fobturbo
Contributor
These are my observation of Don's class, for a more detailed description, see Kristina's thread here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/336666-essentials-rec-class-report.html
Okay, so I got talked into taking this class based on Kristina's urging, as well as Mike Guerro (sp) & Kathy's summary of the class. So I henceforth blame all three of you for my next onslaught of diving purchases (which thankfully will not be too much stuffs...I hope).
Going in, I wanted to
A: Become a better buddy, never been too good at the situational awareness thingy
B: Have better control of my movements, especially when I'm (trying to) taking pictures.
C: Become a better diver overall.
The slides are put together very well as well as the online presentations. Based off of Mike & Kathy's summaries as well as what I had also read from the UTD forums, I started practicing some of my kicks on my sofa, during commercials. Of course, this was when my housemate wasn't home, and the curtain drawn. I'd dread to see some video of myself trying to do a helicopter turn or backwards scull on youtube somewhere...while trying to practice the mechanics of the kicks on your couch lets you focus a bit on how you think the movements should feel, it does not show you how hard it can be to stay in prone position. I definitely have to work on keeping my knees up, amongst other things.
I have dove with Kristina on numerous occasions and had a good feeling of her habits, our third teammate, however, was a total unknown. Thankfully Darl was a pleasant guy that had the same enthusiasm and trepidation that we all shared.
The first class room session, it was just Kristina, Don and myself as Darl had something come up. We familiarized ourselves with the pro's of a bp/wing setup as well as the different options/designs in the classroom. We then went into prone position. While trying to hold this position for more than a few moments, this is where both of us discovered how hard it was. Kristina dubbed it as the "butt clenching sensation" trying to keep one's head and knees up.
As mentioned, the pool was not heated to it's normal spiffyness, and myself only owning a drysuit, decided to go boardshorts and rashguard for our pool session. It was nice to feel less restricted from the normal setup, and had less complexities of the drysuit, but after a while, damn it got cold. On the first descent, Don had Kristina and I go down and get situated. The two of us in our excitement go down, and then start practicing kicks, eager to show off that we have been preparing our in water skills as well as going through the online material. Don patiently waited for us to calm down so he could get started. This is when I learned that even in a pool, there are swells. I never imagined how hard and a PITA it can be to try and stay in place. One minute I'm next to the wall underwater, the next thing I know, I'm 3' from the surface in the middle of the pool. This is where the microadjustments that stiffer fins come in handy, as well as being aware that I'm drifting up and to the center of the pool while pondering if I need to take a yoga class to learn to hold the butt clenching position for extended durations. We did go through all the kicks that night. Don would demonstrate, then he would have us do the kick the length of the pool. Correcting us via pokes, taps, pulls, nudges or whatever he felt was appropriate. This was followed by doing this in front of the dreaded camera for the critique later. And to my surprise, the critiques weren't as bad as I thought they were. I was far from perfect, and I knew that, but it was always refreshing to know that I'm doing something right amongst all the things I'm doing wrong. And also trying to keep track of all the things I need to improve upon for each technique.
The second night, Darl was able to make the class and we finally had our team complete. Things were started off with the classroom session like the night before. It was Darl's first time learning about a bp/wing. On a brief tangent, the LDS that we were doing our classroom & pool session at have a very curious lab or retriever puppy that likes to roam around the shop. Not only is she inquisitive, but she loves to play (as do all puppies I believe). I insert these statements because, I find out next, that the prone position can be mistaken for a dog's playbow. So for the next 20 minutes or so, I'm trying to fend off the Brandi the puppy, keep my butt clenching position and listen to what Don is saying so I don't have to ask him to repeat himself later. After getting my face and hands slobbered upon, I decide I'd have an easier time if I (gently) pin Brandi down so I pay more attention to what Don is saying. Unfortunately, this only makes Brandi more excited. Fortunately though, Brandi then decides I'm too boring and decides to play with Kristina.
The pool session that night was an interesting one. Kristina and I have the benefit of last night's video review to know what we need to work on for our skills. But, it was also the first time that all three of us would be diving together. We definitely should have gone over some hand signals and team formations prior to jumping in. It would have made things a bit smoother. We start going through our skills again all the way until it's closing time. Thankfully, all of us learned our lessons and bring thicker exposure suits so we don't get cold and maximize our pool session.
Then comes the start of the actual ocean sessions, where there are swells, currents, viz issues, as well as the mythical dolphin juggling kittens and all the other things that can distract you while trying to stay together. Having a third teammate definitely adds to the complexity of things. Instead of just only having to only look to one side or over one shoulder to check up on your buddy, you need to check and make sure the third teammate is where they are supposed to be. That and make sure that everyone is aware of what's going on with each other. We practiced multiple ascents and descents on both days. And going with tradition I suppose, the first descent was a bit of a epic failure. We weren't synchronized going down the water column, we weren't necessarily facing each other, we weren't paying attention to which direction we were drifting, we just plain weren't conscious of what was going on. But as the more we practice the descents, we definitely got better. Granted, we definitely have a ways to go before we look like synchroized swimmers, but we definitely made improvements. The first ascent was basically similar. Add to this my paranoia of me not venting in time from my drysuit so I don't pop up like a cork once we ascend pass the fifteen feet mark.
As we did our skills more and more, I started to appreciate the limited visability that we had--it definitely forces us to stay closer together and be more alert if to any possible issue that could arise. There was one time where Kristina got tangled up in the smb line, I hadn't noticed it yet, but Darl had. He signals to me, and the both of us go over to help. He works to untangle her leg, I'm looking at her to make sure she's okay and calm. Issue resolved. Our team awareness definitely got better throughout the weekend, and this was a prime example. Along with team awareness improving, our individual skills kept improving. The butt clenching position became a little easier to hold for longer periods of time. Trying to remember the suggestions from the previous pool sessions, I focused on my frog kick mechanics. However in doing so, I failed to stay aware of my surroundings and would fail to notice I was drifting up/down. This is probably one of the most fustrating things--you seek to improve one area, but sacrifice another in the process. But this is all part of the learning process. The end guarantee is that you will get better, but the fustrating question is how long will it take. Thankfully, instead of going at it alone, you do have the great UTD community and the instructors (as well as your teammates) to help guide you there faster.
In summation, if you want to become a better diver, learn about why a gear configuration is the way it is (instead of because I say so), as well as how exceedingly fustrating it can be to try to hover in one place, take the Essentials of Rec.
And as a final side note, I had car issues just as all of us were heading home. My car wouldn't start and I wasn't sure why. The dome lights were turning on, and it started like the starter was clicking, but things weren't coming together. I had already assured Don and Darl that my buddy and I would be fine and on their way home. Kathy drops by just to check up on things before heading home herself. Here, we have a fun filled discussion of how engineers need to think without always consulting a manual (or wikipedia for that matter blindly). In order to convince my buddy and I that she was right about jump starting a car, she calls her hubby who persuades us to trust her instead of a manual and lo and behold, she's right. Thanks for the rescue Kathy.
Also thank to Mike Guerro and Mike Miller for helping out.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/336666-essentials-rec-class-report.html
Okay, so I got talked into taking this class based on Kristina's urging, as well as Mike Guerro (sp) & Kathy's summary of the class. So I henceforth blame all three of you for my next onslaught of diving purchases (which thankfully will not be too much stuffs...I hope).
Going in, I wanted to
A: Become a better buddy, never been too good at the situational awareness thingy
B: Have better control of my movements, especially when I'm (trying to) taking pictures.
C: Become a better diver overall.
The slides are put together very well as well as the online presentations. Based off of Mike & Kathy's summaries as well as what I had also read from the UTD forums, I started practicing some of my kicks on my sofa, during commercials. Of course, this was when my housemate wasn't home, and the curtain drawn. I'd dread to see some video of myself trying to do a helicopter turn or backwards scull on youtube somewhere...while trying to practice the mechanics of the kicks on your couch lets you focus a bit on how you think the movements should feel, it does not show you how hard it can be to stay in prone position. I definitely have to work on keeping my knees up, amongst other things.
I have dove with Kristina on numerous occasions and had a good feeling of her habits, our third teammate, however, was a total unknown. Thankfully Darl was a pleasant guy that had the same enthusiasm and trepidation that we all shared.
The first class room session, it was just Kristina, Don and myself as Darl had something come up. We familiarized ourselves with the pro's of a bp/wing setup as well as the different options/designs in the classroom. We then went into prone position. While trying to hold this position for more than a few moments, this is where both of us discovered how hard it was. Kristina dubbed it as the "butt clenching sensation" trying to keep one's head and knees up.
As mentioned, the pool was not heated to it's normal spiffyness, and myself only owning a drysuit, decided to go boardshorts and rashguard for our pool session. It was nice to feel less restricted from the normal setup, and had less complexities of the drysuit, but after a while, damn it got cold. On the first descent, Don had Kristina and I go down and get situated. The two of us in our excitement go down, and then start practicing kicks, eager to show off that we have been preparing our in water skills as well as going through the online material. Don patiently waited for us to calm down so he could get started. This is when I learned that even in a pool, there are swells. I never imagined how hard and a PITA it can be to try and stay in place. One minute I'm next to the wall underwater, the next thing I know, I'm 3' from the surface in the middle of the pool. This is where the microadjustments that stiffer fins come in handy, as well as being aware that I'm drifting up and to the center of the pool while pondering if I need to take a yoga class to learn to hold the butt clenching position for extended durations. We did go through all the kicks that night. Don would demonstrate, then he would have us do the kick the length of the pool. Correcting us via pokes, taps, pulls, nudges or whatever he felt was appropriate. This was followed by doing this in front of the dreaded camera for the critique later. And to my surprise, the critiques weren't as bad as I thought they were. I was far from perfect, and I knew that, but it was always refreshing to know that I'm doing something right amongst all the things I'm doing wrong. And also trying to keep track of all the things I need to improve upon for each technique.
The second night, Darl was able to make the class and we finally had our team complete. Things were started off with the classroom session like the night before. It was Darl's first time learning about a bp/wing. On a brief tangent, the LDS that we were doing our classroom & pool session at have a very curious lab or retriever puppy that likes to roam around the shop. Not only is she inquisitive, but she loves to play (as do all puppies I believe). I insert these statements because, I find out next, that the prone position can be mistaken for a dog's playbow. So for the next 20 minutes or so, I'm trying to fend off the Brandi the puppy, keep my butt clenching position and listen to what Don is saying so I don't have to ask him to repeat himself later. After getting my face and hands slobbered upon, I decide I'd have an easier time if I (gently) pin Brandi down so I pay more attention to what Don is saying. Unfortunately, this only makes Brandi more excited. Fortunately though, Brandi then decides I'm too boring and decides to play with Kristina.
The pool session that night was an interesting one. Kristina and I have the benefit of last night's video review to know what we need to work on for our skills. But, it was also the first time that all three of us would be diving together. We definitely should have gone over some hand signals and team formations prior to jumping in. It would have made things a bit smoother. We start going through our skills again all the way until it's closing time. Thankfully, all of us learned our lessons and bring thicker exposure suits so we don't get cold and maximize our pool session.
Then comes the start of the actual ocean sessions, where there are swells, currents, viz issues, as well as the mythical dolphin juggling kittens and all the other things that can distract you while trying to stay together. Having a third teammate definitely adds to the complexity of things. Instead of just only having to only look to one side or over one shoulder to check up on your buddy, you need to check and make sure the third teammate is where they are supposed to be. That and make sure that everyone is aware of what's going on with each other. We practiced multiple ascents and descents on both days. And going with tradition I suppose, the first descent was a bit of a epic failure. We weren't synchronized going down the water column, we weren't necessarily facing each other, we weren't paying attention to which direction we were drifting, we just plain weren't conscious of what was going on. But as the more we practice the descents, we definitely got better. Granted, we definitely have a ways to go before we look like synchroized swimmers, but we definitely made improvements. The first ascent was basically similar. Add to this my paranoia of me not venting in time from my drysuit so I don't pop up like a cork once we ascend pass the fifteen feet mark.
As we did our skills more and more, I started to appreciate the limited visability that we had--it definitely forces us to stay closer together and be more alert if to any possible issue that could arise. There was one time where Kristina got tangled up in the smb line, I hadn't noticed it yet, but Darl had. He signals to me, and the both of us go over to help. He works to untangle her leg, I'm looking at her to make sure she's okay and calm. Issue resolved. Our team awareness definitely got better throughout the weekend, and this was a prime example. Along with team awareness improving, our individual skills kept improving. The butt clenching position became a little easier to hold for longer periods of time. Trying to remember the suggestions from the previous pool sessions, I focused on my frog kick mechanics. However in doing so, I failed to stay aware of my surroundings and would fail to notice I was drifting up/down. This is probably one of the most fustrating things--you seek to improve one area, but sacrifice another in the process. But this is all part of the learning process. The end guarantee is that you will get better, but the fustrating question is how long will it take. Thankfully, instead of going at it alone, you do have the great UTD community and the instructors (as well as your teammates) to help guide you there faster.
In summation, if you want to become a better diver, learn about why a gear configuration is the way it is (instead of because I say so), as well as how exceedingly fustrating it can be to try to hover in one place, take the Essentials of Rec.
And as a final side note, I had car issues just as all of us were heading home. My car wouldn't start and I wasn't sure why. The dome lights were turning on, and it started like the starter was clicking, but things weren't coming together. I had already assured Don and Darl that my buddy and I would be fine and on their way home. Kathy drops by just to check up on things before heading home herself. Here, we have a fun filled discussion of how engineers need to think without always consulting a manual (or wikipedia for that matter blindly). In order to convince my buddy and I that she was right about jump starting a car, she calls her hubby who persuades us to trust her instead of a manual and lo and behold, she's right. Thanks for the rescue Kathy.
Also thank to Mike Guerro and Mike Miller for helping out.
