Suggestion for Instructors

[mccabejc]

Recently got certified, and have a recommendation for those instructors out there based on my experiences. For what it's worth. (I'll mention it to my instructor also).

I had a difficult time with mask clearing. And I think the reason was that my mind didn't know that you could put your head underwater, with only a reg in your mouth, and breath fine without holding your nose. A HUGE revelation to me. Unfortunately, I learned it after going thru a lot of difficulties clearing my mask (like sucking down water thru my nose at the bottom of the pooling, feeling like I was going to drown, etc. :11: ). Very traumatic, and very bad for my confidence. I almost called it quits, but stuck in there and am very happy I did.

Let me suggest that the VERY FIRST skill taught in the pool is to remove your mask, dunk your head under, and breath with only a reg. Once I did that, I quickly lost the fear of a mask full of water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Let me suggest that the VERY FIRST skill taught in the pool is to remove your mask, dunk your head under, and breath with only a reg. Once I did that, I quickly lost the fear of a mask full of water.

Actually, many instructors do just that ... for the very reasons you stated.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[jbd]

Recently got certified, and have a recommendation for those instructors out there based on my experiences. For what it's worth. (I'll mention it to my instructor also).

I had a difficult time with mask clearing. And I think the reason was that my mind didn't know that you could put your head underwater, with only a reg in your mouth, and breath fine without holding your nose. A HUGE revelation to me. Unfortunately, I learned it after going thru a lot of difficulties clearing my mask (like sucking down water thru my nose at the bottom of the pooling, feeling like I was going to drown, etc. :11: ). Very traumatic, and very bad for my confidence. I almost called it quits, but stuck in there and am very happy I did.

Let me suggest that the VERY FIRST skill taught in the pool is to remove your mask, dunk your head under, and breath with only a reg. Once I did that, I quickly lost the fear of a mask full of water.

When I was teaching I started the class with no mask. Just the snorkle. You learn to breath through your mouth and as a side benefit you learn that water will not automatically go zooming up your nose and into your lungs just because you don't have a mask on. Once we get to mask flooding/removal and the clearing process wate on the face is not an issue. A tip of my hat to Walter for that method.

 

[Warren_L]

I recently was doing an open water certification dive and the student had troubles doing the mask removal and replacement because he was a nose breather. Kept wanting to inhale through the nose and as a result, took some water in. We worked on just breathing with the reg while standing in shallow water and face submerged, mask off. This helped to get over the impulse to inhale through the nose.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

Let me suggest that the VERY FIRST skill taught in the pool is to remove your mask, dunk your head under, and breath with only a reg. ....

Glad you made the revelation and got through ow. Another idea for the very first skill taught is breathing. On a reg, face down in the water, standing in the shallow end of the pool. No mask in the equation. By the end of the first pool session you should be able to sit on the bottom on scuba and pass the mask in your hands to the right and accept and clear another from the left, repeating the process until your mask returns to you, OR understand that you indeed have some work to do to acquire the requisite comfort level in the water. Many students can recreate the experience with a snorkel and a bathtub, and results from one pool session to the next are guaranteed.

There are certainly methods to everything. The important thing being the student (you) graduate from BOW with the confidence and comfort level to deal with a dislodged or flooded mask, which you claim to have developed. It appears you got what you paid for but disagree with the manner in which it was delivered?

 

[mccabejc]

It appears you got what you paid for but disagree with the manner in which it was delivered?

Exactly. No reason to go thru the frantic fear of drowning, lose confidence, etc. While I agree its good to have a healthy respect and a little fear of what you're doing to keep you on your toes, and I guess it was a good lesson to have the instructor hold me down and keep me from bolting to the surface, there is probably a better way to do it.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Actually, many instructors do just that ... for the very reasons you stated.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thats what I was going to say. It is one of the first scuba skills I do with my students in the pool...

 

[IndigoBlue]

Recently got certified, and have a recommendation for those instructors out there based on my experiences. For what it's worth. (I'll mention it to my instructor also).

I had a difficult time with mask clearing. And I think the reason was that my mind didn't know that you could put your head underwater, with only a reg in your mouth, and breath fine without holding your nose. A HUGE revelation to me. Unfortunately, I learned it after going thru a lot of difficulties clearing my mask (like sucking down water thru my nose at the bottom of the pooling, feeling like I was going to drown, etc. :11: ). Very traumatic, and very bad for my confidence. I almost called it quits, but stuck in there and am very happy I did.

Let me suggest that the VERY FIRST skill taught in the pool is to remove your mask, dunk your head under, and breath with only a reg. Once I did that, I quickly lost the fear of a mask full of water.

Almost everyone has difficulty with mask clearing.

What I have learned works best is to have the students sit on the steps in the shallow end of the pool, with only their snorkeling gear, no scuba, and while sitting in the water and breathing thru their snorkels, to practice clearing their maskes about a dozen times, in steps. Eventually, this way, they all manage to master the skill at their own pace, before we ever put on scuba.

In terms of order, here is the order I use for basic skills:

1. Swimming skills on the surface
2. Swimming underwater
3. Snorkeling skills and blast clearing on the surface
4. Freediving skills and blast clearing upon surfacing
5. Mask clearing, partially then fully, with blast clearing of the snorkel after clearing the mask first.

That makes it 5th on my list.