Preparing for fundamentals / intro to tech

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Stop practicing and take Fundamentals ASAP. Practice make permanent. You don't want to lock in bad habits. Get the training and practice what you are taught. You can take Fundamentals in two parts or you could even take it in a Recreational Configuration and then later do an upgrade to Fundamentals - Tech. The point being take it sooner than later.

I was going to chime in and basically say the same thing. I didn't practice prior, I just went in with an open mind on improving skills. However as I have said many times, it was a cold shower and painful to break bad habits as my training had been mediocre at best up until that point. I applaud the DIR agencies for having a gatekeeper course. Get the recreational skills solid, and then move onto technical diving training.

Objective performance requirements matter.

To the OP, good luck and have fun. Don't focus on earning a rec/tec pass, just focus on improving skills. Long term, everything will come together. I would just be comfortable in the gear you will use prior to the course.

 

[rddvet]

The best advice I can give is just go dive and spend time sitting still doing things like moving your light back and forth from hand to hand, removing mask and putting back on, or pulling a spool out and messing with it. I would say don't do things like try to practice valve drills, OOA drills, and whatnot because if you don't know the GUE protocols you will teaching yourself the wrong muscle memory. Also if you have a friend who wants to mentor you and they only took fundies years ago and haven't continued their gue training I would skip the mentorship as they could also teach you the wrong things.

Basically go dive and learn to sit perfectly still get and get comfortable. Also don't try to learn all of the kicks. That's what class is for.

 

[berndo]

... you lock in bad habits and rigidly avoiding trying out new stuff on your own.

Like what? This is not smoking cigarettes or beer for breakfast. How did I and others have learn to dive ccr after 'locking in' OC habits? It's not a thing.

 

[berndo]

Basically go dive and learn to sit perfectly still get and get comfortable.

That part I agree with. There is no substitute for putting in hours.

 

[rddvet]

If you're doing GUE Fundies, they won't give you course materials in class, and they expect you know everything on arrival. So get and study the course materials ahead of time. GUE-F is a audition, not a training course, so be proficient in all the skills BEFORE you arrive for class.

WTF? This isn't accurate at all. You should NOT be proficient in all of the skills before class. It's a class where you learn. Be comfortable prior to class. Don't teach yourself stuff before class because you'll do it wrong.
Be prepared to get a provisional or a rec pass. If you get a tech pass great. But this isn't a class you should be striving to prep for so that you pass. You want to go in and actually listen, learn, and practice. If that means you don't pass and have to go back to pass, so be it. It all about becoming a better diver, not passing a class.
Do not listen to the advice I quoted. The rest of Doc Harry's advice was good, but the statements I quoted are straight wrong.

 

[rddvet]

That par I agree with. There is no sustitude for putting in hours.

Hey we agree. I like it

 

[rddvet]

Like what? This is not smoking cigarettes or beer for breakfast. How did I and others have learn to dive ccr after 'locking in' OC habits? It's not a thing.

How I dealt with OOA and specifically managing the light cord after years of cave diving was a little different than GUE's. It took a little getitng used to but I worked on it prior to class with a good mentor. Someone without a mentor who tries to train themselves could develop inappropriate muscle memory and struggle in class.

 

[Doc Harry]

....but the statements I quoted are straight wrong.

In my experience with GUE-F, my statements are factual.
GUE-F is an audition, not a training course.
There is no teaching new skills, only ridiculing students for skills they haven't already mastered.

Like back kicking into a stiff current while doing OOA drills, and diving with doubles. If you haven't already mastered these skills before GUE-F, then prepare to be ridiculed by the GUE instructors.

 

[berndo]

Hey we agree. I like it

We agree about stuff all the time... at least did at one point.

 

[blueskies_up_ahead]

Wow, I knew this might stir up some debate but this is getting a bit heated.
I don't want to go back and quote everyone, so I'll just reply to bits:
I am comfortable in the water. Otherwise I wouldn't consider moving into tec The lakes where I dive are mostly silty so I know I can fin without stirring up. My finning may not be perfect but it's pretty good for a recreational diver. I do dive in a drysuit and with a bp&w. I've bought my own regs early this summer with a long hose setup, so I'm getting used to that. I'm certainly not doing things perfectly (hence the course) but practicing S drills or switching masks has made me much more comfortable and better at it (surprise surprise). So I see no harm in it even if I need to change a few things later. I'm able to learn and make adjustments to my skiing after doing that for 30 years so I think I can handle adjustments to my diving I'm not practicing things like mask clearing because I have issues with it but for it to become an absolute non issue, in trim, without changes to my buoyancy. How is that a bad thing? Strange I need to say this... Again, I certainly don't do things perfectly and am very much looking forward to getting tipps and tricks for mastering these various skills.

The bit about the course material is a good pointer. I will ask about it. Thanks.

Regarding doubles, as I said, I'll try them soon. I'm still curious to hear thoughts on doing fundies or intro to tec (see, it's not strictly about GUE...) in single backmount vs doubles. I will obviously have more experience with a single cylinder and most of my diving, for now at least, is in that configuration. If and when I do ANDP or whatever route I choose, doubles will become a necessity, however. So it's kind of present vs future... Not sure.