Indelible and Meaningful Training Skills

[rx7diver]

Buoyancy. Learning how to control your position in the water without thinking about it has been the most valuable skill I learned, and the basics were taught in OW.

I really feel this is the building block of all diving skills, can never be stressed enough nor mastered to satisfaction.

Seaducer,

How were these basics taught to you? Was there formal instruction? I assume these were taught during the open water check-out part of your OW course. Is this correct? Can you describe in detail?

In my OW course, buoyancy skill was taught only incidentally. Stressed was ensuring a diver knew how to determine the correct amount of weight to dive with on his weight belt. But buoyancy (beyond knowing how to use a BCD to establish neutral buoyancy throughout the water column) was only incidentally taught. In fact, not much time was spent on buoyancy control at all during the confined water part of the course.

The incidental instruction occurred during the open water check-out part of my OW course. Our open water check-out was a week-long camping and diving affair. The first couple of days were spent completing mandatory check-out skills--at an arduous pace! The remaining days were spent finishing up these mandatory skills (if necessary) or simply diving: Certies would buddy up to go diving. They would plan their dives and go diving--except that a TA (already certified) had to accompany them. One of the side benefits of this approach was, the certies were able to observe an "old pro" (as the course instructor referred to these TA's) in action, especially how he controlled his buoyancy with his breathing and how he moved through the water. Debriefing after each of these dives invariably included discussions on how easily the TA moved through the water and controlled his buoyancy. By week's end, the certies had completed many dives, and their buoyancy control was almost always enviable.

Can you describe your buoyancy training in detail?

Thanks,

Ronald

 

[seaducer]

Seaducer,
How were these basics taught to you? Was there formal instruction? I assume these were taught during the open water check-out part of your OW course. Is this correct? Can you describe in detail?

I am afraid I am going to disappoint you on the detail, this was quite a few years ago.

It started with learning how to achieve neutral and hover, fin pivot technique. These were the required skills, beyond that we were encouraged to stay neutral as much as possible, and try other skills without touching the bottom if we could.

I remember there were discussions in class about how buoyancy changes with depth and how to determine proper weight and why that is important, and how being in control affects all other aspects of diving, he stressed spearguns and cameras.

All the minute details have been lost to the ages as well as I might well confuse them with other things I have been exposed to along the way.

I was by no means a master at controlling myself in the water column but I had the basics, and perhaps more importantly because it was stressed by the instructor and DM's, I left the course with the idea that this was something important.

 

[rx7diver]

It started with learning how to achieve neutral and hover, fin pivot technique. These were the required skills, beyond that we were encouraged to stay neutral as much as possible, and try other skills without touching the bottom if we could.

I remember there were discussions in class about how buoyancy changes with depth and how to determine proper weight and why that is important, and how being in control affects all other aspects of diving, he stressed spearguns and cameras.

All the minute details have been lost to the ages ...

I was by no means a master at controlling myself in the water column but I had the basics, and perhaps more importantly because it was stressed by the instructor and DM's, I left the course with the idea that this was something important.

Okay, thanks, Seaducer. This is essentially what I experienced, too, in my open water course.

It's curious that I and my classmates didn't work on buoyancy more than we did. My course was an 8-week (summer semester 1986) university course which met evenings Mon through Thurs for a 2 hour wet session (following a 1 hr lecture), and a 2 hr wet session on Sunday afternoon. We spent much of our wet sessions on conditioning, watermanship, and getting comfortable with scuba (you know, with blackout masks and harassment drills and bailouts and buddy drills). Hindsight suggests to me now that this was a decidedly old-school approach (anachronistic approach?) even for 1986 and that we could have spent much more time on developing our buoyancy skills.

 

[rx7diver]

All,

I was going to let this thread die, as it really hasn't generated much interest. But my girls and I visited my old scuba instructor earlier this week, and he and I discussed the skills still taught in his university scuba course that I personally thought were particularly beneficial, and so I thought I would add some more to this thread. (This scuba instructor created this scuba course in the 1960's, began the scuba program at the university where he continues to teach scuba as a retired faculty member.)

The "Gear Checkout," described at the outset of this thread, was one of these skills.

The "Three Mile Swim" was another of these skills. I described it briefly here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...-bcd-pressure-relief-valve-5.html#post4315117. In this skill, the diver dresses in "correct" scuba gear, and weights himself "correctly," and, wearing a completely full cylinder and a completely empty BC, surface kicks 1.5 miles one-way breathing through a snorkel. When he arrives, he treads water for 5 minutes (not using a snorkel) holding his hands out of the water to his wrists. When the 5 minutes are up, buddy pairs simultaneously drop each other's weightbelts, orally inflate each other's BC's, and then settle back to float and catch their breath. Then the group swims back, again breathing through snorkels and with empty BC's (when they aren't playing a victim being towed by their buddies).

This would seem a daunting skill, especially for someone like me who had always been an almost-non-swimmer. Keep in mind we were negatively buoyant throughout the swim. If we had stopped swimming and become vertical in the water, we would have sunk--unless we treaded water.

However, by the time we student divers went on our open water checkout, this skill was no big deal--except for the boredom of swimming forever (it seemed) in a deep freshwater lake. (Our course was a PE course, so it stressed physical conditioning.)

This skill taught me--taught us--so many things: the importance of physical conditioning, the importance of using "correct" gear and weighting oneself "correctly," that we could swim long distances dressed in full scuba with a full cylinder without a correctly functioning BC without having to ditch anything, assisting a buddy if required.

My young daughters are getting ever closer to the age when I will allow them to begin scuba training. I think about the type of scuba training I would like them to undergo, the types of training skills I would like them to have to complete. The Gear Checkout and the Three Mile Swim are two skills I most definitely hope their instructor includes in their instruction.

I would love to learn which other skills you had to complete that continue to be meaningful to you and that you would want your loved ones to have to complete as they're receiving their scuba training.

Thanks,

Ronald

 

[knotical]

Like Teamcasa, I fondly recall some of the things no longer allowed. I didn't know the instructors would surprise us until the first pool session when during a routine underwater scuba swim my mask suddenly got ripped off my face. I remained calm and gained confidence that came in handy during later surprises – both in class and again years later.

 

[rhwestfall]

There are many "old school" teaching techniques that have been thrown out in our now overly litigious society, and the "everyone can" also watered things down. Not a big deal (tongue in cheek). Perhaps the most disturbing to me is the amount of time. The time required to earn an OW cert these days is really laughable to me. I spent a full semester 2 hours of classroom and 3 hours of pool each week (if I remember correctly). The depth of knowlege put into this is actually now appears equivalent to an Advanced Card in at least 3 agencies I have looked into. The number of days in the pool put us in complete familiarity of the equipment, and yes, we even periodically used full wet suit dress in the pool. Believe me, if you can achieve neutral in 7' (weren't permitted to touch bottom), and even explored the impacts of what a regular inhalation/exhalation did, you mastered the skills. Navagation skills, gas theory, and much more were all part of the training - think I need to go try and find my old notebook - it might make for an interesting look back....

Being a University, the gear was rag-tag, old, and not the most "comfortable" (old style Dacor Horse Collars (with CO2 inflators - though deactivated) were the "new" stuff for us in the equipment locker. You always had to look it over to make sure it was functioning properly as age, use/abuse & chlorine took its toll, and budgets weren't great being a small State School.

You ask what skills - Is time a skill? I say yes......

I know it is a different story now, as SCUBA is a business, so perhaps we have to just accept it....

OW certs just appear too watered down now... (for reference, I was certified "YMCA - Open Water" in May of 1989).

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

There are many "old school" teaching techniques that have been thrown out in our now overly litigious society, and the "everyone can" also watered things down. Not a big deal (tongue in cheek). Perhaps the most disturbing to me is the amount of time. The time required to earn an OW cert these days is really laughable to me. I spent a full semester 2 hours of classroom and 3 hours of pool each week (if I remember correctly). The depth of knowlege put into this is actually now appears equivalent to an Advanced Card in at least 3 agencies I have looked into. The number of days in the pool put us in complete familiarity of the equipment, and yes, we even periodically used full wet suit dress in the pool. Believe me, if you can achieve neutral in 7' (weren't permitted to touch bottom), and even explored the impacts of what a regular inhalation/exhalation did, you mastered the skills. Navagation skills, gas theory, and much more were all part of the training - think I need to go try and find my old notebook - it might make for an interesting look back....

Being a University, the gear was rag-tag, old, and not the most "comfortable" (old style Dacor Horse Collars (with CO2 inflators - though deactivated) were the "new" stuff for us in the equipment locker. You always had to look it over to make sure it was functioning properly as age, use/abuse & chlorine took its toll, and budgets weren't great being a small State School.

You ask what skills - Is time a skill? I say yes......

I know it is a different story now, as SCUBA is a business, so perhaps we have to just accept it....

OW certs just appear too watered down now... (for reference, I was certified "YMCA - Open Water" in May of 1989).

A very good instructor friend of mine still teaches a NAUI class at Sonoma State U. very similar to what you describe.
It's a whole semester long and teaches everything from skin diving skills to hours of theory, gas planning, and all the rest.
400 yd swims, etc.
They do an ocean acclimation day out at the coast and practice their skin diving skills and hopefully get a bit rag-dolled in the surf (they actually look forward to it). All this before they even get to put scuba gear on.
The class hasen't changed since 1980.
When they are done they are the best OW trained divers around with the best most complete educations.

 

[NorthernLights]

I can only imagine that a mandatory three mile surface swim would exclude, or at least deter, a large percentage of those wishing to enter the sport.

 

[Akimbo]

My most indelible experience was in the classroom over 50 years ago.

“Never hold your breath while ascending in SCUBA or your lungs will explode in your chest and you will die a horrible death.”

 

[rx7diver]

I can only imagine that a mandatory three mile surface swim would exclude, or at least deter, a large percentage of those wishing to enter the sport.

NorthernLights,

I think you've got a point. I've actually thought about this. Although I could barely swim when I took my scuba course, and I was forewarned about the relatively demanding nature of the course (by a GF who had taken the course a couple of semesters before me), I nevertheless was undeterred. But I'm sure that others, upon learning about the nature of the course, said, "No thanks!" And I know that still others taking the course, as the course progressed decided to not continue.

However, those of us who continued learned that things are so much easier if you've learned how to do them and your training is thorough. By the time of our open water, we were all confident that the pending three mile swim was absolutely something we could all complete--if we could survive the boredom! After all, the water is doing nearly all of the heavy lifting, isn't it? (Pun intended.)

I suppose it's obvious that I'm a BIG fan of thorough and deliberate open water scuba training. This type of training requires more than a couple of days or a couple of weekends, though.

Many of the problems I read about on ScubaBoard suggest to me that a diver underwent less than thorough open water training, which is regrettable.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

---------- Post added June 27th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ----------

My most indelible experience was in the classroom over 50 years ago.

Akimbo,

"Never hold your breath while ascending in SCUBA or your lungs will explode in your chest and you will die a horrible death."

This is essentially what my HS friend told me ca. 1973 when we took his mail-ordered scuba gear to Belton Lake (Fort Hood TX), and gave it a try. He had read this again the night before in the instructions that shipped with his scuba.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver