kyjellyfish
Contributor
I had a chance to take the GUE Primer course with Steve Millington over the past two weekends. The experience was probably one of the best decisions Ive made in my nascent scuba diving career.
My diving experience (about 25 dives) leading up to the class was quite fulfilling and enjoyable but I had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. I had no idea what it was. At first I thought it was gear related maybe the backplate/wings would help my trim in the water. Or maybe it was skills related, like buoyancy control. It wasnt until I dove with Kathy, Ben and Ted from the BAUE group at Point Lobos that I wanted to dive like them. In my mind, the control and grace they displayed in the water, along with the thoroughness of the pre-dive checklist (GUE EDGE) and underwater communication epitomized how I wanted to dive. After doing some research into GUE I decided to sign up for the next available class which was in Los Angeles with Steve.
Day 1 was focused on academics and consisted of introductions, course overview, GUE EDGE, skills and finally gear configuration. The class was small there was only one other student and myself. We spent a couple of hours reviewing this material and I really appreciated how Steve would always remind us about the bigger picture of why certain skills, for example, are taught. Im someone who wants to understand why and the course material and Steves insight were able to do so. We concluded the first day by dropping by the Hollywood Divers shop, run by Karim another GUE instructor, to square our equipment away. The nice thing about the course was all gear could be rented and there was absolutely no pressure to convert your gear to DIR configuration.
Day 2 was focused on skills. We met at the Santa Monica High School pool and started off with proper gear configuration and setup and then jumped in. The rest of the day was spent learning buoyancy, propulsion and team diving. Each skill was demonstrated by Steve and we first practiced on the surface. We then did several dives to work on everything we just learned. The entire pool session was filmed by Charles, a GUE Fundamentals graduate, for video critique afterward. The day for me was pretty tough. Diving in the backplate/wing, along with my drysuit, and trying to perform all of the new skills was overwhelming. No matter how frustrated I got and came down on myself, Steve was always patient and supportive and kept things real. The video critique was awkward and at times embarrassing but nevertheless extremely helpful. To be able to see yourself and to identify and discuss areas of improvement was one the most invaluable aspects of this course. The take away was not about whether you passed or failed but about being introduced to skill sets to be a better and safer diver and if desired, motivation to continue on to the Fundamentals course.
Although optional, Steve invited us for a day of diving at Catalina Island the following Sunday. This provided us with a no-pressure opportunity to practice our skills and to enjoy the beautiful wildlife and landscape. My friends called me crazy but I thought the 12 hour round trip drive for a day of Catalina diving was a no brainer. It also allowed me to demonstrate to myself (and to Steve) that even after several hours of pool practice during the week it was possible to show leaps in improvement. I owe much of my positive experience to Steve and my fellow student Roc for developing a great camaraderie and the motivation to improve my skills to take Fundamentals in the near future. For people who are interested in GUE or DIR diving, I highly recommend the Primer course. Shoot me a message and Ill be happy to relay more of my thoughts on the course and try to answer any questions. I think if you have the desire to learn and improve as a diver this course will not disappoint.
Ken
My diving experience (about 25 dives) leading up to the class was quite fulfilling and enjoyable but I had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. I had no idea what it was. At first I thought it was gear related maybe the backplate/wings would help my trim in the water. Or maybe it was skills related, like buoyancy control. It wasnt until I dove with Kathy, Ben and Ted from the BAUE group at Point Lobos that I wanted to dive like them. In my mind, the control and grace they displayed in the water, along with the thoroughness of the pre-dive checklist (GUE EDGE) and underwater communication epitomized how I wanted to dive. After doing some research into GUE I decided to sign up for the next available class which was in Los Angeles with Steve.
Day 1 was focused on academics and consisted of introductions, course overview, GUE EDGE, skills and finally gear configuration. The class was small there was only one other student and myself. We spent a couple of hours reviewing this material and I really appreciated how Steve would always remind us about the bigger picture of why certain skills, for example, are taught. Im someone who wants to understand why and the course material and Steves insight were able to do so. We concluded the first day by dropping by the Hollywood Divers shop, run by Karim another GUE instructor, to square our equipment away. The nice thing about the course was all gear could be rented and there was absolutely no pressure to convert your gear to DIR configuration.
Day 2 was focused on skills. We met at the Santa Monica High School pool and started off with proper gear configuration and setup and then jumped in. The rest of the day was spent learning buoyancy, propulsion and team diving. Each skill was demonstrated by Steve and we first practiced on the surface. We then did several dives to work on everything we just learned. The entire pool session was filmed by Charles, a GUE Fundamentals graduate, for video critique afterward. The day for me was pretty tough. Diving in the backplate/wing, along with my drysuit, and trying to perform all of the new skills was overwhelming. No matter how frustrated I got and came down on myself, Steve was always patient and supportive and kept things real. The video critique was awkward and at times embarrassing but nevertheless extremely helpful. To be able to see yourself and to identify and discuss areas of improvement was one the most invaluable aspects of this course. The take away was not about whether you passed or failed but about being introduced to skill sets to be a better and safer diver and if desired, motivation to continue on to the Fundamentals course.
Although optional, Steve invited us for a day of diving at Catalina Island the following Sunday. This provided us with a no-pressure opportunity to practice our skills and to enjoy the beautiful wildlife and landscape. My friends called me crazy but I thought the 12 hour round trip drive for a day of Catalina diving was a no brainer. It also allowed me to demonstrate to myself (and to Steve) that even after several hours of pool practice during the week it was possible to show leaps in improvement. I owe much of my positive experience to Steve and my fellow student Roc for developing a great camaraderie and the motivation to improve my skills to take Fundamentals in the near future. For people who are interested in GUE or DIR diving, I highly recommend the Primer course. Shoot me a message and Ill be happy to relay more of my thoughts on the course and try to answer any questions. I think if you have the desire to learn and improve as a diver this course will not disappoint.
Ken
