What are you suppose to learn in your first sidemount class ?

few days ago i did my first recreational sidemount class, course not done yet, instructor was fine.

somehow i didn't feel like i gained much out of this course. like those jaw dropping moment when you learn something new for the first time. only thing i think was useful was preparing tanks with choker and straps which only took less than 5 min?

so can somebody tell me what am i suppose to learn/do/understand in a sidemount course? been searching sidemount for long time and for the price of the course i thought im getting into something.

You should be shown exactly how to select and setup a sm system and bottles so that you can do it without an instructor. You should learn proper adjustment of trim, proper gas management between bottles, as well as safety items such as gas sharing and feathering valves. I don't know if they teach it or not but should: removing and replacing bottles. In rec sm you aren't passing through restrictions, but what if your camband slips badly? You should be comfortable pulling off a tank and fixing it in the water if you have to.

I don't know anyone who didn't learn tons in a sm course. With the popularity of sm in the rec world there are tons of instructors jumping on the bandwagon and treating it like another specialty like padi's underwater basket weaving. Maybe you got one of those guys.

That's the problem with some side mount courses nowadays, too many of these instructors that didn't dive side mount before taking their side mount instructor course. Three days and you're ready to teach someone else. Really??? Or better yet, if you're a Course Director, you can now go train someone else to teach side mount.

Let's see... classroom crap and then gear selection including regulators, set-up, trim, buoyancy, gas management options, contingency options, gear failures (bungee, frozen clips, free-flows, ruptured buoyancy cell, orings etc.), gas sharing, feathering valves, propulsion, buddy rescue, entry and exit techniques. All for OW... more for overhead SM course.

I don't think that one needs to take a sidemount course if one is an adept diver. I didn't take one for backmount (BM) doubles nor did I take one for sidemount (SM). I learned to use both with some prior pool time and then working it in during a class, intro-to-cave (BM & SM) and then full cave (SM). In an overhead environment, one does need some guidance for specific sidemount skills.

That being said, a good instructor/mentor can significantly level the learning curve, especially with trim and equipment configuration - the trouble is finding one that is knowledgeable enough to give you help with your individual configuration as what works in SM for one may be quite different for another.

Even though my instructor was very good (he took me from BM to SM), I still spent a lot of time in a pool with a video camera trying out tweaks with configuration and equipment modifications - but then, I like to tinker. Some prefer to go to a guru - drink the kool-aid - and not bother changing anything. Either way works.

vicp:

. Some prefer to go to a guru - drink the kool-aid - and not bother changing anything.

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You could have skipped that whole part. I was enjoying your post till you made yourself sound stupid. I took a course and it has nothing to do with KoolAid. I took the course with Edd, and yes many people worship the ground he walks on and only dive exactly how he tells them and don't make any decisions on their own past what he told them. I learned tons from his class and have used it to then be a basic platform to advance my persepectives on side mount. It has nothing to do with buying someone's bs. I have limited time to dive and don't want to waste 15-25 dives setting my gear up the way I like. I knew I could take a course, be taught everything I needed to be proficient in a short amount of time, and then continue to learn from there. Yes, there's lots of horrible sm intructors now, but you come off as if you're on a high horse for learning by yourself or with a mentor. An instructor is just a paid mentor.

rddvet:

You could have skipped that whole part. I was enjoying your post till you made yourself sound stupid.

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Yeah, I have a tendency to do that - maybe just a bit sensitive there though - I never mentioned Edd's name. Maybe it was just my reaction to all the times that I asked questions on the forums and was told "just go to ... and do it that way" - I did say that both ways work, didn't I?

rddvet:

I took a course and it has nothing to do with KoolAid. I took the course with Edd, and yes many people worship the ground he walks on and only dive exactly how he tells them and don't make any decisions on their own past what he told them.

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I also have the highest respect for Edd along with Frank who used to work there. I bought my rig from Edd as well as most if not all his SMS100 mods. I tried them all, incorporated some, rejected some,and have evolved some on my own. I do make decisions on my own, don't you? Isn't that part of cave diving?

rddvet:

I learned tons from his class and have used it to then be a basic platform to advance my persepectives on side mount. It has nothing to do with buying someone's bs.

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I have also learned tons from Edd (never took a formal class from him - only workshop demos and phone conversations as well as photos from Edd and Frank). I also learned a lot from my instructor(s), other divers and my own videotaped sessions.

rddvet:

I have limited time to dive and don't want to waste 15-25 dives setting my gear up the way I like. I knew I could take a course, be taught everything I needed to be proficient in a short amount of time, and then continue to learn from there.

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Quite understandable. Played/familiarized myself with the rig in a pool at first, setup was checked/modified by my instructor the evening before and dove in a cave class the next day - quite successfully except for some initial minor trim issues. I just like to tinker looking for that "elusive" perfection.

rddvet:

Yes, there's lots of horrible sm intructors now, but you come off as if you're on a high horse for learning by yourself or with a mentor. An instructor is just a paid mentor.

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Yeah, must of hit a nerve. Reread my posts if you care. I actually prefer bicycles, motorcycles, skis, and airplanes to horses (totally unpredictable and they smell!)

Doppler:

Let's see... classroom crap and then gear selection including regulators, set-up, trim, buoyancy, gas management options, contingency options, gear failures (bungee, frozen clips, free-flows, ruptured buoyancy cell, orings etc.), gas sharing, feathering valves, propulsion, buddy rescue, entry and exit techniques. All for OW... more for overhead SM course.

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What about frozen clips? What is your wisdom in that?

The first day of sidemount class we spend several hours discussing the different sidemount rigs out there. I pull out the several rigs I own and show my students the differences and explain to them why they are different. I discuss the different methods of rigging, the different methods of hose routing, the different methods of orienting cylinders, etc, etc, etc. I then let my students choose the method they think will work best for them. We then get in the water and get their bodies trimmed out to the cylinders. Yes, I said that right. The cylinders have a natural tendency to trim themselves out and the body adjusts based on how the cylinders are clipped to them. So things need to be changed to get the body oriented properly. The rest of the class is spent doing drills over and over and over and over again. And then we do more drills.

Am I the only one to wonder what the op means by

i did my first recreational sidemount class, course not done yet

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?
I understand that Corleone only took the theoretical portion of the course. If that is the case, then my answer to his question

what am i suppose to learn/do/understand in a sidemount course?

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would be not much. Sidemount courses are mostly practical with almost no theory. Many agencies have not yet bothered getting manuals into the students' hands. Theory is often just about the history of side mount and its evolution, advantages and drawback of this gear config compared to single tanks or manifolded doubles, and different procedures for diving with side mount.