This is kind of like a sequel to my "Observation about divers" post, but provide more insight to the DIR curious from a newbie to DIR.
I arrived in UTD HQ on Saturday morning 9.30am, not knowing what to expect. First order of business is to get paperwork squared off. Once done, Jeff, my instructor, reviewed all the equipment I brought. I basically purchased the UTD BP/W, and since I do not have any experience with that, Jeff meticulously explained while helping me setup my rig while explaining the purposes and the "why" it was being set up the way it was.
Then we took a short break for lunch.
What followed next was some intensive lecture about ascent profile, RB time, SAC rate, deep stops etc. Questions are encouraged and there is ALWAYS a logical explanation. And I learnt something new: Contrary to mainstream recreational agencies teachings of doing deepest dive first, I was taught why I should do my deepest dive last. :shocked2: And yes, there was a rational answer to that too. The details of which I will leave out as that is not the point of this thread. Then I was "put in a spot": Jeff would give me specific scenario and I would have to calculate how much air is needed to do a dive which includes emergency and contingency, ON THE FLY. I really need to practice on that.
Next was a "dry run" where Jeff demonstrated the "Basic 6" and propulsion technique. In water time. We first worked on buoyancy and trim, which really looked much easier than it is, and then we worked on propulsion techniques. My back kick was a total disaster. End of Day 1.
Day 2, I met with UTD DM Shawn Bullock to continue to work on my skills. We pretty much cover what we did in Day 1, and the Basic 6. Needless to day, I was all over the place, either crashing to the bottom, shooting up or loses my orientation. The good news is that his critique was my execution is "calm and calculated". After that, we break for lunch and did a video debrief (all the in water session was videotaped for review and debrief). End of Day 2.
I will have to continue the course another time as its time for me to head back to Vegas. Do I recommend the course?
The question is double edged because it really depends on the diver. If you are the occasional vacation diver, you probably do not need it but the skills are good to know. However, if you do intend to ascend through the ranks of certification in any recreational agency, I highly recommend the course.
Contrary to what I was told about DIR divers, I spent an entire weekend with the whole group and found them to be a group of very helpful, cheerful, fun and skilled individuals. There is no elitism or arrogance in them but they are definitely elite in the skills and knowledge of diving.
Im closing, I now understand that the DIR "style" of diving is not about the equipment or the configuration of equipment, or the skills, or the body position of the dive, but a SYSTEM of diving where your equipment, configuration, skills etc are but a pieces of that system, part of a bigger picture, which in turn is dependent on or being dependent upon by another piece of the system. If you are not looking at it as a whole, the equipment or configuration etc does not really serve any purpose. If you do however, everything falls into place like a perfect jigsaw puzzle
I arrived in UTD HQ on Saturday morning 9.30am, not knowing what to expect. First order of business is to get paperwork squared off. Once done, Jeff, my instructor, reviewed all the equipment I brought. I basically purchased the UTD BP/W, and since I do not have any experience with that, Jeff meticulously explained while helping me setup my rig while explaining the purposes and the "why" it was being set up the way it was.
Then we took a short break for lunch.
What followed next was some intensive lecture about ascent profile, RB time, SAC rate, deep stops etc. Questions are encouraged and there is ALWAYS a logical explanation. And I learnt something new: Contrary to mainstream recreational agencies teachings of doing deepest dive first, I was taught why I should do my deepest dive last. :shocked2: And yes, there was a rational answer to that too. The details of which I will leave out as that is not the point of this thread. Then I was "put in a spot": Jeff would give me specific scenario and I would have to calculate how much air is needed to do a dive which includes emergency and contingency, ON THE FLY. I really need to practice on that.
Next was a "dry run" where Jeff demonstrated the "Basic 6" and propulsion technique. In water time. We first worked on buoyancy and trim, which really looked much easier than it is, and then we worked on propulsion techniques. My back kick was a total disaster. End of Day 1.
Day 2, I met with UTD DM Shawn Bullock to continue to work on my skills. We pretty much cover what we did in Day 1, and the Basic 6. Needless to day, I was all over the place, either crashing to the bottom, shooting up or loses my orientation. The good news is that his critique was my execution is "calm and calculated". After that, we break for lunch and did a video debrief (all the in water session was videotaped for review and debrief). End of Day 2.
I will have to continue the course another time as its time for me to head back to Vegas. Do I recommend the course?
The question is double edged because it really depends on the diver. If you are the occasional vacation diver, you probably do not need it but the skills are good to know. However, if you do intend to ascend through the ranks of certification in any recreational agency, I highly recommend the course.
Contrary to what I was told about DIR divers, I spent an entire weekend with the whole group and found them to be a group of very helpful, cheerful, fun and skilled individuals. There is no elitism or arrogance in them but they are definitely elite in the skills and knowledge of diving.
Im closing, I now understand that the DIR "style" of diving is not about the equipment or the configuration of equipment, or the skills, or the body position of the dive, but a SYSTEM of diving where your equipment, configuration, skills etc are but a pieces of that system, part of a bigger picture, which in turn is dependent on or being dependent upon by another piece of the system. If you are not looking at it as a whole, the equipment or configuration etc does not really serve any purpose. If you do however, everything falls into place like a perfect jigsaw puzzle
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