My Venture into GUE - Another view

[Lobzilla]

I almost posted how much I respect Bob for refraining from posting in this mess. He is taking quite a beating and he is staying out of it. I give him credit.

Scuba Steve, you really do not get it - do you?

It is not Bob who is taking a beating here. It is folks like you with the "don't bother me with the facts, my mind is made up" attitude.

Scott,
Welcome to the long list of people who project their own experiences and feelings on the class covered in this thread while having absolutely no clue or evidence of what actually happened.

Rather than insinuating what my classmates observed and felt, let me restate my own observations and opinions (that I can backup with facts).

The class in question had some logistic problems that were obvious to both the students and the instructors. In my case, this was discussed with the instructor of record and a solution to rectify this was found. Problem solved.

My respect for the instructors and the agency they represent has greatly increased as a result of this class.
<snip>

Sadly, two of them don't come on the board anymore.

In spite of several respected GUE advocates opining that our class was not 'normal', that given that one instructor was an intern, it should have been only three people, and that the three of us that are opining in this thread are all believing we should have had more in-water time (and seconded by others), now it becomes turned around to be the students' fault.

I took this class for one reason - to see what all this GUE hype was about. I posted my trip report after conferring with others as to the appropriateness of the location and tone of the report. I was surprised and delighted at the support from others . . . notably the West coast.

However, the ugliness from those who cannot (or refuse) to believe that there may be a flaw in their beloved system brings this around full circle -- if this is the 'best' of diving, I don't want to dive like that. I just want to be a more skilled diver, and the snide remarks from the 'elite' about practicing my skills in a pool just proliferate the 'holier-than-thou' image. (West Coast excepted, thank you! )

 

[Jax]

My question, is did you intend doing dives that required the skills taught in the course, or were you doing it to join the "elite"? I suspect that being a more skilled diver can be achieved in many ways,(horses for courses)..

#1 - I can never "join the elite" (continue in GUE training) . . . that point keeps getting lost for some reason . . . GUE does not allow sidemount. Period. For reasons that are good for them. I understand and respect that. However, I will not wear backmounted doubles. Period. For reasons that are good for me.

#2 - A lot of people advocated fundies as THE class to tweak, tighten up, and perfect your skills. That is why I took the class. I expected to learn how to 'fix myself', much like a golfer returns to a pro from time to time, to tweak his game.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Scuba Steve, you really do not get it - do you?

It is not Bob who is talking a beating here. It is folks like you with the "don't bother me with the facts, my mind is made up" attitude.

OK, so YOU respect the instructors and the Agency......done. NEXT!

 

[Jax]

well...I'm awesome and already knew

the way she taught trim was to have us stand up straight on one leg and push the leg we had lifted behind us. where you can feel your glutes tightening. then she told us to look for that feeling in the water. instead of the arching your back thing a lot of them will teach that will leave you with a sore back. she's a trainer and pilates instructor so she had lots of helpful tips like this.

THAT deserves a Thanks!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So what is DIR? To me it seems like a system developed more than 20 years ago to improve the survival rate in that small group of cave explorers. My big question is what is the relevance to the majority of divers, who dive warm water tropical environements for fun on vacation? I suspect if you are not going into the environement that DIR was designed for, it's of little relevance to you.

That's a common misperception. The fact is that there are quite a lot more diving environments than caves and tropical reefs ... and the relevence of a DIR style of diving varies with each.

Perhaps the reason why the west coast folks seem to like it so much is that it suits our environment quite well ... deep, cold, current intensive, low-vis ... and no dive guides to do your thinking for you. The foundations of DIR ... the things they teach that you don't generally get from standard recreational agencies ... can be directly applied to even typical recreational dives here. Those would be team cohesion, gas management, buoyancy and trim, non-silting propulsion ... and a general mental expectation that you should THINK about what you're doing and why you're doing it before jumping in the water. These are all things that are generally taught in typical recreational classes as things you SHOULD do ... but there's little to no attempt to train you HOW to do them. GUE training fills that void nicely for the diving environment in which we typically dive.

I suspect that others who dive in environments different than mine could also come up with some direct relevence with respect to what they learned in GUE classes that have helped them deal with their local diving conditions in a better way.

Oh ... and for the record ... I don't consider myself a DIR diver at all. Among other things, I like to solo dive from time to time. And after I get my side-mount training in two months, I expect I'll be selling all my doubles equipment and diving that way almost exclusively (except for teaching classes). But the things I've learned through my GUE training, and exposure to other DIR-trained divers, will still have a huge impact on the way I dive, the way I think about diving, and the way I train my students to dive.

So yeah ... I'd call it relevent ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Lobzilla]

OK, so YOU respect the instructors and the Agency......done. NEXT!

ScubaSteve,

I just looked at you profile and did not find GUE listed there. Please, tell me that your profile is just out of date and you are not one of those who flame in DIR/GUE threads without even knowing what they are talking about.

 

[ScubaSteve]

ScubaSteve,

I just looked at you profile and did not find GUE listed there. Please, tell me that your profile is just out of date and you are not one of those who flame in DIR/GUE threads without even knowing what they are talking about.

Where in the heck do you get the impression that I am flaming GUE or DIR? I have actually gone out of my way to defend DIR lots lately. If I have stated anything that was wrong in any way with respect to DIR or GUE, please point it out and allow me to apologize.

Thanks for checking in on me though . It's always nice to know people care.

And for the record, your definition of "flamed" is seriously lacking if you believe I have flamed anybody or anything.

 

[Blackwood]

 
Generally correct, but in Jax' case there was a caveat. She dove a very buoyant suit (warm water wuss) with no air in the wing and a heavy tank on top. That is a stability nightmare.

Nightmare? Sounds like a typical Saturday

 

[Lobzilla]

ScubaSteve,

I just looked at you profile and did not find GUE listed there. Please, tell me that your profile is just out of date and you are not one of those who flame in DIR/GUE threads without even knowing what they are talking about.

Where in the heck do you get the impression that I am flaming GUE or DIR? I have actually gone out of my way to defend DIR lots lately. If I have stated anything that was wrong in any way with respect to DIR or GUE, please point it out and allow me to apologize.

Thanks for checking in on me though . It's always nice to know people care.

And for the record, your definition of "flamed" is seriously lacking if you believe I have flamed anybody or anything.

Fair enough. Let's replace "flaming in GUE/DIR" threads" by "wisecracking in GUE/DIR threads".

Could you then please answer my question regarding your GUE training exposure.

 

[ScubaSteve]

No GUE/DIR training. I never represented myself as a GUE trained diver. I have said in MANY places and posts that I am not a DIR diver (but never with the disdain of some). I have DIR trained (and some wannabe) friends......and some that are not. I do not see the relevance to any of my posts here. Please do enlighten me.

Fair enough. Let's replace "flaming in GUE/DIR" threads" by "wisecracking in GUE/DIR threads".

Could you then please answer my question regarding your GUE training exposure.