New buddy test... is this a good idea?

[Plungebob]

Whoa..... Im new to this S"B" stuff. Im new to scuba too. I,ve met some pretty cool dudes who do some very uncool stuff when they hit sub-verbal comunication levels. To be fair , I,ve also met folks who were not my ideal drinkin buddies but I would trust them with my life. ......None of whome have ever kicked me in the #@$** to see if I was still breathing.

 

[redrover]

If a potential buddy wanted me to go to a pool and do this exercise (foreknowledge) to make them feel better I’d be more worried about their level of confidence and just say: ah, no, I’ll pass (on you).
Perhaps it’s just the way you phrased it though, my reaction was you had a mean/cruel streak tendency and I’d not want to even be in the same ocean with you. But upon seeking logical reasons for my reaction I come up empty handed considering possible situations. Say someone wanted to see my reaction to potential panic for a complicated dive such as constricted overhead or strong current before agreeing to let me accompany them. I have to say that does seem reasonable as I do not have the training and experience to show I can deal with such unexpected situations and strong likelihood of occurrence.

Any of the okole kickers think it may be useful for such things?

 

[ScubaSarus]

Dont be surprised if your reg doesnt get yanked back out of your mouth and you get a lungfull of water.

 

[Iruka]

Trust me, you still won't know, you'll just have some inkling. You will know how he/she reacts in a pool setting when they know that it's going to happen. Different than what might happen at depth in low vis when you accidently kick him/her in the face.

Hi Scubageezer,
Having taught hundreds of OW students over the years, I agree with that. Even though in class, we practice mask clearing & removal, it's never done as a surprise move....generally, they do the skill when given the signal to do so.

I won't say it's a "drawback," but it's a limitation in training....IF a diver ever loses his mask during a non-training dive, it will most likely be a "surprise." So I basically stress to them during training, if you're nervous about doing this NOW, with no surprise, and the instructor right next to you to help, how will you feel when a clumsy diver (or turtle, ha ha) kicks off your mask? They should at least be comfortable performing this skill "on demand" in order to have a reasonable chance to do it "in the real world." I'd say the great majority of panicked diver situations I've personally seen are where a diver has gotten water into his/her mask & doesn't react appropriately.

 

[Orlando Eric]

Yep, that is wierd.

 

[Lead_carrier]

Have a buddy that you aren't sure of????
Take them to the shallow end of a pool, pull off their mask and pop the reg out of their mouth. After seeing how they respond, use it as a lesson. I would recommend that you both know this will happen, but what would you do if someone did it in <5ft to make a point?
I have practiced this senario a couple of times and feel I can deal with it without freaking.

Not unless you're twice his size.

Do they get to do the same to you? Maybe, by their way of thinking, YOU are the one to worry about. If you worry about my abilities, whether I can assist you if needed. Tell me so and why, in a decent way. If your concerns are legitimate then if I am much of a diver I'll do a lot of work on them. If your concerns are just because you do things differently then the heck with you. I would prefer diving with someone else anyway. Maybe you'll let me carry your snorkle for you. Or polish your fins, or drag your weight belt.

 

[gfisher4792]

Out of interest - would you make someone drive around the block before you got in the car with them the first time?

To make this closer to what the poster wrote, you would also have to throw coffee in the driver's face and yank the wheel to see how he reacts.

As for the original question, if anyone ripped off my mask and pulled out my reg without warning me beforehand, I would assume they were trying to hurt/kill me, and would react appropriately (knife + *** kicking)

 

[Sideband]

To make this closer to what the poster wrote, you would also have to throw coffee in the driver's face and yank the wheel to see how he reacts.

We are heading out to lunch with a new guy. I'll let you know how this works out.
Joe

 

[sharky60]

Sure. After he kicks your ***, the guy will know to not dive with you.

Yeah, I was just thinking, if someone pulled that stunt on me, after I calmly retrieved my reg and mask...I'd cut his air hose and then find myself a new buddy that would maybe ask a few questions about my diving experience and training rather than take it upon himself to "test" my abilities.

Maybe just a shallow/easy dive without all the drama would work just as well.

 

[Santa]

Ok I missed stating the obvious... YOU KNOW THIS DIVER... but they don't know their limitations.

I only speargun people that I know will understand.