Technique

[cobbonthecorn]

I have yet to find a good discussion or reference for technique. For example, is there a good book or video on finning techniques? (Helicopter, backing-up, etc.) What about other secrets that seem to be passed along by veteran divers if you are lucky enough to dive with them and they are in a sharing mood? Thanks in advance!

 

[ChimChim75]

YouTube is your friend...

 

[M_Bipartitus]

A good instructor (or mentor) is a much better than the written word or a video. None-the-less, you can search for 5thD-X on youtube for some pretty good videos.

 

[Pitchblack]

What I know there's no literatuer book that covers the techniques for finning or other things, unless it's covered in any IANTD, NAUI, GUE or other technical diving manuall.

The things I know about finning, heli-turns and buoyancy is thought to me by my 'mentor'

 

[Hank49]

oops. Wrong thread.

 

[TSandM]

I think it's very difficult to write something that will teach someone diving technique. I think it's best learned by personal instruction in close proximity to a body of water. My Fundies instructor described the kicks, had us model them on land, and then he went in the water and actually patterned my feet through the frog kick, which is when I finally got it.

There are classes designed for recreational divers to teach a lot of this stuff -- UTD Essentials, the GUE primer, Fundamentals, and Intro to Tech are all places you can learn it, and if you have access to one, a cavern class will teach a lot of it, too.

 

[Rainer]

Why not contact James Mott (James Mott's Page - Unified Team Diving) who is local to you? I'm sure he could get you more than squared away.

 

[Scott L]

James Mott has a scheduled essentials class in Key Largo at the end of January which might have appeal for a Detroit citizen.

 

[cobbonthecorn]

Thanks for the input. (FYI..I know James and talk to him regularly on various subjects.) I guess my question was in search of an answer to why scuba technique is so "guarded"? Go to a book store and buy one of a thousand books on how to hit a golf ball straight. Try following the book. Then go train with a pro at the local range to "fine tune" what you tried to learn from a book. Then go practice... practice... practice.

However, in scuba one needs to start with an instructor, try to learn as much as possible in a relatively short period of time, then attempt to perfect the skills afterward.

Please excuse my sharpness, but in the instructional classes I have taught we have found the spiral method of teaching to be most effective. First you get a taste of what you need to master, then you practice for a while, then you go to "overload" training with an instructor where you are corrected and critiqued, and finally you go practice... practice... practice. Just seems like scuba could benefit from the same.

 

[TSandM]

Cobb, I agree with you! I have been taking riding lessons for over twenty years. When I tell people that, they ask me, "Haven't you learned how yet?" The fact is that there is always more to learn and you can always do better. I think diving is precisely the same. I have had the wonderful experience of taking "diving lessons" -- meeting with an instructor just to work on skills, with no recognized "class" going on, and no card expected. I think people would benefit greatly from doing this -- just meeting with an instructor every month to six weeks and getting their skills critiqued, or having something new introduced that they could go off and work with. It just isn't done, because instruction is done under the aegis of agencies that divide their instruction into recognized classes with very defined material to be covered and requirements for "passing".