Mr Carcharodon:Air share technique is probably the biggest difference. ADP is using the standard NAUI/PADI approach, with donor and receiver grasping each other and vertical. IMHO that is setting you up for poor buoyancy and an uncontrolled ascent. I believe the long hose used in the s-drill type of air share is easier and safer. One of the ADP instructors actually did tell me that the long hose configuration was unsafe. He thought a long hose was too hard to deploy, which I did on the spot for him in about two seconds. But except for that one individual I think they are an open minded group.
ADP is passionate about skin diving and snorkeling. But I can not say they made me a convert. Skills are done kneeling in ADP. Even with the long course they have a limited amount of time for each skill so that may be the right approach but it has its downsides as has been endlessly debated.
The long hose? I like it but there is little question that you can do without it in OW. I'm a big fan of horizontal ascents and descents for several reasons but the fact is that I can control an ascent or descent whether I'm horizontal, vertical or upside down. LOL
The skills done kneeling have historically solid roots that go back before every diver had a BC. With the inclusion of the watermenship skills, IMO, it does not spell death but rather a simple failure to completely keep up. My guess is that eventually LA county will get their skills work up off the bottom. I think an important difference here is that LA county has kept the watermenship stuff while some other agencies have stuck to the kneeling AND done away with watermenship. IOW, without being an expert on their techniques, I'm guessing that their approach is to NOT rely on equipment? My own POV originates more from types of diving where we don't have any chopice but to rely on equipment like cave diving, for example.
My next question is more to the point. If I went out to the west coast and watched, what would I see? Would I be able to tell the LA county trained divers from the PADI trained divers? How? What if I brought the LA county trained divers here (midwest)? To Forida spring country? What would I see? Describe the picture.