How common is this?

[J-Vo]

I had to doff/don 4 s80s without mask for my Trimix dive 1. This was a required skill from the text including buoyancy within 24". I don't think I would passed the skill with this divers level of buoyancy control and I don't think I've ever seen my instructor anything but completely neutral.

 

[tomfcrist]

Removing and replacing bottles seems legit...as does the no mask stuff. Standing/kneeling as an instructor in a tech course seems odd though. Maybe he feels that he’s better equipped to handle emergencies if he is anchored on the bottom...idk?

I’d say the skills are normal, albeit not ideally executed. My guess is that the instructor isn’t very good though.

 

[Diver below 83]

Feel free to come dive here in a drysuit during the summer, especially when the water even at depth is +30C/90F

I was thinking the same thing now that we are back into the 90’s here in south Florida. I’d want to die in a dry suit

 

[Carl_F]

None of my tech instructors anchored on the bottom either via knees or fins. My AN/DP instructor allowed the valve drill about 5 ft off the bottom / 2 ft off a small coral head which provided me a visual reference which was nice. But he never touched the bottom. And we were beyond the golf clap positive reinforcement. But if he had, I'd have been taken the constant clapping as a bit condescending. At this level no feedback is taken as positive feedback and a re-demonstration with reinforcement of a specific point is taken as correction.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I should have been more clear what I was referring to in that video.

During my tech training (TDI and UTD) any skill that you could not perform with precision buoyancy was a skill you did not have. The moment you bob a foot up or a foot down means do it again. Falling to the ground while doing a skill or the Instructor standing or kneeling or student flapping hands to get into position was a huge no no, specially in my UTD class. Two bottle (Tech -2 ) would mean that you are already an expert in single bottle handling, bottle passing etc and you can maintain position (vertical as well as horizontal) without flapping hands and while being task-loaded.

So what we are seeing in this video would be totally unacceptable to my TDI as well as my UTD instructors. The very fact that people are not shocked by this video means that this is type of a class, two bottle handling (Trimix level) being taught to a student who does not have his buoyancy dialed in, while the instructor himself is standing is not as unusual out there.

Am I correct or am I missing something very very major here? Thanks.

 

[RyanT]

For kneeling, my TDI instructor said "just don't, it gives me a tummy ache to see that."

 

[wedivebc]

Looks like perfectly legit extended range/normoxic level skills to me.

 

[lermontov]

I should have been more clear what I was referring to in that video.

During my tech training (TDI and UTD) any skill that you could not perform with precision buoyancy was a skill you did not have. The moment you bob a foot up or a foot down means do it again. Falling to the ground while doing a skill or the Instructor standing or kneeling or student flapping hands to get into position was a huge no no, specially in my UTD class. Two bottle (Tech -2 ) would mean that you are already an expert in single bottle handling, bottle passing etc and you can maintain position (vertical as well as horizontal) without flapping hands and while being task-loaded.

So what we are seeing in this video would be totally unacceptable to my TDI as well as my UTD instructors. The very fact that people are not shocked by this video means that this is type of a class, two bottle handling (Trimix level) being taught to a student who does not have his buoyancy dialed in, while the instructor himself is standing is not as unusual out there.

Am I correct or am I missing something very very major here? Thanks.

I guess it comes down to instructor style- My instructor commented that he assess pupils on stress management and gives more weight to that than skill perfection. Many dont realise the threshold of skill required before a course- the video doesn't show exemplary skill but if the instructor knows the pupil and/or can assess if they are of the right material to commit to improve then thats legit as far as Im concerned . I look back at my skill level at my advtmx course and I feel I was a bare pass, - completely different now but thats because of my desire to improve. Not everyone does.
On the other side of the coin Ive seen people with great buoyancy control who I wouldn't want to be in a stress situation with

 

[CWK]

I should have been more clear what I was referring to in that video.
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So what we are seeing in this video would be totally unacceptable to my TDI as well as my UTD instructors. The very fact that people are not shocked by this video means that this is type of a class, two bottle handling (Trimix level) being taught to a student who does not have his buoyancy dialed in, while the instructor himself is standing is not as unusual out there.

Am I correct or am I missing something very very major here? Thanks.

Students with some buoyancy issues is not uncommon even at Extended Range/Trimix level.

Tech instructors touching or resting on the bottom should be uncommon.

 

[Miyaru]

Take any picture/movie from a skill and comments will rain down. Looking for mistakes is what everybody does first. That's also the reason why demonstration videos are shot so many times to make it look absolutely perfect. Even the videos from the elite agency.

Is hovering motionless while being task loaded a goal by itself? Or just a tool to make achieving your goal easier?

Experience will enable you to focus completely on solving a problem while muscle memory takes care of your trim. Most students don't have that experience yet and require a visual reference. I prefer to practice those skills at 6m/20ft depth with a deep bottom, where I am the visual reference for the student. It also forces the student to keep looking at the instructor which makes communication easier and faster.