Recency of training

[TSandM]

Doppler made a comment on the Spiegel Grove fatality thread that hit me, about the fact that unless you have trained for issues and that training was recent, then you are probably not prepared to deal with them.

I took my last technical class in 2009, which was my Full Cave. Although I have cave dived fairly regularly (at least for somebody who doesn't live where the caves are), I have not dealt with any major problems since then. (Because, after all, if you do your planning and preparation properly, and don't break any rules, the likelihood of dealing with a major problem is pretty low, right?) I was recently offered the opportunity to go through my Cave 1 class again, diving as a buddy for a couple of friends, and I leapt at the chance, because I really WANTED to get put through the wringer again. I wanted to face scenarios and have to come up with answers and keep my head about me, and find out if I've lost much of that facility over time.

Has anybody else done this? How much time had elapsed? What did you learn?

 

[Jax]

As a firm believer that you will execute to the lowest level of proficiency when the manure hits the spinning thingy, I practice all the drills, and stack as much on myself as I can.

I disagree that the training must be recent, only that a proficient execution of the drill must be recent.

 

[Dive Bug Bit Me]

On that way to almost every dive I will mentally rehearse the various drills. If I'm sitting on a boat with my right hand behind my head shaking my hand it's because I'm doing a mental valve drill.

I will typically think through the dive from start to finish and what the obvious risks are that can arise. If I'm exiting a wreck, I might close my eyes while reeling in line. Just to prove to myself I still can.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, I do valve drills and S drills regularly enough . . . But there is a difference between serenely marching through a drill sequence, and coping with a post failure where the instructor takes your momentary loss of trim as an opportunity to wrap you in the line and -- well, it goes on. There is a difference between calmly donating gas and grinding your teeth when you drop six inches, and figuring out what to do when you are escorting somebody out of the cave on your long hose, and your third buddy goes missing.

It's the full scenarios, and escalating failures, and the feedback, that I think we ought to get regularly.

 

[JamesK]

I routinely practice "lights out" drills by closing my eyes and oking the line. I will also work valves during a dive. I also practice air sharing exits. Without regular practice, your skills diminish.


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[MalibuJerry]

Doppler's point is well taken. When I realized I was doing fewer than 10 rebreather dives per year and I was relying on the fact that I have done hundreds rather than recent experience I sold my rebreather and went back to OC.

 

[Doubler]

Training is always just an introduction to whatever you're final goal maybe. Proficency comes with performance and routine practice of what you where initially introduced to in training. Failure to routinely train will usually result in failure to perform when most needed no matter if the course was last month or last year. Serious cave divers train all the time so when that tank burst seal goes 1000 ft back in dealing with it is routine and everyone gets out safe. Taking a second full cave would depend on cost, usually it isn't cheap.

 

[lindenbruce]

It's called perishable skills. And yes, I have run into but not in diving. As a firearms instructor I would see this all the time when running failure drills with dummy rounds. If you don't practice or keep skills up to date by going through training some skills will be lost or their recall slow and delayed. Which can cost a person their life if all the wrong planets are in alignment at that moment. B.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Every chance I get to assist an instructor with a new class I gladly accept the offer. Moreso in the caves. Honing skills is an ongoing thing for me.

 

[mselenaous]

My August article on Rescue Training Revisited was really about "How prepared are you STILL since your training?"...that depends on when you last practiced those skills.
It applies to every level of training and subsequent use & frequency of use of those skills.