Tom Mount. Is that true?

As far as finding a technical instructor, there may be some good tech shops but I haven't seen one. At best, some shops have a tech instructor that teaches for them once in a while. I know a shop that advertises tech classes but I haven't ever run into their instructor at any tech diving site. As I understand it he does most of his diving in the caribbean...not, IMO, the guy to go to if you're wanting to dive Great Lakes wrecks but that's just my opinion. Lots of guys have the cards but, IMO, you want more than that. I know one tech instructor who is independant and takes classes from probably half a dozen shops. Find an instructor who really does the kind of diving you want to learn.

 

[dsong9]

Hey guys thank you all so much for all the replies and advice, grazie42 esp, thanks, I think it was just what I needed to know. Thanks guys!