How do you define what makes a good diver

[Humble older aquaman]

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, there's a pretty good chance that you don't understand the severity of the situation."

Is that where ignorance is bliss came from?

RK poem is classic, on the mark, topical to many things we humans struggle with.

One thing diving doesn't care about is class...rich, poor, royalty, blue collar...physics and consequence the same. Wonder how Rudyard would have shared that with us...

Hoa!

 

[Diver0001]

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, there's a pretty good chance that you don't understand the severity of the situation."

LOL -- that's great. Can I borrow that? BTW, I just clicked on your profile....If I'm reading you right you could have dove with kipling....

Scott, you're living in the chosen generation. 5 minutes behind Google and you'll know what I mean.... In any case, the name doesn't really matter. The idea is immortal, not the man.

R..

 

[crazyTomato]

It's the ability to not panic that makes a good diver.

If



If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: `Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
​

-Rudyard Kipling​

That is such a great poem!!! I really loved it. Exceptionally eloquent.

As for the original poster, great question to ask! Everyone has posted well written answers. No point in reiterating the same answers.

 

[Thalassamania]

LOL -- that's great. Can I borrow that? BTW, I just clicked on your profile....If I'm reading you right you could have dove with kipling....

Scott, you're living in the chosen generation. 5 minutes behind Google and you'll know what I mean.... In any case, the name doesn't really matter. The idea is immortal, not the man.

R..

No, me and Rudyard don't quite go back that far. He died in 1936.
But I am of that rare and lucky, inbetween age that got to partake of both a classical and technical education.

Would it be too bold for me to suggest that perhaps we take a few minutes and discuss panic, how to avoid it and how to train to avoid it?

Definition of Panic

Panic: A sudden strong feeling of fear that prevents reasonable thought or action.


From the Greek woodland god Pan who was a frightening figure, part human, part goat, and whose pet caprice was to terrify people who ventured into rural areas, particularly at night.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I'm all ears, Thal.

 

[Thalassamania]

I'm all ears, Thal.

Don't be all ears, I'm still "working," show some mouthiness.

 

[SparticleBrane]

You know me, I'm usually the one who's a bit too mouthy. I should learn to bite my tongue more often.

 

[TSandM]

I know Walter has written some very good pieces about the panic cycle and how to break it.

From working in medicine, this is what I have learned:

1. You're less likely to panic if you have encountered the situation before, whether for real or in training. If you recognize the problem and have a known strategy for dealing with it, it allows you a constructive response.

2. You're less likely to panic if you can recognize your rising anxiety level before it gets that far. If you don't recognize anxiety, it spirals.

3. Panic is part mental and part physical. You can control the physical part of it. In the ER, for example, keeping one's voice low helps keep EVERYBODY under control, including yourself. In the water, controlling my breathing has been very helpful in situations of stress.

4. Panic-inspiring things are often the result of snowballs. Having an effective coping strategy for simple problems prevents them spiralling into complicated and more difficult problems.

Also, Diver0001 wrote a superb piece on managing task loading from a couple of years ago, which is his own take on "Stop, Breathe, Act". It's well worth reading.

 

[ArcticDiver]

This is an outstanding thread with outstanding responses and insights.

To me a good diver:

above all has and displays respect. Respect for themself, their fellow divers and the world that sustains them.

is constantly learning by observation and by questioning others until they understand why the other person is doing it the way they are. Although they may be a safe diver they never stop on the quest to be a more precise and skilled diver.

enjoys their diving. They look happy and content while exploring the undersea world.

thinks and takes responsibility. They look to others for ideas. But the final decisions are theirs and theirs alone and they do not try to avoid that responsibility.

 

[Thalassamania]

This is an outstanding thread with outstanding responses and insights.

To me a good diver:

above all has and displays respect. Respect for themself, their fellow divers and the world that sustains them.

is constantly learning by observation and by questioning others until they understand why the other person is doing it the way they are. Although they may be a safe diver they never stop on the quest to be a more precise and skilled diver.

enjoys their diving. They look happy and content while exploring the undersea world.

thinks and takes responsibility. They look to others for ideas. But the final decisions are theirs and theirs alone and they do not try to avoid that responsibility.

Are you telling me that George Irvine III is not a good diver?