How DIR are we, actually?

[lamont]

I'm not very concerned with how DIR I am, but weither or not I can do the dives I'm doing safely...

 

[Tanked Monkey]

I view "being DIR" as an ultimate personal goal. I may never actually get there, but strive to move in that direction a little more every day.

Mike

 

[TSandM]

I guess my point is that the DIR idea is a holistic one. Some of it's easy, some of it's not. We spend a sometimes ridiculous amount of energy on the easy stuff.

 

[dsteding]

Isn't a point of DIR to work on the not-so-easy parts? I'm certainly guilty of not doing that, and am trying to get better . . .

 

[OE2X]

I had hoped that by wearing all black it would make me look thinner and thus be in shape. Well - there still is the the extra 10 lbs and I doubt I would be able to frog kick for a mile or more in current without cramping up.

So I don't smoke, don't drink, always dive with a team, plan my dive, keep my configuration / gas the same as my buddies and have similar skill sets etc...

I'm overweight and out of shape.

I'm not DIR - though hopefully one day, I might be good enough to think that I am.

 

[rjack321]

Sure. I mean you can be afraid of the dark but still maybe go on to try Cave1. Maybe even pass and be a good buddy. But maybe Cave2 is beyond your emotional capability.

Or maybe you'll never be a Arnold wannabe and hoisting double lp120s on your back. There are some things bird bones aren't meant to do.

And with different combos of buddies what's a weakness might be more or less relevant.

So I would agree that stretching yourself is good, but never to the point were diving becomes work.

Isn't a point of DIR to work on the not-so-easy parts? I'm certainly guilty of not doing that, and am trying to get better . . .

 

[BigBoB]

I need to start going to the gym.
I was seriously planning on working out this summer and then I had my surgery (appendectomy) and the surgeon told me not to do anything for a month so that I wouldn't herniate myself. It's been so hard to motivate myself to work out since then. If you stop like I did, it's really hard to start back up.

The best thing that I have found for this situation is to find a buddy (non diving or diving) that has the same fitness level and goals as you do. On the days that you are not motivated he/she will be. It also helps if you are both type A personalities and don't mind a little s%$t talking! I went from about 250lbs to 205 and my buddy went from 270 to 190. It is a lot easier for your routines to evolve if you and your partner can bench approx the same and run 3 miles (this is where the sh&% talking comes in handy most with me!)in approximately the same time.

 

[Meng_Tze]

..
It's hard to hear where you've fallen short, but for me, it's even harder to tell someone else where you think they have. But how do we improve if we don't give one another the feedback we need to know where the shortcomings are, or how we could do better? It CAN be done kindly, but it has to be done.

Richard, I like your concept of avoiding the dives where you're the weakest link. But what if the issue is fixable with a little work?

See I view things a bit different. As long as the focus is on the issues, not the person, I (and the buddies I dive with) take no personal offense. We go into the dive knowing that an evaluation is pending and that it will be brutally honest and direct. (Maybe it is my long time in western Europe where people tend to be more direct, that rubbed off).

As for being the weakest link in a dive, I actually enjoy that. It gives me a VERY clear perspective on what I need to work on, where I need to improve. I love to dive with much better divers and learn from them.

 

[mania]

According to George Irvine, there are only a handfull of divers who are actually DIR. There are GUE instructors who still smoke, a few who are at least 50 pounds overweight, and I won't even get into the teaching of Rec Triox and ratio deco, which is technically also not DIR. The only chance you have to be truly 100% DIR would be to join the WKPP and follow GI's orders to the letter. Until then, just do your best to be the best dive buddy you can be.

All I can say is:
:rofl:

Max - i love this!!!!!
Mania

 

[dsteding]

So I would agree that stretching yourself is good, but never to the point were diving becomes work.

Good point-one of the fun things for me is "working" on skills, I get a huge sense of accomplishment from nailing things, and I, uh . . . have gotten quite used to failing the first few times I try new skills, so that part is no longer such a big deal (it is why we practice). DIR provides a thorough, well thought out framework for becoming a better diver, and I subscribe to the philosophy because of that, but I too certainly am not a DIR diver in the GI sense of things.