Really Bummed

[black1]

Hey Thomas

It turns out im going to ba able to take the Fundies with Mark a few weeks later which will be better for me and give me time to practice and learn my new setup, have fun and good luck in your June class in the Keys, hope you have great weather.

 

[TSandM]

On the second day of diving we were pretty discouraged; the third day we had improved, but not enough to pass (or even to try all of the skills).

Oh, don't feel bad! Our class was six people, and after the first dive, the instructor divided us into two groups of three. The other group was pretty competent; my group was the, "These guys are hopeless but I have to teach them anyway" group. None of the three of us passed, and the instructor wasn't going to give me a provisional until I convinced him I had the resources (in terms of buddies) to get the practice in to bring my performance up to standards. We didn't do all the skills, either.

Six months later, I got a rec pass, and a year later, a tech upgrade.

But even better, even without my rec pass, the practice I did to learn the skills I'd been shown began to pay off in smoother, more enjoyable and less stressful dives almost right away. I think, if you can see past your discouragement and keep working, you'll discover that, too.

We aren't all GUE instructor caliber. But we can all become better divers.

 

[sam1]

Was that with Doug?

Yes, with Doug.

Oh, don't feel bad! Our class was six people, and after the first dive, the instructor divided us into two groups of three. The other group was pretty competent; my group was the, "These guys are hopeless but I have to teach them anyway" group. None of the three of us passed, and the instructor wasn't going to give me a provisional until I convinced him I had the resources (in terms of buddies) to get the practice in to bring my performance up to standards. We didn't do all the skills, either.

Six months later, I got a rec pass, and a year later, a tech upgrade.

But even better, even without my rec pass, the practice I did to learn the skills I'd been shown began to pay off in smoother, more enjoyable and less stressful dives almost right away. I think, if you can see past your discouragement and keep working, you'll discover that, too.

We aren't all GUE instructor caliber. But we can all become better divers.

Thanks...great to hear. What I did not write was that after day three, discouragement had turned into determination!

 

[lamont]

fundies was so much easier with 25 dives... no ego to bruise... no misconceptions about passing...

 

[DennisH]

This thread has been very helpful for me. I am terrified about taking fundies, but I think I have an opportunity to take it with Richard Lundgren this summer. I am nowhere near competent in the water, and really nervous about being an underwater gongshow in a GUE course. I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again? Heck, Mr Lundgren is a tech 3 instructor trainer!

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

 

[amascuba]

This thread has been very helpful for me. I am terrified about taking fundies, but I think I have an opportunity to take it with Richard Lundgren this summer. I am nowhere near competent in the water, and really nervous about being an underwater gongshow in a GUE course. I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again? Heck, Mr Lundgren is a tech 3 instructor trainer!

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

Remove the pass/fail/provisional aspect from your thought process about the class all together. Absorb as much information as possible, try to mimic your instructors technique, and have fun. It's a thoroughly fun learning experience.

 

[sam1]

This thread has been very helpful for me. I am terrified about taking fundies, but I think I have an opportunity to take it with Richard Lundgren this summer. I am nowhere near competent in the water, and really nervous about being an underwater gongshow in a GUE course. I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again? Heck, Mr Lundgren is a tech 3 instructor trainer!

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

Others here have much more post-Fundies experience than I (and the growth/development that is possible afterward), but I finished it two weeks ago so I have a more recent perspective on the class. Given what I knew about the course, I went in expecting to not pass, which is what happened. I did, however, expect to learn, which I did. More importantly I think given your expressed ambivalence, I, and my other two classmates (neither of whom passed) were treated with respect and the format/structure of the class evolved in real time so as to add the most value for us. I am not used to "failing" but it was a very educational experience; one from which I will grow and improve as a diver.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again?

That's totally the wrong attitude. A "few hundred more dives" of DIW will only make the class harder, since you will have more to unlearn. Better to get it straightened out now, and then spend the few hundred dives on actually making yourself a better diver.

If I may be blunt - what you are doing (which is the same thing that a lot of people do when it comes to preparing for Fundies) is turning it into an ego thing, i.e. "I need to make sure I am good enough to pass on the first try". That should not be your focus for the course. The only situation where passing becomes an issue is if you want to take more classes in the GUE curriculum - if not, then don't worry about it.

Go into the class with an open mind. Don't worry about proving anything, and take what you can from it. Apply what you learn in your diving. That is how to get the most out of Fundies.

 

[b1gcountry]

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

This might not be exactly answering your quesstion, but I decided when I took the course, that I would come in with an open, and receptive to anything the instructor said. If he recommended I change something, I did it without arguing. If he told me to try something another way, I would. If he said I needed to improve something, I would accept that I was doing it wrong, and take his advice without fighting it.

This isn't to say I didn't question the reasons behind everything he was teaching us, but there is a difference between questioning the reasons behind something, and questioning an instructor's judgment/experience. I tend to get defensive when someone says I'm wrong. It's a character flaw of mine that likely stems from my perfectionist nature. Fundies was a whole lot easier for me when I just decided there would be a bunch of things I was doing wrong, and my goal for the class was to have Ed find as many of them as possible.

If you approach things this way, then finding your flaws swings from being a terror to being a goal.

Tom

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This thread has been very helpful for me. I am terrified about taking fundies, but I think I have an opportunity to take it with Richard Lundgren this summer. I am nowhere near competent in the water, and really nervous about being an underwater gongshow in a GUE course. I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again? Heck, Mr Lundgren is a tech 3 instructor trainer!

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

The above responses are spot-on. Sooner will work for you better than later.

You cannot approach Fundies like you do other classes ... the objective isn't to "pass", it's to "learn". And frankly, I think divers with less experience often have an easier time with the class than divers with several hundred dives worth of experience doing it some other way. You have less ingrained habits.

Put aside any terror and just view it as a challenging game ... go in prepared to work hard and set aside some of your preconceptions. Challenge the instructor (in a constructive way) with lots of questions beginning with the word "why". Go in with an open mind and a positive attitude and you'll get an awful lot out of it. Pass or provisional, it's a tremendous learning opportunity. About the only way to fail is to not be willing to try.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)