Suggestions for a Buoyancy Clinic Power Point?

[Shinythings]

Hi all, I'm putting together a clinic for newer divers focused on kicks, trim, fins and the like.

I was hoping to get some input to help me build the PP. What I'm looking for is a pro/con for each kick (flutter, modified flutter, frog, back, helicopter) and where (in what situation) to use said kick. Any common mistakes you guys have noticed while new divers learn these types of thing would also be appreciated.

I am going to jump in the pool to make some videos of the various kicks as well. As far as method, is there anything you guys feel needs to be emphasized (i.e. placing the bottom of your feet together for a back kick)?

Thanks in advance for the input!

PS. sorry if there is a better place for this thread. Mods feel free to move.

 

[RJP]

Hi all, I'm putting together a clinic for newer divers focused on kicks, trim, fins and the like.

I was hoping to get some input to help me build the PP. What I'm looking for is a pro/con for each kick (flutter, modified flutter, frog, back, helicopter) and where (in what situation) to use said kick. Any common mistakes you guys have noticed while new divers learn these types of thing would also be appreciated.

I am going to jump in the pool to make some videos of the various kicks as well. As far as method, is there anything you guys feel needs to be emphasized (i.e. placing the bottom of your feet together for a back kick)?

Thanks in advance for the input!

PS. sorry if there is a better place for this thread. Mods feel free to move.

As someone who made a career - and earned my company millions and millions of dollars - doing wonderful PowerPoint presentations I'll offer one piece of advice:

Friends don't let friends use PowerPoint.

As a scuba instructor who serves buoyancy/trim/propulsion Kool-Aid in gallon-size servings I'll further offer that if there is a dive course/clinic that will benefit from a PowerPoint presentation... buoyancy/trim/propulsion ain't it. Every minute spent looking at a PowerPoint screen is a minute not spent in the water.

[video=youtube;0nqhopRhju4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nqhopRhju4[/video]

 

[Shinythings]

Trouble is that you have to explain these things before you get on the pool deck as no one will hear you on the pool deck, so that means I'm using a classroom. If I have a classroom I might as well have some visuals for people to look at.

I have 90 minutes of pool time and I want to make the best of it by preparing the group. Maybe we have a difference of opinion on this, but explaining things in a classroom is far more effective than yelling on the pool deck while everyone stands uncomfortably.

 

[RJP]

Maybe we have a difference of opinion on this, but explaining things in a classroom is far more effective than yelling on the pool deck while everyone stands uncomfortably.

Hmm...

Ice pick in the ear or hot poker in the eye?
Hot poker in the eye... or ice pick in the ear?

 

[KevinNM]

I haven't see a lot of people do these, but I've seen a few.

Every non-instructor I've seen asked to demonstrate a helicopter turn tries to do it too fast (yeah me too). And it doesn't work out well. You should stress that it is slow and deliberate. Like a few seconds between kicks. Plus you have to be neutral and stable first, and if you start to lose either you need to stop trying to turn and fix buoyancy and trim before continuing.

With both helicopter turns and back kicks people learning them seem to try to do too much per kick. I saw the same criticism of every diver in the class on that. You don't do them at the pace of flutter kick and you are not going to move backwards nearly as much as you do per kick as you do with frog or flutter, so don't try to force it. Once you are very good this might change, I've heard people describe themselves struggle swimming into a current while their instructor is calmly hanging in front watching them while backkicking into the current, but I doubt that describes the ability of very many divers.

 

[RJP]

If I have a classroom I might as well have some visuals for people to look at.

I'm not trying to bust your chops, but if you're planning your course/presentation around what you "might as well" do you're really going to shortchange your students. Challenge yourself. What I hear you saying is "I'm not comfortable presenting without slides to distract my audience."

I used to be that guy. Then, about 15 years ago I worked with one of the best presentation coaches in the business. I was at a tiny independent ad agency pitching for a huge piece of business we had no chance of winning. She whittled our 100+ slide PowerPoint deck down to a single slide. With no words on it. Myself and two colleagues presented for two hours, with one slide, showing a picture of a garbage can. We were hired on the spot - "based on the strength of the presentation" - beating out the three largest ad agency holding companies in the world.

My other favorite business presentation involved no slides at all. Just me talking to the prospective client's team for 45 minutes... while slowly working my way to the top of an 8ft step ladder.

Challenge yourself. Don't start with the assumption that you need slides. Start with an understanding of what point(s) you need to convey... and then determine the best way to do that.

 

[g1138]

I'm with RJP. Powerpoints aren't for Trim, Buoyancy, & Kick lessons.

Those should be describe, demo, feedback, practice, feedback.
- Give a good accurate description of what you're going to do and why you do it
- Demo it (ie. if you're yelling from the pool deck, get your butt in the water and instruct)
- Give yourself feedback on what you just did in front of your students
- Have students practice
- Give Feedback to students
With the last step, if you notice mistakes, address it as a group. If you try to preload them with all the "common" mistakes before the demo, you'll find yourself wasting time and often times you're giving them ideas of what mistakes to make.

Preload them them what they should be doing, don't preload them with what they shouldn't be doing.
If I find class after class always making the same one mistake, I'll preload that one after I do my demo.
I'll also consider my Describing step as possibly rubbish and in need of rewording.

I don't find this the case with kicks and trim. Everyone always has a different situation within each class in my experience. Most often it's easier to observe and tailor to each student, because no two divers are going to be setup exactly the same with weight placement, flexibility, flailiness, etc etc

While the greatest of PP may satisfy Describe & Demo, your student's aren't going to retain all of it by the time you splash into the pool. So you're not gaining much if anything by presenting one.

 

[TSandM]

Instead of reinventing the wheel, why don't you use the 5thD-X videos? They show beautiful examples, and then the "cut" shows details of technique, and common problems. SDUA has several of them up on YouTube.

 

[tbone1004]

ok, here's my two cents, but it's rude. Ignore all presentations and talks and all of that, just don't bother. Invest in a large mirror for the pool and have your students look at a few videos of what it is supposed to look like. Park them in front of the mirror for 2-3 hours, and watch the magic work. Seriously, mirrors in the pool are 100% the most important teaching aid an instructor can have for buoyancy/trim/propulsion. The students know what it is supposed to look like, but the instant feedback changes everything

 

[The Chairman]

I would love an online PP presentation with voiceover included for my students to watch before they get here. It needs to have the following:

An explanation/diagram of the physics of trim and how it affects buoyancy (vector analysis).
An explanation/diagram of how and where to shift weight (including the fact that AL80 tanks work opposite what you expect)
An explanation/diagram of the physics of sculling with hands and how it screws up buoyancy
An out of the water/in water demo of the frog kick, with back up
A demo of using breathing for descent/ascent
A demo of removing/replacing BCD unit mid water
A demo of using breathing to accommodate adding extra weight (at least 6 pounds)

This should be different from 'selling' a product, but I bet that it would still sell the class. No, not everyone who watches it would take the class, and that's OK. Many are going to want an in person intervention.