well done !
Finished my DM!
- Thread starter TSandM
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The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Way to go Lynne! You've worked hard to be the best.
chs8084
Contributor
Congratulations-- although relatively new to SB, I always appreciate your comments.
olphart
Contributor
congrats! I'll be finished mine some time this summer. As someone who is way too close to being a septuagenarian, I didn't really aspire to being an instructor, but I took the course for the challenge and an opportunity to improve the skills that I had thought were pretty good already.
What a wake up that was! The first couple of pool sessions were quite humbling, and the next few weren't a lot better. With practice and the critical eye of the instructors, things improved to the point that at least I don't embarrass myself in front of students.
For an old fart like me, the stamina tests were the most challenging, except for the tread water which was a breeze. I was pleasantly surprised at my times for the swims and tows...not hardbody jock fast, but not the slowest in the class of 6. the "stress test", (I still think that's a misnomer), I think was designed to provide the instructors with entertainment. One tried unsuccessfully to get my buddy and I to really think about the "one air source" requirement. We just did it like anyone else, successfully, but with the usual comedy act common to anyone doing it for the first time, and he explained what he was talking about later, not that I think it would have helped that much.
(No, if you don't already know, I ain't telling)
It looks look the pool sessions are all done for the OW students, so there's just the Open Water sessions in the quarry, the Advanced Classes in Toby, the mapping, and the rescue to do, and I'll be joining the DM ranks. I've found it to be the best thing I've done in my diving career so far. It's been a total blast.
Oh yes, it was an eye opener to learn as well that, contrary to my view of DM's as pretty high up the dive chain, we're often just the instructor's bi****s
....and ya know what? That's cool too if it keeps us from getting too full of ourselves .
Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat as necessary.
What a wake up that was! The first couple of pool sessions were quite humbling, and the next few weren't a lot better. With practice and the critical eye of the instructors, things improved to the point that at least I don't embarrass myself in front of students.
For an old fart like me, the stamina tests were the most challenging, except for the tread water which was a breeze. I was pleasantly surprised at my times for the swims and tows...not hardbody jock fast, but not the slowest in the class of 6. the "stress test", (I still think that's a misnomer), I think was designed to provide the instructors with entertainment. One tried unsuccessfully to get my buddy and I to really think about the "one air source" requirement. We just did it like anyone else, successfully, but with the usual comedy act common to anyone doing it for the first time, and he explained what he was talking about later, not that I think it would have helped that much.
(No, if you don't already know, I ain't telling)
It looks look the pool sessions are all done for the OW students, so there's just the Open Water sessions in the quarry, the Advanced Classes in Toby, the mapping, and the rescue to do, and I'll be joining the DM ranks. I've found it to be the best thing I've done in my diving career so far. It's been a total blast.
Oh yes, it was an eye opener to learn as well that, contrary to my view of DM's as pretty high up the dive chain, we're often just the instructor's bi****s
....and ya know what? That's cool too if it keeps us from getting too full of ourselves .Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat as necessary.
Congrats on the achievement....we all know that you'll be great at it.
Scott L
Contributor
Congratulations! That c card collection must be looking like a deck of playing cards now.
- Messages
- 1,938
- Reaction score
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- # of dives
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Congrats, welcome to the world of professional tank schleppers
OP
That he gets to order me around? He does anyway
The best part of the DM class was getting to work with the students. I got very attached to some, and I also learned some things about myself. I also learned that herding students is VERY different from diving in perfect horizontal trim with a well-trained team, and many of the skills I've worked so very hard to master aren't even particularly USEFUL in that setting
One of the most interesting parts was reading the PADI Encyclopedia from cover to cover. Although I still can't stand the tone of the writing, I was really impressed with how much information was in there, and I'm now recommending it to anybody who asks for a book they can read to add to their information about diving.
The most challenging part was learning to demonstrate the 20 skills -- breaking each one down into its parts, and remembering to go SLOWLY and exaggerate each movement. I'm sure I'll get better with those demonstrations with time.
The one thing I'd say to anybody about doing a DM class is that it isn't about you . . . it doesn't improve your diving (except that working with students will, eventually, give me eyes in the back of my head). It's a specific skill set for assisting an instructor or leading a group, and you ought to come into it with VERY strong personal diving skills and a real sense for what you do under stress.
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