TDI (Technical Diving International) Nitrox Course

[daylight]

Bigjetdriver69,
Well said.
Now tell me more about the alien and Brooks Shields!

Dive safe,
Larry

 

[cnidae]

Braunbehrens once bubbled...
So you are saying that dives are necessary for nitrox classes because open water instruction is so poor that you have to make sure they know how to dive.

Great.

This is why I would recommend a GUE class as a follow up to any nitrox class.

Because you are right, instruction is awful for the most part, and even after a nitrox class most people still haven't learned how to dive.

Don't believe me? How many times has the average Joe practiced the most basic and important skill...OOA. My guess is, no more than 5 times if they are lucky, and never after finishing the last class.

Your a very funny guy, I've seen GUE students that have gone through the DIRF and are in Tech 1 that should not be pursuing the tech avenue.

 

[deepstops]

Braunbehrens once bubbled...

Does it matter who wrote the book? If it's bad, it's bad. Being a great diver does not a great teacher make.

The advanced nitrox manual for TDI says that it's better to be narced and NOT know it, than to be narc'd and know it. Does this make sense?

But don't worry, TDI and all the other agencies are rapidly updating their manuals and what they teach. I'll let you guess where they are copying it from.

I was talking about the original topic - basic nitrox. I don't know who wrote TDI's Adv Nitrox manual.

Remember one thing - it's easier to correct the mistakes that others have made before you arrived: my point being that GUE was not the first agency to teach technical diving. In fact they were a pretty late arrival into the game. What classes were you taking 5 or 10 years ago? It wasn't GUE.....

And just for the record, I've taken DIR-F. It was a great class. But strangely enough, my DIR instructor's original "affiliation" was IANTD and I don't think she went back recertified all her prior students.

 

[O-ring]

cnidae once bubbled...


Triox? I thought we were talking about Nitrox in this thread?



So what could you teach about Nitrox at the ocean that you could'nt teach in the classroom? If the students need more water training on other skills would'nt you suggest them to take a different class? Personally I try to teach the Nitrox class as an add on to an existing class the student is already taking. But I've taught many Nitrox classes with no dives required. If someone has some valid reasons why dives should be conducted for a Nitrox class please give me some good reasons and maybe I'll start requiring them but until then I won't.

...but somehow it got agency oriented. I realize the original poster asked about agencies (specifically to do with nitrox), but I just don't see how this degraded to a GUE vs. TDI debate. GUE doesn't teach nitrox outside of triox or tech 1, do they?

IMHO, telling someone they shouldn't be using nitrox until they are ready for triox or tech 1 borders on lunacy.. Take a freakin TDI, PADI, or whatever class and get off air...then worry about whether or not you want to get some really good training with GUE..

 

[Scubaroo]

Exactly which GUE course teaches recreational nitrox? Why has GUE been brought into this thread?



If it's of any help to the original poster, I did the TDI course and PADI course side-by-side just over a year ago.

The TDI materials suck, but the course covers more of the theory, and make you use the formulas, which is what I was interested in, as a basis for future tech-oriented courses. Great basis for advanced nitrox in future.

The PADI materials are great for recreational divers, you get the nice tables with the manual, the video is good, but they rely heavily on the tables for calculations and only present the formulas for reference.

Either would have sufficed for a useable understanding of nitrox. It isn't exactly rocket science.

I sat in on my fiance's nitrox course a few months ago with a different instructor, and it was taught basically the same way as when I took it.

PADI requires two dives, TDI none.

 

[joens]

O-ring once bubbled...

Take a freakin TDI, PADI, or whatever class and get off air...then worry about whether or not you want to get some really good training with GUE..

A basic nitrox class is a basic nitrox class. take whatever class is close to you ,meets your schedule,etc.
Joens

 

[SDAnderson]

What matters is will the student come out of the class with the knowledge and training to allow them to safely dive EAN mixes between 21% & 40%.

If we all rule out taking a class from an agency because somebody associated with it is a no-good beyond the pale stinkeroo poo-poo pants, both TDI and GUE are in deep trouble and PADI will rule the world.

Uh-oh - maybe that explains why PADI rules the world.

I haven't taken any classes from GUE or TDI, but hope to some day. Given a good instructor, I wouldn't hesitate to take a TDI nitrox course and if anyone thinks that the class is somehow lacking something important and relevant, I wish they would provide some particulars.

In the meantime, here's a hypothetical scenarior for consideration...

George and Bret are a couple of grizzled guys sitting at one end of the bar, watching the baseball game. They are arguing loudly about everything, including the skills of the players, the length of their bats and the stupidity of the fans. Getting too close to them can be unpleasant, since they seem to want to expand their personal argument to everyone in the bar.

At the other end of the bar, John and Ralph are nicely dressed, nicely spoken and watching the same game. They cheer whenever someone makes a good play no matter which team they are on and have sympathy for mistakes. They converse with the rest of the customers and are generally the life of the party.

If you knew very little about baseball, would you rather go to a game with George and Bret or with John and Ralph? Would it make any difference if you knew that George and Bret know far more about baseball than John and Ralph?

To quote O-Ring: Take a freakin TDI, PADI, or whatever class and get off air...

Steven

 

[Braunbehrens]

My point was not that you should take a GUE class for the nitrox card. My point was that most instruction is sub par. The original poster asked about which instruction is best. My answer was to take any old class that will give you a nitrox card, and then take a GUE class if you feel you need some training.

Feel free to disagree with me, if you like, but I can point to many many people who've taken a GUE F class who will all say that they've learned more in that class then in all their other classes.

This is just what my experience has been, I don't mean to offend anyone.

Hey Reefraff, I don't do spectator sports, but for the sports where I participate, I tend to look for the best instruction. I don't care if the guy teaching the class is "nice", I have plenty of friends already.....but all the GUE instructors I've met have been nice anyway.

 

[Israel Lee]

Devils Gas---- want more bottom time work on you BREATHING! NITROX IS COOL! and in my opinion thats about it. Dive safe and if you want a lift after the dive hit up on some 100% OX

 

[inletsurf]

Got my TDI Nitrox cert after passing a test over the internet. No big deal. Everyone who dives more than 60 feet on a regular basis should get nitrox certified.

PS It's only a nitrox cert. Some of you guys make it sound like it's nuclear physics or something.