When is the best time to take Essentials?

[sjam]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I have been reading lots of information about DIR/GUE/UTD diving principles, and I'm very interested in improving my technique and skills although I'm not sure if I'm sold on "going tech" yet. I saw that UTD had the "essentials of rec" class that has gotten good reviews from many.

My question is, how much diving experience should you have to get the most out of this class? The class description says it is for people who have been certified through other agencies, but that can mean anything. The reviews of the class seem like it is pretty intense, and I would hate to be the person who was holding up the class in moving forward since my buoyancy skills are still pretty awful. (But that is why I want to take the class - to get better!)

So when would I gain the most from a class like essentials of rec as a newbie? Should I wait until I have a few more dives under my belt before taking the class? I have about 10 dives total now.

 

[JohnnyC]

The advice I gave some of my coworkers that recently became divers was this, if you are not comfortable now, taking a course like Fundies, Essentials, whether UTD or IANTD, etc. will net you diminishing returns. You might learn something, or you might just be overwhelmed and never get in front of the curve. You may end up more confused about things than before you took the course.

You do not need to have mastery over the skills prior to the class, but if taking off your mask underwater freaks you out, this type of class will just be a mess. That's just a small example, but the overarching theme I have seen tends to be that divers who are at least comfortable with where they're at will get lots out of the class. Those that are still nervous with the things that surround even the easiest of recreational dives should get more experience before trying to take a course that's fairly intensive skill-wise.

You mention your buoyancy being awful. That's to be expected, you have a minuscule number of dives. Those courses are great at correcting buoyancy issues, but you have to have the other skills reasonably well otherwise it will all go out the window. In your case, I'd say book a couple weekends worth of fun dives to see where you're at skill wise. Be honest with yourself. If you feel comfortable with everything, give it a shot, if you're still nervous or unsure of the things you're doing, maybe hold off until you've got a few more dives in your log book. It doesn't take much, for most people the difference between 10 and 20 dives is pretty substantial, and that may be enough to solidify your feelings on the matter. Realistically, if you're not sure you should take the course, you probably shouldn't.

 

[decompression]

Great questions, you're becoming a "thinking" diver already. An easy answer to when to take essentials is, anytime. Certainly, I recommend as soon as possible so any bad habits you've learned don't become troublesome to overcome.

Essentials is the entry level course for any open water diver (or above) trained by another agency. This ensures everyone has the same basic skills, knowledge and protocols to make a great team member.

You could also look into the extreme scuba makeover. This is a great course that focuses on breathing and buoyancy. Guaranteed that you'll learn a lot from either course, the esm is just a part of essentials, so you can do just a piece or improve your bouyancy/trim/knowledge with the complete essentials course.

Feel free to contact me, myself and a few other UTD instructors are on scuba board.
Here's a good video of esm. Note the gear configuration of the student.....

Extreme Scuba Makeover ESM) Before and After - YouTube

And another....
https://m.youtube.com/?client=mv-google

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sjam]

Great questions, you're becoming a "thinking" diver already. An easy answer to when to take essentials is, anytime. Certainly, I recommend as soon as possible so any bad habits you've learned don't become troublesome to overcome.

Essentials is the entry level course for any open water diver (or above) trained by another agency. This ensures everyone has the same basic skills, knowledge and protocols to make a great team member.

You could also look into the extreme scuba makeover. This is a great course that focuses on breathing and buoyancy. Guaranteed that you'll learn a lot from either course, the esm is just a part of essentials, so you can do just a piece or improve your bouyancy/trim/knowledge with the complete essentials course.

Feel free to contact me, myself and a few other UTD instructors are on scuba board.
Here's a good video of esm. Note the gear configuration of the student.....

Extreme Scuba Makeover ESM) Before and After - YouTube

And another....
https://m.youtube.com/?client=mv-google

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The second video link did not work, but the first video link was certainly impressive. I will definitely check out the extreme scuba makeover class suggestion as a precursor to essentials, thank you.

 

[decompression]

UTD Extreme Scuba Makeover - YouTube

Try this, it gives you a very good idea of what's involved with esm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KevinNM]

You do not need to have mastery over the skills prior to the class, but if taking off your mask underwater freaks you out, this type of class will just be a mess. That's just a small example, but the overarching theme I have seen tends to be that divers who are at least comfortable with where they're at will get lots out of the class. Those that are still nervous with the things that surround even the easiest of recreational dives should get more experience before trying to take a course that's fairly intensive skill-wise.

One of the students in my fundamentals class got freaked out by taking off her mask. She ended up doing the no-mask swim on the last day after working on it with the instructor. The 2 students (other then me) in my fundamentals class had fairly few dives, like 20 some, before the class. These instructors are pretty good at working with students of all skill levels. There are advantages to taking these courses without a lot of experience in that you haven't spent years and many, many dives doing things wrong. This can be hard to fix. On the other hand, an experienced diver probably has some things under general control that are difficult for a new diver.