A somewhat sad conversation last night

[redacted]

... that's like asking if the term "PADI" stands for "Professional Association of Dive Instructors", does that mean that if you're not a PADI instructor, you're unprofessional?

It's a marketing term ... there are no hidden meanings ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

While not an authoritative source, this quote from Wikipedia: Some DIR divers refer to non-DIR diving practices as DIW (Doing It Wrongly), and the non-DIR-compliant divers as "strokes".

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

DIR is rather a closed philosophy. DIR divers embrace one way of diving. You use a BP/W or your not DIR. If you dive Split fins then you are not DIR. There are DIR divers who refuse to dive with those who are not DIR. No matter how nice someone is, when they refuse to dive with someone because they are not DIR that can lead to problems.

See, I think that's a rather closed philosophy ... because I've run into all kinds of divers who have varying exposure to DIR training ... and they're all individuals.

My first exposure to DIR was some fellow my ex-wife and I ran into while gearing up for a dive at a local site. He was a classic know-it-all ... pointing out why the gear we were using (as new divers) was, in his words, an accident waiting to happen. Turns out he wasn't much more experienced than we were, had just not-quite-passed the entry-level GUE class, and trying hard to prove something. I wasn't impressed.

Next exposure to DIR was a fellow named Terkel Sorenson. He was a much more experienced DIR diver ... had a company making can lights and other DIR-compatible gear. Despite my TUSA BCD, short-hose reg and split fins, we ended up doing a lot of dives together over a period of a couple years. Then he got married, moved to California, and got a job selling real-estate. I don't even think he dives anymore ... but I do know that when he did, he never took himself so seriously that he wasn't fun to be around and dive with. He's the guy who taught me ... even in split fins ... that I could dive without kicking up a lot of silt.

Next person I met who I thought was DIR because of her backplate and long hose was Mel Clarke ... some of you probably have heard of her. Nice woman, very good diver, never to my knowledge embraced DIR ... just happened to look like one. These days she dives and instructs on rebreathers.

Then there was Uncle Pug ... incredible diver, great sense of humor, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He taught me how to think about diving. Ron was and is very much a DIR diver ... if there was ever someone I'd hold up as a person to emulate both in skills and approach to diving, it would be him. And yet I've never known him to judge anyone, or refuse to dive with anyone, based on their equipment choices or agency affiliations.

Along came TSandM ... the Borg Queen. Oddly, I think it was me who set her down the DIR path ... and I'm not even DIR. I just showed her what a good diver is supposed to look like, and when she said she wanted some of that, I suggested that DIR would be a good way for her to get it. Given her personality, I thought it would be a good fit for her ... turned out to be an understatement.

I've watched our local DIR community evolve over the past decade or so ... watched the ebb and flow of personalities ... worked at a shop that offered GUE classes for a while ... and had a succession of friends and not-so-friends who identified themselves by that particular style of training. And through it all, I've both participated and held myself aloof from what one would call the DIR community ... mostly for the simple reason that my interests lie elsewhere and in other styles of diving. And through all of those years, there have been a few "I won't dive with you" moments ... but way, way more times when I was warmly welcomed at events that were sponsored primarily by DIR-trained people. I've had several invitations from GUE instructors to come out and sit in on classes ... and have even helped out by videoing a few.

I've seen ... and endured ... stereotypes both by and toward DIR-trained divers. And frankly, I've had more people snub me because I looked to them like a DIR diver than I've been snubbed by the few "I won't dive with you" types who take their training and themselves too seriously. And through it all, I've learned something extremely important ...

... judge people based on their actions and attitude ... not by their equipment or training choices. We dive for fun ... I want to surround myself with people who are fun to be around. What I've discovered is that there's as many people inside the DIR community who fit that criteria as there are outside of it. And for the most part, they aren't going to judge you by your gear, but by your attitude ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[PfcAJ]

While not an authoritative source, this quote from Wikipedia: Some DIR divers refer to non-DIR diving practices as DIW (Doing It Wrongly), and the non-DIR-compliant divers as "strokes".

Le sigh... This old thing again? It's scuba diving, guys. Come on...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

While not an authoritative source, this quote from Wikipedia: Some DIR divers refer to non-DIR diving practices as DIW (Doing It Wrongly), and the non-DIR-compliant divers as "strokes".

... you do realize that the Wikipedia article was written primarily by a bunch of people who have no DIR training, right? We had a rather lengthy discussion about it in the DIR forum not that long ago. The amount of "agenda" that went into that Wiki article was just astounding ... made me wonder why someone would go to that much effort to write about something they had no experience with ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Doomnova]

There are some practices of DIR that I aspire too have. Good trim and buoyancy control(the latter of which i have recently gotten down to the point where I can cruise a finger length above the bottom) stream lining of gear, proper maintenance of ones gear, and appropriate fitness to dive. But on the other coin especially as a newer diver I can see there are overzealous people who do forget that diving is also about enjoyment and take the DIR book and bash others over the head with it till they either A) submit or B) leave the thread. I think what comes out of this is the tone of the discussion whether implied or not. Most divers be it new or not ( more so for the latter) who come here and ask questions are probably nervous as well since odds are they are not regulars who have been reading here for year or may not be used to electronic forms of communication (which can easily be misinterpreted).

My first experience with a GUE person was during my first dive after open water and I can say I will never dive with her again. It was a dive run by one of the local shops on the weekend aimed at doing local dives within the limits of newer divers. When she looked at the sign up chart noted that I had just done my OW and pulled me aside and said "Ok you can come and dive with us just don't get me killed or ruin my dive". Simply put she was lucky I was in a good sense of humor. Funny thing is she as the DM for that Saturday dive should have expected newer divers. Needless to say I have not gone back to that shop to do a weekend dive since and honestly it made me look down on the whole GUE/DIR crew quite a bit from an initial meeting. Despite my respect for their work towards perfectionism. This is also despite the fact that every other person i have dove with notes how good my trim is and my buoyancy control is and the lack of dangling articles. It could be a once off sort of thing but it does from first impressions leave and impression that GUE/DIR folks are a bunch of assholes (not saying they are) who only respect others like themselves. Will i take a GUE/DIR course down the road perhaps, but I also remember the events of that day quite well and will make me a bit nervous when it comes to that training.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How do you guys work out who is a DIR diver and who is not?

Do these guys get the same tattoo or something?

... redundant black t-shirts ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Roko]

How do you know when a DIR diver enters the room? (S)He'll tell you.



Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

 

[BDSC]

There are some practices of DIR that I aspire too have. Good trim and buoyancy control(the latter of which i have recently gotten down to the point where I can cruise a finger length above the bottom) stream lining of gear, proper maintenance of ones gear, and appropriate fitness to dive.

I would say those are practices that most any diver should aspire to have. I was taught all of that in OW class.

 

[TSandM]

Doomnova, stories like that make me sad, because that was one individual who poisoned your view of a whole group. You said she was the DM for the group, which means she was a DM for some other agency (since GUE doesn't have DMs) -- why didn't you decide that THAT agency was full of bad guys?

I have met GUE and UTD trained people I didn't like, or didn't think were nice people -- although very few, because as far as I can tell, in general, divers tend to be pretty nice people. But I think they were just not nice people to begin with -- I don't think choosing that style of diving made them that way. There are always people who are going to lord it over others, or flaunt their fancy equipment, or sneer at awkward newbies, and I mean in any sport -- I've seen it in riding, skiing and diving.

 

[BVickery]

From reading the post, it seems a lot of people place a ton of emphasis on the gear chosen (BP/W, hose length etc). To me, in essence, DIR should be ALL about skills in the water and not about the gear. I should be able to dive competently with BP/W or Jacket. Long hose or Short. Low Volume mask or regular. Split Fin or Blade. Hog Harness or Deluxe.

---------- Post added April 12th, 2012 at 05:38 PM ----------

Doomnova, stories like that make me sad, because that was one individual who poisoned your view of a whole group. You said she was the DM for the group, which means she was a DM for some other agency (since GUE doesn't have DMs) -- why didn't you decide that THAT agency was full of bad guys?

I have met GUE and UTD trained people I didn't like, or didn't think were nice people -- although very few, because as far as I can tell, in general, divers tend to be pretty nice people. But I think they were just not nice people to begin with -- I don't think choosing that style of diving made them that way. There are always people who are going to lord it over others, or flaunt their fancy equipment, or sneer at awkward newbies, and I mean in any sport -- I've seen it in riding, skiing and diving.

Lynne,

Believe it or not, I think you personally could be seen as a person who HAS changed the face of DIR here on SB. The segment will always have bad apples, but when the community as a whole stands quiet it appears that the DIR community condones the behavior. When you go and speak out against their behavior, it opens eyes and has challenged some peoples perception of the methodology (myself counted as one of them).