Really Bummed

[lamont]

This thread has been very helpful for me. I am terrified about taking fundies, but I think I have an opportunity to take it with Richard Lundgren this summer. I am nowhere near competent in the water, and really nervous about being an underwater gongshow in a GUE course. I have been feeling like taking a few hundred more dives before trying fundies, but when will I get a chance like this again? Heck, Mr Lundgren is a tech 3 instructor trainer!

So, any thoughts on how to balance terror with opportunity? I hope this isn't a hijack -- seemed on topic, albeit a little self-centered...

Just sign up for it and take it. Forget about pass/fail, forget about how good you think you'll do. The whole class is equal-opportunity ego-brusing and you'll be in the course with a bunch of other divers who are all being shown what the bar is. I found the worst of it was getting to the first video review, worried that I was going to look like an idiot. And I did. But so did everyone else. After that it got a lot easier.

 

[coldsmoke]

Ahh - the first video review. I remember thinking "do I really look that bad?" It's very humbling indeed. In fact I distinctly remember being threatened with having my thumbs zip tied together to keep my hands still. But by the last video we were all many many steps above where we started just four days prior.

To me, that's proof of the quality of the instruction and cirruculim. It's a very good program and it gets results. Best thing I have ever done for my diving. I suspect there's very few people who wouldn't benefit from a class like this regardless of their experience or cert. level. To bad there's so many egos and a true lack of self critique out there.

Regarding the fear of passing - as my class approached I felt reasonably confident of a rec pass. However, after the first water day I was pretty sure a pass was going to be difficult at best and more likely impossible. As so many others have said - don't worry about the pass.

Enjoy the class and all that comes after.

Hunter

 

[Rick Inman]

Ahh - the first video review...

The instructor asked me not to keep the footage. So the tape is erased.

...Or is it.??? eyebrow:

Next time you come up, let's have a peek. That should be fun.

 

[TSandM]

DennisH, we were all terrified. If you go back and look at some of my (and Rick Inman's) posts in October of 2005, we were nervous as cats. But the proof of the pudding, I think, is that, having taken Fundies (and not passed it initially), I've gone back for more and more and more of the same kind of training. The classes are hard, and stressful, and one is often disappointed by being brought nose to nose with one's deficiencies. But what happens, even from failure, is a steady improvement in skills -- and that improvement makes diving easier, smoother, and a ton more FUN.

I met Mr. Lundgren in Mexico, and he's very likeable, and I'll bet he teaches a good, fair, and difficult class . . . and that there are lot of laughs while you're doing it, too. Take the class.

 

[Peter Guy]

TSandM wrote

I've gone back for more and more and more of the same kind of training. The classes are hard, and stressful, and one is often disappointed

Which just proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, that she is one sick puppy!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

TSandM wrote Which just proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, that she is one sick puppy!

I believe it went something like this ...

TSandM - "The more difficult something is, the better I like it."

DaveH - "That explains Peter."



... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[liuk3]

Oh, don't feel bad! Our class was six people, and after the first dive, the instructor divided us into two groups of three. The other group was pretty competent; my group was the, "These guys are hopeless but I have to teach them anyway" group. None of the three of us passed, and the instructor wasn't going to give me a provisional until I convinced him I had the resources (in terms of buddies) to get the practice in to bring my performance up to standards. We didn't do all the skills, either.

Six months later, I got a rec pass, and a year later, a tech upgrade.

But even better, even without my rec pass, the practice I did to learn the skills I'd been shown began to pay off in smoother, more enjoyable and less stressful dives almost right away. I think, if you can see past your discouragement and keep working, you'll discover that, too.

We aren't all GUE instructor caliber. But we can all become better divers.

Lynne, thanks for your willingness to always share in the trials you've had with diving even if they may seem less than flattering. It shows great dedication and perseverance, and I know that you've moved on to more cave and technical oriented training. It certainly inspires me to want to work hard to try to get there as well one day.

 

[TSandM]

Thanks, Ken! One of the things I really try to get across is that, if I can do it, ANYBODY can. I could easily have gotten discouraged and quit trying, or even quit diving, or at least quit diving cold water. But because I kept trying, things got better and diving got better, and I can't imagine a life without it at this point.

And I am NOT a sick puppy!

 

[b1gcountry]

And I am NOT a sick puppy!

Your avatar does make you look pretty pale. I think you need some sun.

 

[TSandM]

Your avatar does make you look pretty pale. I think you need some sun.

Off to Mexico in a week and a half . . . :grinbandit: