TDI GUE course differences

[diveski01]

Can regulators split a thread so that the original issue posted can continue and the unrelated turf battles get put into a new thread?

While I'm interested in trying to help clean up the negative image of DIR advocates, I also want to learn something from the on-topic responses to the original question. So many threads are hijacked these days. OK, so I about burst something when one got to "slinging Fido like a stage bottle" but it would be nice to be able to sit down and read a thread without all the tangents.

 

[DIR Tec Diver]

A very good friend of mine here in Finland is an IANTD instructor, and i would take a course from him any time. He is very DIR minded and an very personable guy. He also advocates a better curriculum with GUE. That is one of the reasons I did so much research and discussed things with him. He told me that the core ideas are similar, but GUE expands so much into the areas that a lot of people don't know, don't realize or had not experienced. The divers with GUE have just done so much, gone so far and rewritten the book in many cases, that my personal opinion is that they have the most current and real life material to pass on.

 

[WaterDawg]

DIR tech Diver,

Thanks for the intelligent reply. Its one of the only that address the issue. As a begginer, I must tell you guys how funny you some of you sound when you resort to "mine is bigger than yours" game.
Stick to the facts, if you have to put anyone down in order to make a point, its not worth it.

The Local IANTD instruntor dosent do much for the good name of the agency, But people here cant wait for the GUE inst to return. This probably has more to do w/ the individuals.

 

[diverbrian]

I am sorry, but I have to offer my two cents:

And I will admit to being relatively new to this type of diving, so if you wish to ignore it, feel free:

I am reading from a bunch of divers with differing ideas. I have a copy of the IANTD Tech Diver's Encyclopedia and refer to it frequently. This is especially true of the portion referring to the different rigs that different divers use and why. I know that while I saw value in everyone's ideas (as I do here), I didn't care for Mr. Jablonski's sarcasm and seeming belief that his was the only way to do things. I read almost the same article in the GUE website, so this was not IANTD making it appear in a bad context.

I am sure that not all GUE divers (indeed, not even most) are that way but that kind of seeming arrogance and "religious fervor" really tends to turn people away from listening. And wouldn't you rather have people hear your points instead of tune you out. I basically use a rig very similar to JJ's (in that article at least, it has probably changed somewhat since now), but because I like it, not because someone told me that it was the only right way. I am also looking for ways to improve it all of the time. That means that another diver could not just take my rig off the shelf and dive it without any consideration. So WHAT? It is MY rig, not theirs. If something isn't where it feels natural to ME at depth, I may have trouble finding it. I have heard many good ideas from many good divers. I see nothing wrong with incorporating them into my diving at my pace.

I am not saying that any agency in this field is better than the other. I know that all have their advantages and disadvantages. Being able to recalculate deco is a great idea (for example). But, flexibility is good as well. Listening to other divers is important when you get into decompression diving which is a little riskier than recreational NDL limits if not done safely. Safety implies education (in this diver's opinion). Education (in this diver's opinion) is not taken in by a closed mind convinced that theirs is the only correct way. And this is attitude, not which agency trained you, so again, I am not trying to bash or support anyone. I am just trying to say how I feel about the whole debate.

For instance, I won't criticize the diver that signalled OOA to drive the point home about the necklace. Maybe this was a dive buddy that he dives with all of the time and he knew that the guy wouldn't panic. Maybe this was the umpteenth time that this diver had forgotten to attach his necklace and someone felt that a stronger reminder was in order. Maybe it was somebody relatively new and the guy that signalled was OOA was running too many risks. We simply don't know enough to judge here (and really don't have the need to know).

But, let us just keep an open mind, and if I am too unsafe to dive with anyone (in their opinion), they have the right not to dive with me. I know plenty of people who know me well enough to dive with me. But lets keep it to interagency comparisions, not agency and philosophy bashing.