The ways training has changed....

[brutus_scuba]

I just got certified earlier this year, but have already heard a lot of stories from my Uncle, and Instructor on crazy skills that they were asked to do to complete just a BOW certification. It's obviously changed a lot now so my question is what skills were some of the more veteran divers asked to do in their OW classes that are no longer standard???

My uncle's instructor put four cylinders, one in each corner of a pool, and had five men swim laps around the pool underwater from corner to corner and if you got to a bottle and someone was on it you had to wait, and if you came up you were done with the class. (At least that's his version of the war story)

 

[SwimJim]

Classes were longer and much more involved in the '70s when I got my basic. It wasen't watered down so to speak. We spent alot more time on gas laws. Noone ever just said don't hold your breath, you were taught all about embolisms and other nasty things and how they occur. We did things in the pool like swimming the length of it with a blacked out mask on. This was to demonstrate how hard it was to swim a strait line even with no currents. We did ditch and don drills in the pool and on a platform in a lake during open water dives. I've seen threads about people fretting having to do this for a dive master course. By the time we had a basic scuba card we had that skill nailed. Of course I've also seen threads about uncontroled assents and decents, OOA situations etc. All things that a diver certified basic would know back in a day. I guess its up to the student to fully read the current material AND do some studying on thier own. Please do and if you don't understand something ask somebody who's been around. Better to answer some questions and understand what your doing then to become fish food.

Jim

 

[jiveturkey]

I might be wrong, but I dont' think it's a requirement for students to learn how to Buddy Breath off a single second stage. You used to have to do that.

 

[MikeFerrara]

There are lots of skills that were taught by various agencies in the past that aren't as common now. The ditch and don and bail out are two though some agencies still use them. Buddy breathing is optional or non-existant depending on the class. Then there are the skills that the opening post mentions...swimming from tank to tank and even breathing directly from a tank valve.

the ditch and don type skills go a long way in developing/demonstrating watermenship and survival skills and I think the agenmcies that still teach them are doing a good thing. However, as far as I can tell, all agencies have done a really poor job of integrating BC use into training. Looking at how basic skills are taught from the beginning I get the impression it was added as though it were an afterthought and nothing else was ever done with it....ie, they learn everything on their knees and spend a very short time midwater without having to do anything else while they are midwater. That might have made sense before the BC but I don't think it does now. the weels of progress turn slow and may need a mechanic to keep them going once in a while. they make training easier claiming that the new equipment makes it easier and safer but then they fail to really teach the use of the new equipment. LOL...put another dollar in and stick close to your DM.

 

[divingjd]

I might be wrong, but I dont' think it's a requirement for students to learn how to Buddy Breath off a single second stage. You used to have to do that.

That reflects the change in the standard gear configuration to include a safe second regulator. With two regulators, there should be no need to buddy breathe off a single regulator. Buddy breathing turned out not to work very well in practice and often led to the death of both buddies. If you give your regulator to a panicked, out-of-air diver, he may not give it back. There is only so much you can expect someone to remember in an emergency situation, so air-sharing and and emergency swimming ascent or emergency buoyant ascent is probably about all you can expect someone to master, or for that matter, have time for in an emergency. You want emergency procedures to be as simple and foolproof as possible. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with buddy breathing.

 

[diverdown247]

I might be wrong, but I dont' think it's a requirement for students to learn how to Buddy Breath off a single second stage. You used to have to do that.

I can't remember 100 percent as to if it was in OW or Rescue (PADI), but I know I had to perform this task as part of a certification.

Ditch and don was something they stressed we learn in OW as well. Part of that "know your equipment" phase; they wanted to be sure we knew where ALL of our buckles were for that unexpected situation.

I honestly think that the Rescue Diver course made me appreciate just how serious a scenario can be and just WHO should maintain control (most of it anyway) in the event of an emergency. Personally, I think a Rescue course should be mandatory so you understand how to handle dive emergencies better; it changes your entire outlook on the sport and gives you a newfound respect for practicing skills. I often find myself practicing skills at the surface while waiting for other divers to enter the water, even taught a new student ditch and don for his gear (pretty big guy) so he too now has a new respect for certain skills that can make boat diving easier/safer.

 

[brutus_scuba]

Buddy breathing turned out not to work very well in practice and often led to the death of both buddies. If you give your regulator to a panicked, out-of-air diver, he may not give it back.

It is my understanding that part of the training that seems "over the top" now was meant to eliminate and that was the panic in emergency situations. My buddy was certified through the military and one thing he always talks about is how much they did to make sure that you were calm in emergency situations I think you're right that people do freak out, but increased comfort in the water can help lead to thinking with a rational head in the hardest of times.

On another note... my instructor included Buddy Breating and donning at depth in a pool and open water. I appreciate that from him, but am aware that most don't and think I would be sceptical of buddy breathign with a diver who I didnt' knwo was trained to do so, but as you said with gear configurations today the situation should never arise.

 

[Tom Smedley]

One of the YMCA requirements of yore was a 100 yard surface swim buddy breathing with a snorkel. And as Mike mentioned going from station to station in the pool and at least one tank didn't have a regulator on it.

 

[abamick]

I got certified in 1985. They were not teaching a safety stop then.

 

[jiveturkey]

Regardless if it's practical or not, Buddy Breathing training has its merits. Like Brutus said, anything that increases your comfort in the water is a good thing. I'm not about to toss my Octopus though.