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My Venture into GUE - Another view
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calicant
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Very interesting write up. It certainly is a challenging prospect to undertake GUE training. I'm slightly concerned that my wife will be taking the class with me one day which ought to add a little bit more to the intensity for us both - in the class as well as our marriage. 
lamont
Contributor
Blackwood
Contributor
Remember: it's just a class.
I've had to tell myself that many times. We all get performance anxiety; some instructors like to claim "I have ways of making you forget you're in a class," frankly: I think that's crap.
When I'm in a class, when I'm being observed and evaluated, I can not break the habit of thinking "what does he want to see me do" rather than just reacting as I have been trained to and would in real life. I've seen instructors do the same thing when they became students again themselves.
That introduces stress above and beyond simply learning new things, and it can lead to dejected feelings afterwards, especially when you're making mistakes simply because you're in a class.
Don't beat yourself up. It's just a class. Come out to California and we'll go diving. Our end of the pool isn't quite as cold as Richard's.
I've had to tell myself that many times. We all get performance anxiety; some instructors like to claim "I have ways of making you forget you're in a class," frankly: I think that's crap.
When I'm in a class, when I'm being observed and evaluated, I can not break the habit of thinking "what does he want to see me do" rather than just reacting as I have been trained to and would in real life. I've seen instructors do the same thing when they became students again themselves.
That introduces stress above and beyond simply learning new things, and it can lead to dejected feelings afterwards, especially when you're making mistakes simply because you're in a class.
Don't beat yourself up. It's just a class. Come out to California and we'll go diving. Our end of the pool isn't quite as cold as Richard's.
Jax - Thanks for posting your detailed class report. I know all too well the unhappy, dispirited, disillusioned, and disappointed feeling because I felt that way for 80% of my class.
I found class intense due to the pressure I placed on myself because I did not want to slow down my team and class mates. I know you posted in another thread that this type of diving was too rigid and not fun. IMHO, I have to disagree, since class I've had the pleasure of diving Coz, MA and NC with GUE trained divers and I found those to be the most relaxing dives.
I am still practicing, honing and using the tools I learned from class as I'm sure you will be weeks, months and years from now.
Again, thanks for posting and I will meet you in Bonaire this summer.
I found class intense due to the pressure I placed on myself because I did not want to slow down my team and class mates. I know you posted in another thread that this type of diving was too rigid and not fun. IMHO, I have to disagree, since class I've had the pleasure of diving Coz, MA and NC with GUE trained divers and I found those to be the most relaxing dives.
I am still practicing, honing and using the tools I learned from class as I'm sure you will be weeks, months and years from now.
Again, thanks for posting and I will meet you in Bonaire this summer.
lamont
Contributor
some comments -
- yes, you shouldn't tweak gear right before the course, that is a common mistake. go back to bob bailey's write up of our course back in 2004 and he comments on making that mistake.
- i really like the split-courses with a week or three in the middle where students can go out and practice skills in between. it is very hard to go from having an issue with something to being able to settle down and master in during a stressful course. i hope that the split-courses become more common, but it is difficult to do them when the instructor is remote.
- most GUE diving is highly non-stressful and fun. its mostly fundamental students who stress out constantly. when you do drill you should try to drill well and give feedback to each other about your buoyancy window and everything ("practice makes permanent, perfect practice makes perfect"), but its only fundamentals students who practice constantly on every dive and analyze absolutely everything to death.
- it helps to be diving with other GUE divers before and after fundamentals. you mention the big gulp of air that students take when they're stressed and they tend to float up during drills. that is a typical issue and it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a GUE instructor to help someone get over that hurdle. i've pointed it out to students before fundies before and been able to help them avoid that, so that the instructor can focus on more fine tuned issues in the course. i also had it pointed out to me by another GUE diver before fundamentals so i'm just passing along the tips i've learned...
- yes, you shouldn't tweak gear right before the course, that is a common mistake. go back to bob bailey's write up of our course back in 2004 and he comments on making that mistake.
- i really like the split-courses with a week or three in the middle where students can go out and practice skills in between. it is very hard to go from having an issue with something to being able to settle down and master in during a stressful course. i hope that the split-courses become more common, but it is difficult to do them when the instructor is remote.
- most GUE diving is highly non-stressful and fun. its mostly fundamental students who stress out constantly. when you do drill you should try to drill well and give feedback to each other about your buoyancy window and everything ("practice makes permanent, perfect practice makes perfect"), but its only fundamentals students who practice constantly on every dive and analyze absolutely everything to death.
- it helps to be diving with other GUE divers before and after fundamentals. you mention the big gulp of air that students take when they're stressed and they tend to float up during drills. that is a typical issue and it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a GUE instructor to help someone get over that hurdle. i've pointed it out to students before fundies before and been able to help them avoid that, so that the instructor can focus on more fine tuned issues in the course. i also had it pointed out to me by another GUE diver before fundamentals so i'm just passing along the tips i've learned...
My SECOND time taking Fundies was much better then the first.
Being GUE trained or having a Fundies "pass" does not mean all your future dives need be stressfull or proformance driven. It just means that you have aquired tools and demonstrated profientcy.
One thing to remember is the pass is not what is important, it is the learning. It sounds like you did indeed get positive learning experiences for your efforts. Well done.
Nice write up. Thank you for sharing.
Being GUE trained or having a Fundies "pass" does not mean all your future dives need be stressfull or proformance driven. It just means that you have aquired tools and demonstrated profientcy.
One thing to remember is the pass is not what is important, it is the learning. It sounds like you did indeed get positive learning experiences for your efforts. Well done.
Nice write up. Thank you for sharing.
OP
Very interesting write up. It certainly is a challenging prospect to undertake GUE training. I'm slightly concerned that my wife will be taking the class with me one day which ought to add a little bit more to the intensity for us both - in the class as well as our marriage.
Well, I was extraordinarily fortunate to meet TSandM and that Peter Guy . . . They certainly seemed to have oodles of fun in their diving - as well as being just good people to talk to. I think they might get lots of practice. :blinking:
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