or perhaps, why you need not, or should not, take the class:
Background:
I started diving (again) a little over 2 years ago -- getting first a PADI OW cert and then immediately a PADI AOW cert. At that point, all I wanted to do was to "go down and look at the pretty fishies" in my local waters (Puget Sound) and in the tropics (actually more in the tropics than locally!). Possibly because I'd had a very solid background from my prior SCUBA training, I found the PADI training sufficient to make me a safe (enough) diver -- safe to myself, safe to my buddy and safe (in general) to the environment in which I dove. (I didn't bang into the bottom, I didn't kick up a whole lot of silt, I could stay off the bottom when I wanted to.)
I was happy with my overall level of skill.
My wife (bless her) was NOT happy with her level of skill (and, I might add, for good reason). So she went looking for something more, found a mentor (NWGratefulDiver) and started drinking the Kool-Aid (which I found amusing and a bit, a lot, over the top). She took Fundies, practiced her basic skills an incredible amount and allowed me to learn some of what she had learned (frog kick for example and S-drill). I was not at all convinced I needed (and certainly didn't want) to take the class and go through all she had. However I was intrigued enough to agree to take Breakthrough Diving's "Essentials of DIR" class -- an experience I found to be somewhat enlightening (and one I'd recommend to any person who wants to improve their basic diving skills).
Then I took Fundies:
After diving "my way" for a 18 months (and being exposed to the contagious DIR disease courtesy of my wife and friends), I finally agreed to take Fundies last January (class in April). I still didn't have a really great idea WHY I should take the class, but I just gave in to the outside pressure (Thanks Doug). I found the class to be interesting, and frustrating -- and I've written about both on prior threads. Suffice it to say, the class itself is too compressed and too much emphasis on evaluation of the skills rather than the teaching of the skills (or at least mine was -- I've heard of others that I think are "doing it right" by splitting up the teaching and evaluation more). I'm not sure I "learned" anything in the class (except the backkick which, in fact, I ended up "learning" on my own) that I hadn't been exposed to (or taught) before.
Six months later I have still not passed the class (eval coming up in a few days) but I have practiced the "skills" much more than I would have done had I not had a specific goal of "passing" a class.
So why did I take it? Well, I finally had a REAL reason -- you see, I had taken a few guided tours in a couple of Cenotes -- and I wanted to go "beyond the sign." Even though I had signed up for the class before I found the magic of the caves, It's quite possible I wouldn't have finished it but for the magic.
I just returned from Mexico after taking 4 days of Cavern/Intro to Cave training (TDI). I'm pleased to report that the training was made much easier because of the skills that had already been learned through the Fundies training. My teacher was kind enough to say that my (our -- wife and me) skill level was much better than he expected (and he appeared to be incredulous when I told him I hadn't passed Fundies yet, in part because of trim issues). Having the Fundies foundation allowed us to concentrate on the Cave specific issues which made the class much easier. (We had a 3rd team member in Cavern who had not had any of this training and he had a hard time -- don't know if he got his Cavern cert -- wouldn't be surprised if he didn't (yet).)
To go back to the question raised in the title:
Why should YOU take Fundies? I think one should take it when they have a solid reason to take it -- when one needs the (not so basic) skills that are taught in the class as the foundation for whatever they are about to do. Or to put it another way, when you are going to dive "task loaded" and therefore need to have the "fundamental skills" well learned. What type of "task loading?" Well, when you are going to do complex navigation, run a scooter, do decompression, go into an overhead environment, take pictures (yes! even when just taking pictures of the pretty fishies) -- any time you need to use your brain for something other than the "where am I in the water column, where is my buddy, do I have enough gas to make it to the surface" type of thinking.
I don't believe one should take the class if what they want to do is to dive and "look at the pretty fishies." While I know many disagree with me, I think the basic "PADI type" OW/AOW training (along with some practicing of the skills taught!!) is sufficient for almost everyone who does the typical recreational dive. Yes, you won't know some stuff that a "good diver" should know (gas management being a big one), but you'll be a safe diver and have fun while you're doing it.
But if you have decided you want to do more than look at the pretty fishies, think seriously about taking DIR-F -- you'll be amazed at how much better a diver you'll become.
A very personal explanation.
Background:
I started diving (again) a little over 2 years ago -- getting first a PADI OW cert and then immediately a PADI AOW cert. At that point, all I wanted to do was to "go down and look at the pretty fishies" in my local waters (Puget Sound) and in the tropics (actually more in the tropics than locally!). Possibly because I'd had a very solid background from my prior SCUBA training, I found the PADI training sufficient to make me a safe (enough) diver -- safe to myself, safe to my buddy and safe (in general) to the environment in which I dove. (I didn't bang into the bottom, I didn't kick up a whole lot of silt, I could stay off the bottom when I wanted to.)
I was happy with my overall level of skill.
My wife (bless her) was NOT happy with her level of skill (and, I might add, for good reason). So she went looking for something more, found a mentor (NWGratefulDiver) and started drinking the Kool-Aid (which I found amusing and a bit, a lot, over the top). She took Fundies, practiced her basic skills an incredible amount and allowed me to learn some of what she had learned (frog kick for example and S-drill). I was not at all convinced I needed (and certainly didn't want) to take the class and go through all she had. However I was intrigued enough to agree to take Breakthrough Diving's "Essentials of DIR" class -- an experience I found to be somewhat enlightening (and one I'd recommend to any person who wants to improve their basic diving skills).
Then I took Fundies:
After diving "my way" for a 18 months (and being exposed to the contagious DIR disease courtesy of my wife and friends), I finally agreed to take Fundies last January (class in April). I still didn't have a really great idea WHY I should take the class, but I just gave in to the outside pressure (Thanks Doug). I found the class to be interesting, and frustrating -- and I've written about both on prior threads. Suffice it to say, the class itself is too compressed and too much emphasis on evaluation of the skills rather than the teaching of the skills (or at least mine was -- I've heard of others that I think are "doing it right" by splitting up the teaching and evaluation more). I'm not sure I "learned" anything in the class (except the backkick which, in fact, I ended up "learning" on my own) that I hadn't been exposed to (or taught) before.
Six months later I have still not passed the class (eval coming up in a few days) but I have practiced the "skills" much more than I would have done had I not had a specific goal of "passing" a class.
So why did I take it? Well, I finally had a REAL reason -- you see, I had taken a few guided tours in a couple of Cenotes -- and I wanted to go "beyond the sign." Even though I had signed up for the class before I found the magic of the caves, It's quite possible I wouldn't have finished it but for the magic.
I just returned from Mexico after taking 4 days of Cavern/Intro to Cave training (TDI). I'm pleased to report that the training was made much easier because of the skills that had already been learned through the Fundies training. My teacher was kind enough to say that my (our -- wife and me) skill level was much better than he expected (and he appeared to be incredulous when I told him I hadn't passed Fundies yet, in part because of trim issues). Having the Fundies foundation allowed us to concentrate on the Cave specific issues which made the class much easier. (We had a 3rd team member in Cavern who had not had any of this training and he had a hard time -- don't know if he got his Cavern cert -- wouldn't be surprised if he didn't (yet).)
To go back to the question raised in the title:
Why should YOU take Fundies? I think one should take it when they have a solid reason to take it -- when one needs the (not so basic) skills that are taught in the class as the foundation for whatever they are about to do. Or to put it another way, when you are going to dive "task loaded" and therefore need to have the "fundamental skills" well learned. What type of "task loading?" Well, when you are going to do complex navigation, run a scooter, do decompression, go into an overhead environment, take pictures (yes! even when just taking pictures of the pretty fishies) -- any time you need to use your brain for something other than the "where am I in the water column, where is my buddy, do I have enough gas to make it to the surface" type of thinking.
I don't believe one should take the class if what they want to do is to dive and "look at the pretty fishies." While I know many disagree with me, I think the basic "PADI type" OW/AOW training (along with some practicing of the skills taught!!) is sufficient for almost everyone who does the typical recreational dive. Yes, you won't know some stuff that a "good diver" should know (gas management being a big one), but you'll be a safe diver and have fun while you're doing it.
But if you have decided you want to do more than look at the pretty fishies, think seriously about taking DIR-F -- you'll be amazed at how much better a diver you'll become.
