Reason for Taking Fundies

[TSandM]

I hope you are right, John.

A good part of my rather relentless promotion of Fundamentals as a class for divers who want to get better, has to do with the fact that it IS a reliable and relatively easily found option for quality training. Although I really like the system and love diving within it, what is really important to me is that people become better, safer divers, because that's how you have more fun and, I'm convinced, it's also how you achieve longevity in the sport.

 

[gypsyjim]

This is correct, and it is very much the problem.

I taught the two pool sessions of a course whose content is very similar to Fundies this past weekend. I had a single student whose motivation was to get a solid basis in diving preparatory to more advanced diving. This student was only OW certified a month before, taking that class during a tropical vacation. He had been taught all of his skills on his knees, and he had never had a discussion about trim, etc. At the end of two pool sessions, he looked like a completely different diver, with passable skills in frog kicks, modified frog kicks, modified flutter kicks, helicopter turns, and back kicks. He could do all his basic skills in horizontal trim. Another instructor in the pool at the time mistakenly thought he was an advanced tech student with whom I was working, and he was shocked to learn that this is a beginning student. We are actually teaching the class concurrent with him taking AOW.

He was taking a PADI distinctive specialty class to learn these skills. Only a few instructors are certified to teach it. Where would he go for such instruction if he had not found this class? He pretty much would have had to seek out a GUE Fundies class, and there is only one offered anywhere in the region that I know if. "That I know of" is a critical phrase. He just blundered into this class by happening to ask the right person about the local options for advanced training. There may be other classes around that I don't know of myself. There are a handful of tech instructors in the area, but you can't usually get into such a class as a beginning diver. Remember that the original purpose of Fundies was to prepare divers for cave diving certification.

But I think it is changing. I think there is a quiet revolution beginning, a revolution in which the recreational diving world is beginning to realize that some of the skills, equipment, and practices long associated with technical diving can be a benefit to recreational divers as well. I have a draft of an article about it pretty well prepared. I think I am going to put a title that has something like the phrase "Scuba's Middle Path" in it. People who want to take a class like this but don't have a local option for it can help this quiet revolution by going to a local shop and asking what they have to do to get this kind of training.

I think that "the recreational diving world" needs to realize this "quiet revolution" is happening, with or without their participation and input.

As I view it these changes appear to be more market driven than agency driven, as divers are communicating with each other today in ways they never could before, and on our own we are learning of skills, technique and gear options from fellow divers, if not from our original training agency or operator. Divers already certified and experienced are on their own seeking out this "advanced" training, as a way to expand their skill base.

Agencies that either ignore, or worse try to fight against this trend are only going to injure themselves, when they could realize that the trend is pointing out that there is a need for more advanced training of all divers, that will be satisfied by SOMEBODY, if not by them.

 

[Submersible T-Rex]

I need an option that says I have substantially adopted the DIR philosophy and I plan on taking Fundies to become a better diver.

My husband and I have wanted to take Fundies for a few years, but GUE training doesn't exist in Texas. Recently we met Cyprian and a small group of GUE trained divers that are working to establish a community here in North Texas. Dan arranged for a local Fundies class in DFW this fall, and I think he's trying to arrange a primers class for a few other folks too. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a strong local community.

 

[gypsyjim]

I need an option that says I have substantially adopted the DIR philosophy and I plan on taking Fundies to become a better diver.

My husband and I have wanted to take Fundies for a few years, but GUE training doesn't exist in Texas. Recently we met Cyprian and a small group of GUE trained divers that are working to establish a community here in North Texas. Dan arranged for a local Fundies class in DFW this fall, and I think he's trying to arrange a primers class for a few other folks too. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a strong local community.

Looks to me like that is pretty much covered in the third option.

 

[razorbackdiver]

I took the Fundies Course 2 weeks ago and got a provisional rating. The reason for taking the class was my own safety. I have been diving long enough to see good and bad divers and to hear about bad shops and bad instructors. I suspected that my skills were somewhere in between the good and the bad and, for reasons I will not go into, I suspected that my previous instructors were not operating on the highest of levels.
The impression I got from reading about the Fundies courses was that set the bar very high in terms of skills. My skills are where I thought I might be weak and the Fundies course proved me correct. Over the course my instructor repeatedly corrected me, to which Iresponded “that is the way I was taught”. The instructor explained why GUE preferred to do things the way they do and his reasoning was hard to argue with.
With that said, due to my geographic location finding DIR type dive buddies regardless of agency is difficult. So I do not see myself adopting the GUE philosophy in its entirety. I will say that I have the highest respect for my GUE instructor and both of the interns that assisted in my class.

 

[Submersible T-Rex]

Looks to me like that is pretty much covered in the third option.

I guess i could have worded that better. I meant I drank the kool-aid prior to taking to course, and adopted the system through mentors. I'm taking the course to improve my skills.

 

[Griffo]

But I think it is changing. I think there is a quiet revolution beginning, a revolution in which the recreational diving world is beginning to realize that some of the skills, equipment, and practices long associated with technical diving can be a benefit to recreational divers as well. I have a draft of an article about it pretty well prepared. I think I am going to put a title that has something like the phrase "Scuba's Middle Path" in it. People who want to take a class like this but don't have a local option for it can help this quiet revolution by going to a local shop and asking what they have to do to get this kind of training.

I have to say again that one of the reasons that I ended up in GUE / Fundies was that I was actively looking for a course that would make me a better and safer diver. I actively asked several LDS's and they all gave me nothing answers. While there may be some fantastic instructors in PADI/SSI/NAUI/TDI, it seems to me that it's a case of pot luck whether you end up with one, and that teaching of the basic skills improvement is totally up to the instructors discretion. I've dived with a TDI trimix certified diver for instance who really was a "same ocean" buddy, with almost zero discussion about the dive before-hand (jump in, when we run out, we come up, see you later). Not what I want for a buddy for penetration diving. GUE guarantee to teach core basic skills to a high level, which is where I think Fundies is getting good traction in the market. I think you are right - the Internet is part of a quiet revolution where people learn that the way they were taught was often sub optimal, and are seeking out better skills levels. Even watching youtube clips of skilled divers when I first started diving was quite confronting - I was like "how the hell do they do those kind of kicks and keep that trim". Scubaboard lead me to Fundies, but if there had been a PADI course called "buoyancy trim and propulsion" I would have jumped at it.

As it is, I now frequent a different LDS quite a long distance away (with several LDS inbetween) simply because they do actually do advanced instruction (including the occasional guest GUE course) and really push their members to better their diving capability. The previous shops I tried just tried to sell courses.

Now closer back to the original thread, this was on this LDS's monthly newsletter

GUE FundamentalsBy Carl Johnson

As a keen diver and new Open Water Instructor I've completed my fair share of courses, I've been challenged like the rest of you and learnt a lot in the process; but my last course, GUE Fundamentals, was quite different.

Since first starting out diving, I have wanted to improve and refine my diving skills, and I completed course after course in quick succession early on, hoping to get some more practice and feedback from more knowledgeable divers. Going down this route I did acquire a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time, but I now feel that if I’d completed the GUE Fundamentals course earlier on, I probably would have gotten more from those other courses and been able to relax and have more fun at the same time.

My motivation for completing another course was learning good twin tank diving habits, and improving my buoyancy and trim. This would hopefully result in me being more self reliant, safer, with more refined diving skills, and with some knowledge I could pass on to students and friends.

The first week was theory and was great, we learned the GUE procedures, team philosophy, standard equipment and drills, stopping regularly to compare and contrast what we had just learnt with our own experiences. By the weekend our team had most of the theory completed, our gear sorted out, had practiced and memorised our skills, and we were ready to hit the water.

We practiced in the pool what we had learned in the class, getting feedback as we went. The pressure of having to perform does show your weaknesses, and together as a team we helped each other improve; there was a lot of constructive criticism, and I found the feedback from my peers and the instructor immensely helpful. Our instructor was taking video during this session, and reviewing this afterwards gave us clear objectives for the next day.

On the Sunday we made our way down to Mornington, had a nice breakfast, finished off the theory, and practiced some more land drills before hitting the water. Each of us were rotated through different roles, as the dive leader, and as the deco and SMB divers. As a team we demonstrated what we had learned the previous week, getting some feedback between dives, and improving our skills. After a few hours in the water we had completed our skills, and it was time for some food, reviewing the videos, and the exam.

Overall I learned a lot from my team about my strengths and weaknesses, I’ve opened my eyes to other philosophy’s of diving that I hadn’t considered, and I think I’ve improved as a diver. This is a course that you should definitely consider.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . . Even watching youtube clips of skilled divers when I first started diving was quite confronting - I was like "how the hell do they do those kind of kicks and keep that trim". Scubaboard lead me to Fundies, but if there had been a PADI course called "buoyancy trim and propulsion" I would have jumped at it.
. . .

+1 to that. If PADI's own "Peak Performance Buoyancy" specialty also included trim and propulsion and could be geared toward a BP/W configuration, I might have gone for it instead of jumping ship to GUE. Of course, all of it really should be made a required part of AOW. Learning these concepts in AOW would "advance" one beyond OW more than doing five specialty dives and filling in some knowledge reviews written for 10 year-olds. I am quietly revolting against the agency, PADI, from which I have received my training to date.