PADI Bashers

[SparticleBrane]

Darwin and Murphy are having a beer and a good time while reading this thread.

 

[plot]

Darwin and Murphy are having a beer and a good time while reading this thread.

Someone should seperate those two... all they ever do is cause trouble...

 

[SparticleBrane]

Especially for undertrained divers who believe they were taught (and "mastered") fundamental skills that are important for being a safe, basically trained diver.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Wow um....that's complete and utter BS.
Obviously whoever told you that never tried to maintain good trim and buoyancy in the shallow (4' or less) end of a pool, under a lane rope...or perhaps they just can't.

Sad isn't it? The observations I made on my trip from those that trained me showed me that I definitely didn't need to dive with these people again!

Yknow another LDS made the comment, "so you like to dive horizontal"? Sheesh! I swear, maintaining composure gets harder and harder!

HAPPY DIVING!
Carolyn:sharks:

PS I have A LOT TO LEARN! I CANT WAIT TO BE TAUGHT!

 

[tedtim]

Okay..I still feel that having to recert as a PADI instructor would be bad for PADI as an agency. Do you really think they would go for that? I am serious.<snipped>

To me what you have said is the crux of the problem. No I don't think they would go for it. That is sad. Professional development does not stop when you get a professional certification. The quarterly journals and updates are fine as far as they go, but it is only a part of continued professional development. The member forum is another component (I went to one and found it lacking in content). Skills development is yet another.

So goes the attitude of the agency, so goes the attitudes of the professionals. That is sad.

 

[mjatkins]

One example is the requirement that most of the skills be done while kneeling on the bottom.

I haven't had a chance to read on yet, so perhaps this has been addressed, but what ever lead you to believe that PADI requires any skills be done while kneeling on the bottom.

Thanks

edit: Having now read on further I see that Walter cleared this up. Thanks Walter.

 

[friscuba]

On the whole recert thing... I don't think a full recertification is necessarily a good idea, but I think an update at all levels would be quite appropriate.

Perhaps something equivalent to a 2 hour program every 3 years for ceritified divers covering basic self rescue... shared/alternate air, emergency ascents, gear removal. I see tons of ceritified divers, many claiming to be experienced, who can't do a controlled descent/ascent. If all agencies adopted this it would be cheap and easily obtainable... you'd see shops running 20 buck refresher evenings once or twice a month and most resort operators would offer them very frequently as once the numbers are there it's feasible to just throw it in as part of the dive package.

For DMs and Instructors the it'd be heavier, maybe a 4 hour program for DMs and a full day for Instructors say every other year. Once again, if this was a universal requirement, it'd be easily obtainable and not all that expensive.

People at all levels would moan and gripe, but I bet most would be better off for it.

 

[fire_diver]

You become a good diver by actually diving, practicing your skills routinly, diving with a consistant buddy, hanging out with other much more experienced divers and learning from them, and from... well, from reading scuba board. You won't learn it in some classroom.

But this is the very point so many have been trying to make. You CAN learn all this in a classroom, and you SHOULD.

The newly minted diver has no basis for comparison. When I got certed, I didn't realize that my weekend wonder class didn't trully prepare me. I dove alot and talked with other divers. This is how I discovered that I should be horizontal in the water, and that I should be able to hold a stop in mid water. ScubaBoard is where I learned what gas management really was, and how to actually plan a dive.

When you don't even know what it is you don't know, how do learn? And most divers don't come to scubaboard, so learning here isn't a true option.

Comrade Stroke

 

[neil]

I don't believe that is an issue solely restricted to PADI. I get the impression that this is the method used by most instructors regardless of agency affiliation. I have seen it with NAUI and SSI as well as PADI instructors. There are, no doubt, instructors from the other agencies that teach in a like manner.

I think it's a leftover from when there were no BC's and the only way to be still was to be on the bottom. Now it's just a lazy way to teach, IMO. I don't do it any more.

 

[Noob@40]

We are all superior to others in some ways and inferior to others in other ways. Wishing away differences accomplishes nothing.

I was not wishing away differences. Simply stating an opinion.

How do you know your limits? If you truly did graduate from a two weekend class, you are probably exceeding your limits every time you dive.

This is exactly the type of response that prompted me to start this post. As I stated before I read the entire manual (twice actually) and watched the DVD before even showing up to class. I could have aced the written test at that point. I did all of the required training and had no problems with any of my skills. I am the type of person that would have done a skill over and over in the pool if I did not feel comfortable with it. In fact I did do extra work on bouyancy to get it at a level I felt good about. I know my limits because I have common sense, I know what I have done, and like a dive table I err on the side of caution.

That's merely one tiny part of being a good diver or a good instructor.

Very true, but it is an important part.


I don't believe your post was tongue in cheek.

I assure you that my original post was tongue in cheek. I meant no harm but I was pointing out a trend that I have seen many places on this board. You do not know me and can't properly judge my attitude any more than I can tell if you are personally attacking me. I hope not as my intention wasn't to get on anyones bad side.

In closing, please consider this. You are very fortunate to live in the area you do. I would imagine that you dive year round in a shortie or thong(tongue in cheek) or something like that. It is easy for you to rack up dive after dive and gain more and more skill. I only have one month a year that I would even consider shedding a 7ml wetsuit or better. Because of this I will always be a less experienced diver than you. All I ask is don't be so quick to shoot the silly noobs down but rather help them to be better divers.