It can be so much easier . . .

[TSandM]

Peter and I went diving today, our first 2015 dive. We went to a popular local dive site, but given that it was a weekday, the air temperatures were in the low 30's, and the sky was gray, I was surprised to see several other teams of divers, and my hat was off to them.

During our dive, a team passed us going out, and passed us coming back in (we were taking pictures). I watched them go by (well, I got hit by one of them on the way out) and I saw frantic dog paddling and bicycle kicking, and one diver was actually using a breast stroke to swim. They had no lights, but were in single file, and the lead diver was just . . . swimming.

I was delighted they were there. I admired the determination that brought them out to dive on such an inhospitable day. But I was so sad to see people whose diving techniques were so inefficient, and who clearly felt so unstable.

It CAN be easier. It SHOULD be easier. It is a delight to be properly weighted and balanced, so that you can just stop -- stop and watch, stop and take a photograph, stop and do your safety stop. It is so pleasant to have propulsion techniques that allow you to pivot or back up. It makes life so much easier when you have a good understanding of diver positioning, and how to avoid losing a buddy.

For all of you who read this: I am thrilled you are diving. I am thrilled that you care. But please know that diving can be easier, and more fun. The more you know, and the more you polish basic diving skills, the more you can focus on sightseeing, photography, or whatever brought you underwater.

Please go read the articles on THIS website, and this one, written by our own NWGratefulDiver. Watch the 5thD-X videos on YouTube. See what is possible, and then go after it. It will do nothing but make your diving life better.

 

[RJP]

As the saying goes "Anything worth doing... is worth doing well."

The people you described were probably having a blast. Why else would they be out there? I think the hard part - that diving hasn't figured out yet - is to get people to WANT to be GOOD divers without making it sound like diving is difficult. When most people hear that scuba diving requires "technique" and that you need to "know more" and "polish basic skills" in order to be an effective diver... it reconfirms their (erroneous) beliefs that "diving is hard to do" and or "isn't for people like me."

Further, notions such as technique/skill/refinement are likely in stark contrast to what people are told diving is. The industry's promotional messaging typically runs along the lines of "float weightless and look at pretty fishies." They are simply told "Learn To Dive Today" or that they should "Be A Diver" rather than "Find a good instructor, work hard during the class to master technique, diligently hone your skills and be a GOOD diver." Not that they SHOULD be told that, but it's easy to understand how a naive person's take would be that all you need to do is put the gear on, jump in the water, and float along.

In perhaps the ultimate irony, the people who put most effort into developing good dive skills... make diving look effortless. So when a prospective diver sees photos or videos of a skilled diver they think "Look how easy that is!" That disconnect usually causes one of three things to happen, none of which are good for diving or the diver...

1. The new diver is SATISFIED with the experience of looking at pretty fishies and doesn't mind the effort associated with being a crappy diver.
2. The new diver is DISATISFIED with the experience of looking at pretty fishies because ofthe effort associated with being a crappy diver.
3. The new diver is FRUSTRATED because they did not anticipate the effort required to become a skilled diver. (Or even a crappy one.

Ultimately I think that whether someone becomes a good diver is largely a random event. Either that person is the type that innately embraces the challenge of doing things well or, by sheer luck-of-the-draw that person happens to swerve into a good instructor who conveyed (either directly or indirectly) the value of having good skills. Very few people in the world fit the description of the former, and very few prospective divers take it upon themselves to seek out the latter. The mathematical likelihood of someone becoming a skilled diver is therefor relatively low.

 

[SeaCobra]

It does not take that much effort to become a skilled diver, but it does take a skilled instructor.

 

[SeaHorse81]

It does not take that much effort to become a skilled diver, but it does take a skilled instructor.

It doesn't require that much effort, but only if you have the "want," which I suspect most new divers lack. Diving is a high-overhead (no pun intended) sport in terms of time, trouble, expense, gear wrangling, etc. It's a lot of trouble to go enjoy an activity for an hour or two. Some people will be so drawn to it that the overhead is just not a factor, while others will scope it out and note that there are many really easier ways to spend recreational time.

 

[Wookie]

It does not take that much effort to become a skilled diver, but it does take a skilled instructor.

A Brazillion likes to you, sir.

 

[SeaCobra]

It doesn't require that much effort, but only if you have the "want," which I suspect most new divers lack.

And where does that "want" come from? A quality instructor. In 26 years of teach, I have yet to encounter anyone that wants to take scuba lessons. But, they do want to go diving, and almost all want to be good. They want to be as good as their instructor and look at ease in the water.

The "want" comes from someone taking a few minutes to explain the benefits to the diver of a good (efficient) fin kick, of proper trim, of dive planning, etc., etc. If they know the value they will gladly put in the effort, which is not very much.

 

[Bob DBF]

As the saying goes "Anything worth doing... is worth doing well."

Try to explain that expression to a generation that gets praise and a trophy for showing up and performing badly, not to mention the generation that does that to children.

I'd say they are probably looking for the book that gets them to level 25 diver immediately, the same way they do for video games.



Bob
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There is no problem that can't be solved with a liberal application of sex, tequila, money, duct tape, or high explosives, not necessarily in that order.

 

[SeaHorse81]

And where does that "want" come from? A quality instructor.

Fair enough, and I actually thought of that after I posted. In my case, I found some degree of "want" despite not-great instruction experiences, so that tends to be my bias.

 

[Bob DBF]

The "want" comes from someone taking a few minutes to explain the benefits to the diver of a good (efficient) fin kick, of proper trim, of dive planning, etc., etc. If they know the value they will gladly put in the effort, which is not very much.

My contention is that it takes more than a few minutes, and the practice of online classes then pool sessions with one instructor and then OW dives with another instructor reduce the effectiveness of that message. I would bet that SeaCobra reinforces that message throughout his class, and individually, to his students as he trains them. "...taking a few minutes to explain..." devalues the effort required to change another individuals mindset.



Bob

 

[RJP]

And where does that "want" come from? A quality instructor.

I'm certainly not diminishing the value of a dedicated, diligent, high-quality instructor... but I don't think having one is either necessary or sufficient to generate a diver's "want" to become skilled. There are plenty of people coming to ScubaBoard every day with questions because they had crappy training and knew it. Those people obviously have the "want" to have better skills even though they did not have a high-quality instructor. On the other hand, as you point out, while most students want to be good divers... some DON'T. So even in the hands of a quality instructor... some of your student's still lack the "want" to be a skilled diver.

You make a great point regarding the idea that students take scuba lessons in order to "go diving" rather than "to learn to dive." This seemingly semantic distinction goes to the heart of the issue of training/certification being a barrier to entry to diving. Many people simply don't take up diving because of the need to take a course and get certified. However, even for those who are NOT dissuaded from diving by the need for training/certification... an OW course STILL stands between them and their real goal of "to go diving." If students - and/or instructors - regard training as merely "the means to an end" or something to get past, it's easy to understand why a "that's good enough... move on" mindset might be held by many.

I think it's important to promote training/certification as being valuable - and FUN - in and of itself. Maybe we should not emphasize the notion that it's "the doorway to the underwater world" as the only reason to take an OW course. This might tend to reinforce that an OW course is something you need to "get past" in order to go diving.

However, we need to be careful in terms of how we position scuba training. There's some interesting evidence that including the need for (or availability of) high-quality training in promotional messaging for scuba diving actually has quite the OPPOSITE effect intended by those who communicate this notion. Emphasis on "high-quality training" and the need to "refine skills" or have "good technique" appears to actually INCREASE the perception of training as a barrier to entry among potential divers. I'm currently writing up the results of this recently conducted market research... I think the findings will be VERY eye opening for everyone.