lord1234:
so, I had an experienced DIR diver tell me a few days ago that I should take Fundies BEFORE AOW. As in ASAP. I am interested in pursuing DIR as a diving style because a lot of the philosophies definitely appeal to me. Do y'all think that I should go for DIR asap? or wait a couple hundred dives?
--L1234
(regardless I would definitely not pass the first time)
Your post has several thought provoking points that I'm asked often so hopefully we can use this post as a reference point when this question is invariably asked again.
The DIR-F class is called "
FUNDAMENTAL" for a very specific reason, and should be appoached accordingly. The DIR-F class is designed in such a fashion to teach diving skills that are
fundamental to all diving. Similiar to if you were attending Culinary school, you'd start out learning the basics of sauteeing and grilling and then progress from there, or if you were considering learning to play piano. You'd start with the basic cords and then build from there.
The DIR-F class was born out of a frustration with the industry's willingness to shorten classes at the expense of skill development. As a result, you had card carrying "certified" divers that had very little skill in terms of basic stuff like balance, trim, bouyancy. Initially the DIR-F class was a workshop based training curriculm that aimed to take the pavlovian-dog like mentality out of the equation. By not offering a "certification" the goal of the class was different, rather then awarding a merit badge we tried to keep the focus on the fact that what was important, wasn't the "c-card", but rather the information and skill that we impart on the student. Unique at the time was this approach, and the results are manifest. With the success and popularity of the class came the need to more formalize the structure, which is where you see it today. Formalities notwithstanding, the end goal is still the learning of the "fundamental" skills associated with the class. Based on the foregoing, my advise to ANYONE considering this class is that they don't spend their days "training" or "practising" for the class, but rather enroll as early in your dive career as you can so you can learn from the early stages the proper way to do the skills, and then afterwards by all means train and practice. The class certainly has benefits for divers of all skill levels, but my experience(s) have been that newer divers absorb more then divers that are already set in their ways and/or have developed habits that are inconsistent with the DIR paradigm.
The other thing the individual should consider is their own diving goals. While the AOW class is a way to "earn" another c-card, generally speaking, the class does very little in terms of skill improvement. Naturally, that is a generalization, and there are a wealth of qualified instructors out there that go above and beyond and do give the student(s) value, but I suspect most of us believe that upon completion of an "advanced" class most divers could hardly be considered "advanced" divers.
Hope that helps.
Regards
