Pre tech education

[TSandM]

Well, they aren't identical. But I think NAUI Cave 1 is a class a good many people could take and stop there, and never feel the need to do anything more, whereas all the other first step classes are going to frustrate people fairly quickly. But to teach a class that "aggressive", you really do have to be sure the person has both skills and some experience before they start.

 

[uncfnp]

And That's exactly why it's important for divers to have a wide variety of instructional options available. Hopefully any perspective student will educate themselves on the particulars of each course and instructor. Then choose wisely.

 

[DevonDiver]

I put some of my thoughts into an article recently..

Ten Tips On How To Prepare For Technical Diving Training

http://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/how-to-prepare-for-technical-diving-training/

 

[kensuf]

Naui cave one allows dives to thirds (unlike gue) and jumps (unlike gue) and has a "safety bottle" placed in the cave (unlike gue).

I took naui cave 1 a number of years ago and I think it's a little aggressive for a new cave diver.

I tend to agree. I've only taught the course twice, both times the students were instructors and divemasters with lots of diving experience. They already had great buoyancy and situational awareness.

Someone meeting the minimum entrance requirements may be ok going through the program, but I tend to think the cavern/intro - dive lots at the limits of intro - move on to full cave model works well.

 

[kr2y5]

I hope to start some of weinke's heavier material.

It sounds like you are already way into outer space, compared to what is actually needed... from my own experience, I would invest more time in the in-water skills, especially propulsion techniques. I wandered into my AN/DP class without the ability to do a proper back-kick, and it's been the single biggest PITA that I had to struggle with, when the slightest unconscious fin movement properls you forward, and you can't immediately fix that. As far as I could tell, there's really no time in the class to learn such basics...

 

[shoredivr]

I put some of my thoughts into an article recently..

Ten Tips On How To Prepare For Technical Diving Training

Ten Tips On How to Prepare for Technical Diving Training

Interesting article. Sure, have trim, situational awareness and buoyancy squared away before taking a tech class. Not sure I agree on practicing the finer details of a tech class beforehand, such as gas shutdowns and working with stages. People can and do prepare for tech classes by learning incorrect skills on their own. I remember reading an article about people practicing diligently for a GUE Fundamentals and creating muscle memory incorrectly that had to be relearned in class.