For those of you who have not yet takeng DIRF...Why?
I was very intimidated to even sign up to begin with because of listening to some bad rap. It took me about 2 years of reasearch and watching on the side lines before taking the class.
I found the course very challenging, the skills rewarding and the instructor energetic and postiive. He ensured the class room and skills enviroments were positive and unassuming. He created an open line of communication, answered all of our questions and was very patient. The class was not at all what I heard it was. The instructor was passionate about what he teaches because he believes in it. He knows it works. I've only just begun to undersand how and why DIR works.
If you do take the class, committ to the philsophy that defines the DIR foundaton before, during and after the class. Two and one half days was not enough time to get all of the skills wired.
I have found that the philosophy extends way beyond diving. I think most people tend to view DIR as a gear configuration or diving objective type of thing but it really is a philosophy that you can use in other parts of your life. For instance, below are just some of the ways I've extended the DIR way of doing things into other areas of my life.
Life with DIR
Last week some of my buddies came over to my house. Now, not all of them are divers but they do understand the DIR philosophy.
So, first off, we all drink the same beer. This avoids any situations where you might be enjoying a lager and accidentally pick up an ale (or the other way around). That can be very uncool. That could quickly lead to a panic situation so we avoid it all together.
We also drink only from cans, no bottles. And we never put the
beer in the refrigerator. It always goes in the ice chest in my living room. 47% of Drinking Related Incidents (DRI) occur when someone is going to the fridge for another beer so we're better safe than sorry. Of course, this is all rigged up while we're still 100% sober so there's no impaired judgment once things get cooking.
All of us wear a bungee necklace with a full beer on it just in case someone experiences an Out Of Beer (OOB) emergency. I can offer my already opened beer to my buddy and simply reach down and grab the backup off my beer
necklace. And, without exception, we always use the 7-foot hose on the beer bong.
Of course, we don't stay in every night so when we do decide to go out, we make sure we're still DIR. All of us wear exactly the same clothing:
Levi's 501 Jeans (button hole, straight leg)
Gap Black T-shirt
Haynes boxer shorts, black (for the girls in our group we wear thongs to minimize drag)
Gold Toe socks, black (for the girls, gold toe rings)
Kenneth Cole shoes, Brad Pitt style (Black Jennifer Aniston style sandles for the girls)
G-Shock watch, black band
Nylon belt, black, with military buckle (The girls, white twisted rope Daisy Duke style in case we need a back-up line)
Black Leather Jacket (optional, depending on weather conditions)
This may sound a bit silly or overdone but believe me, when you're penetrating a night club, knowing exactly what your buddies are dressed like can make all the difference in the world if you're hoping to snag some hottie. Let's say I see some cutie and just before I get up to go talk to him/her a waitress spills a drink in my lap? No problem, because I can always swap pants with my buddy. I don't have to worry if they match, because I know he/she is wearing Levi's 501's. Bam, swap pants and I can complete my objective.
One thing to keep in mind about nightclubs is that you seldom want to penetrate a club on beer. I know, some of the macho jerks do this and brag to all of their buddies. Believe me, it's not DIR. You have to do it on mixed drinks. Obviously, the mix will be different on different nights but a good vodka tonic mix is pretty standard. Again, there's a right way and a wrong way to do this. You can't just order any old vodka or depend on the
bartender to get the mix right. That's what strokes do. No, you order Stoli vodka, which has an excellent reputation in the DIR partying community. The correct blend is 2oz Stoli with tonic water poured over ice in a highball glass (lemon or lime optional). I always bring a testing kit with me and if the blend is off, I send it back. It's just not worth the risk and it's not DIR.
So you penetrate the nightclub and you've got a good mix, now it's time to meet the ladies/guys. I should have said this earlier but watch your drink consumption. it's a well-known fact that women look 25% better in a nightclub and if you get all narced up on vodka tonic, it increases your chances of a coyote ugly blackout. You have to keep your wits about you. If it's early, you probably have pretty good viz. Later in the evening when the smoke silts up the room it'll be harder to make out the women on the other side of the club so get your headings early. On a few occasions I've had to bust out the wreck reel just to get to the bathroom and back.
If you are lucky enough to hook up with a nice hottie, this is when doing it right can really pay off. Now, let's face it, there's a certain degree of danger involved here that I don't want to downplay. You need to minimize your risks by using the proper equipment. I carry 2 condoms. One I put on...well you know, and the second I put on a bungee that goes around my waist. If there's a malfunction on my primary, I can quickly go to my backup without skipping a beat. For the girls in our group, we don't associate with any non DIR guys anyway to be sure that they will have the expected equipment if needed. If his equipment malfunctions...not to worry because we carry backups and can make anything ascend.
So, as you can see from these pretty basic examples, DIR is not just for diving. It's something you can use in all areas of your life.
IR origionally meant Doing It Rectally.
