Open Water entry level has been a disaster so far

[tphelps]

I'm taking the Open Water entry level at my university.

'...again, my instructor gives me hell.'

I have to laugh at myself because I was worried for a moment, you see I teach Open Water at my university (University of Hawai'i at Hilo) and I was afraid you might have been one of my students. But when you said "her aides" and as I kept reading, I realized I was out of the dog-house!

First of all, I have to commend you for being so aware of how you are underwater. This is not easy to do and those that do, find themselves at the Pro level someday. Here is what I would have you do if I was your instructor (lucky for you this is only pretend haha ).

1) If you are lifting your head up during a short snorkel, that tells me you like knowing where you are and are looking for good visual reference. Unless you are doing this like every 5 feet, this isn't really a BAD thing (or unless you are doing a compass swim and you HAVE to keep your head down). My advice would be try using peripheral vision which granted can be hard to do in a mask. Turn your head side to side to get a lateral orientation to give you a perspective of how far you are. If this didn't work, I would take a spare snorkel and have you stick it between your chin and collar bone, forcing you to keep your chin down to prevent the snorkel from falling. Ahead of time you would count how many black lines it would take to get from one side of the other and use your counts as your distance reference.

2) & 3) You're definitely not alone on this one. Many divers have the "bicycle kick." When I was coaching water polo I would get teens that could not keep their legs straight. So I tied a foam noodle to each leg so they could not bend their knees! This forced them to keep their hips up, and worked the quads because you had to use more muscle to move the leg because of the added buoyancy. Not to mention it was funny as all heck to watch!
But back to diving, keep doing what you are doing and REALLY imagine having pencil legs and not moving your knees. This one is going to be hard to break because it is a muscle memory. In reality, I hardly ever use a flutter kick. If you were struggling with this, I would first have you really nail your buoyancy. In my confined water sessions, when you are not doing a skill, you are hovering for practice. Do your weight checks (especially after a dive on a near-empty tank) and adjust accordingly. Once you know your weight, work on that neutral buoyancy. When you can float there without touching the bottom or ceiling without moving your fins/hands for several minutes, then try kicking. (Much easier to move when you're not on the bottom! )
The fin kick that I use, as well as most experience divers use, is the frog kick. Granted this is a more advanced kick but you might find it easier and much more enjoyable. When I first started out, I would look at tech and cave training videos and note their trim and techniques. After imitating for a while, it became second nature .
[video=youtube;HnJzOkUH7N4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJzOkUH7N4[/video]

4) Ascents... ascent rates differ with different training agencies. I teach PADI and their rate is 60 feet per minute. With my experience in tec diving and deeper stuff I personally prefer 30 feet per minute (which is actually more common amongst agencies). Now there are times when you need to have a faster ascent rate, like a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA). I have a feeling she said something to you because of group control. It can be a little hard to manage a class when students are ascending at different rates. When you are finished with your course, ascend at a comfortable, safe, rate to you (within you're training parameters). Remember, your Low Pressure Inflator (LPI) is NOT an "elevator" you always raise it to vent gas and KICK up...

Final words: Trust me, you are not the first student that has said the course goes fast. In a perfect world, I would love to do a longer Open Water class. The only thing, money. Longer class = higher course tuition for students. An instructor should not be "giving you hell," if that is the case maybe it would be best if you let that class go on ahead and you can repeat the confined water session with the next class. If you bring this up to management and voice your concerns, they SHOULD work with you as far as pricing goes...
You have a good mindset so keep evaluating yourself. It might be helpful if you get someone else to video you in the pool so you can see what you are doing while your instructor is giving you feed back. Okay I'm done with my "novel!" Have fun with your course and feel free to personal message me any other questions/comments!

 

[Hawkwood]

I'm taking the Open Water entry level at my university.
I mastered mask clearing and regulator removal, but...

1) I can't for the life of me, snorkel an entire length of pool without sticking my head out of the water -- the instructor and her aides give me a hard time about this.
...

You have received terrific answers to your questions.

I have one for you. Why are you sticking your head out of the water? Not knowing why makes it hard to give you advice. Folks are giving advice based on lots of possible reasons, but what is your reason?

Bill

 

[lexir]

Thanks for the great answers everyone!
Some of you have asked me location, or how old my instructor is, but I won't give anymore details. I was already way too specific with the problems I'm having.

Hawkwood, I stick my head out of the water for two reasons:
1) tphelps nailed it: I really want to know where I am; I'm a control freak, OK? What can I say.
2) my snorkel mouthpiece floods and often forget to expel water (despite my instructor telling me to do this a million times).

And when I say "giving me hell", I'm exaggerating; what I meant is that for nearly every session, I'm often pulled aside by the end of the class and given advice. This doesn't seem to happen with the other students.

 

[Steve_C]

Not sure what kind of swimming you do but if you know the side stroke that can be helpful. In any event think of doing scissors with your legs. Or imagine your self marching with straight legs. Or maybe kicking a soccer ball with the left and then the right. Point is that you swing from the hips. Think kick ball left, kick ball right. It is the same motion just more relaxed.

Water in mouth piece can be due to several things. Ill fitting snorkel at the mouth. Not holding snorkel right in mouth. Lousy snorkel that leaks. Water coming in from above. If you hold your head wrong some water can come in. Make sure that the tube is positioned right. If you have the kind of snorkel that can expel from the bottom there is a little flap of rubber that in theory makes a one way valve. Check to make sure it is not worn or damaged. I swim laps with a snorkel. Some days in 72 laps I will get essentially no water in. Other days it seems like every 4 or 5 laps I get some water in. Nature of the beast.

Breathing should be deep and slow. You need the deep breathing to get enough old air out and new air in since there is a dead air space in the snorkel. Diving is easier since every inhale brings in fresh air but you stil want deeper regular breaths.

 

[Skittl1321]

I couldn't snorkel the length of the pool when I took my first pool session- I suck at snorkeling, it makes me feel like I am suffocating and can't breathe (I could do the other snorkel skills in isolation- go underwater and clear the snorkel then take a breath, but like you, I needed to take my head up and catch a real breath). However, I can swim very well, and PADI allows a no-fins, no snorkel swim. It took a lot of asking, but the instructor finally allowed me to do that instead. Are you taking a PADI course?

I passed my OW confined dives the first time around, but I was not comfortable with it. For me, it was worth doing the pool sessions again. My shop did not make me pay, but honestly, if I didn't want to just give up the idea of SCUBA, I would have paid: because it was a matter of me being safe; and I did not feel I could safely go into open water at the level I was at. Everyone learns at their own pace; you may just need to take the course again. (For the record, I successfully completed the full snorkel swim during the second go round, and during open water. But I still really hate snorkeling. It is to be endured, not enjoyed.)

 

[Hawkwood]

Thanks for the great answers everyone!
Some of you have asked me location, or how old my instructor is, but I won't give anymore details. I was already way too specific with the problems I'm having.

Hawkwood, I stick my head out of the water for two reasons:
1) tphelps nailed it: I really want to know where I am; I'm a control freak, OK? What can I say.
2) my snorkel mouthpiece floods and often forget to expel water (despite my instructor telling me to do this a million times).

And when I say "giving me hell", I'm exaggerating; what I meant is that for nearly every session, I'm often pulled aside by the end of the class and given advice. This doesn't seem to happen with the other students.

Thanks for the answer.

As to lifting your head up? Start looking around and being aware of where you are - look for the side of the pool, look at lane markings at the bottom (if there are any), follow the person in front of you.

Mouthpiece filling? Breath cautiously, blast clear if it gets too "full", clean out around the purge valve, try a different snorkel - lots of things to try or be aware of.

Keep at it. The advice you have received from everybody is all good. Nothing you are experiencing is unique to you.

 

[Colliam7]

I mastered mask clearing and regulator removal, but...

As several have mentioned, you have already mastered some of the more challenging skills, or at least some of the skills that seem to challenge more than a few students. Good for you.

1) I can't for the life of me, snorkel an entire length of pool without sticking my head out of the water -- the instructor and her aides give me a hard time about this. . . . I really want to know where I am; I'm a control freak, OK? What can I say.

If I was your instructor I would be more than a bit frustrated by this response (I would not exhibit that frustration, but I would nonetheless feel it.) Most pools have lane markers. Most pools have variable depths, shallower at one end, deeper at the other. I generally know where I am in a pool based on what I see below me. Simply saying you are a control freak is not a good explanation. But . .

my snorkel mouthpiece floods

this is a more reasonable explanation, which you have hopefully brought to your instructor's attention. However, . . .

and often forget to expel water (despite my instructor telling me to do this a million times).

this would activate my frustration meter again. You didn't say you don't know how, you said that you 'often forget'. You have to work at this so you don't 'forget'. It may take you longer than others until you develop muscle memory.

My flutter kick is extremely awkward, even if I keep telling myself "don't pedal, don't pedal, don't pedal..." but I end up pedaling

Frankly, based on your self-description, you probably would benefit from formal swimming instruction. In fairness, a lot of people who take scuba instruction would benefit from swim lessons as well, even though they (unfortunately) don't pursue it. Sure, we (scuba instructors) pass off some people who don't swim well. Sure, we (scuba instructors) even think we do a good job of helping some students improve their basic swimming. I teach people the frog kick, I teach back kicks, helicopter turns, etc. But, I am not a swimming instructor, and I stand in awe of what I often see at the local pool where we conduct Confined Water scuba training. There are some swim instructors out there who really know how to break down each technique, and help students learn to swim.

My personal opinion, I think the course is going way too fast, but what do I know??

I suspect the course is going too fast, FOR YOU. As several have mentioned, not everybody progresses at the same pace. Frankly, your instructor has made some reasonable comments and suggestions. I applaud her for not simply pushing you along, instead telling you that you are not yet ready for OW.

With one more pool session to go before the dive, she tells me she can't certify me at the level I am

I applaud her for suggesting that you may not have the swimming experience that the other students happen to have.

she answered that the other students probably have more swimming experience.

That doesn't make you a lesser person by any means. But, it does mean that you will have to work a bit longer (maybe harder, but primarily longer) to develop more proficiency in swimming. I applaud her for suggesting that you take extra sessions.

but I can a) take extra sessions which I need to pay for, or b) sit out the pool sessions during the next Open Water course, which is a few weeks from now, and make the final dive with that group.

Take the extra sessions. Don't simply roll over into the next class. Be willing to pay for the extra sessions. If an instructor is providing his / her time, they are putting value on the table. Put your money on the table as well.

I really, really want to be a diver,

Good for you. So, do what is necessary to become a diver. Take extra time. Pay for extra training. I even suggest you consider paying for swimming lessons. You are taking an OW scuba course, not a swimming class. If you are not a reasonably competent swimmer, then work on that skill first, or at the same time that you are adding more pool hours in scuba. believe me, you will NOT regret the extra time and money.

When our shop teaches a group OW class, we charge a group rate. There is a set schedule, we build X number of hours of pool time (which we have to pay for by the student-hour) into the schedule and into the cost of the course. We do not and cannot guarantee that everyone will be successful in the time allotted. Although most students do earn their certification, there are some students who simply need extra time, and training, For that they pay extra. In several cases, we recommend that students take swimming lessons, then come back and finish their OW training.

 

[shmuggy]

I would look at getting another kind of snorkel. Some like them with purge valves but I find the simple basic snorkel works better for me. Also, the frog kick advice is good- I think it helps me with my air consumption when diving.

As for getting hell from the instructor- I would push back on that. She isn't doing a very good job for you and wanting to charge you more does not hit me as reasonable. I would read the material over that says what the class includes.

Hope you stick to it- it is a great sport and can give you enjoyment for many years to come. Once you get certified- I would spend my money on going to enjoyable dives and getting really comfortable with the sport.

 

[TSandM]

The comment about being pulled aside for additional advice or instruction really hit home for me -- that was the story of my whole open water class!

Becoming comfortable with water in the snorkel is important, I think. If you can't deal with that, you are going to be uncomfortable with a wet breathing or flooded regulator, too -- and if you can't remember to blast clear the snorkel, you may not remember how to clear a regulator, either. This is worth some time and work. And the good news is that you can do this in any pool, anywhere; you don't need an instructor or to pay any money beyond pool entry fees.

When you say, "That's just how I am," I hear a bell go off in my head . . . That's a response I associate with someone who doesn't want to change a behavior. If you feel in your own mind that this snorkel problem you have is unimportant, and your instructor is being obnoxious by stressing it, then you probably don't want to do the work to fix the issue. If that's true, it's unlikely it will get fixed. I have given you my reasons why I think it IS important, but you have to decide on your own whether you find those reasons (or any other reasons your instructor has given you) to be compelling.

 

[lexir]

I just want to clarify that I have nothing against my instructor; I'm sure she's doing an excellent job and I appreciate she's giving me all this feedback. But when you're in a group of several people progressing nicely and seem to be the only one lagging behind, frustration, blame and anger kicks in.

Now, on to better news....

I went to a local pool this morning and practiced my snorkeling there. And guess what?....I snorkeled several lengths of the pool, and my mouthpiece did not flood, and, I'm pretty sure I managed the flutter kick (no one was watching me and I didn't want to bug the lifeguard, so I can't say for sure) but I didn't pedal once!
I "tested" myself by sticking my entire head underwater, and expelling water when stuck my head back out (the "TWO!" technique I was taught).
I even tried a free dive, went to the bottom (5 feet) ascended, and cleared my snorkel without freaking out. I repeated this several times.
And apparently I need to take slow, deep breaths. This is another thing that wouldn't register, for some reason.
Part of the extra classes next week will be practicing my kick, so I'll see how that goes. But I'll continue practicing until then!