Diver education can be divided into 5 main categories:
1. Watermanship
2. Skills emphasized
3. Knowledge emphasized
4. Safety
5. Experience
Watermanship courses will help you improve your comfort and physical endurance in the water. Not all watermanship courses are scuba certification courses. Snorkeling/freediving courses, lifeguard courses, swim lessons, gym fitness programs, various watersports such as surfing, water polo, etc., all can help make you a better diver if you lack fitness or comfort in the water, especially in rough ocean conditions.
One of the most valuable courses I ever took was the semester-long American Red Cross Advanced Lifesaving/WSI course for a phys ed credit as a freshman in college. It was brutal! Lots of swimming, towing victims until you think you can't do it anymore, and getting beaten and even bloody. That brutality served me well when I've wiped out in big waves on my surfboard, whenever I swallowed water or vomited while diving, when I've made ocean surf or diving rescues, and even a technical rescue where the victim fought me most of the way from depth to the surface.
Courses that emphasize skills attempt to foster control and finesse. Various recreational courses such as PADI's Peak Performance Buoyancy, PSAI's ABC, the GUE Primer, or even NSS-CDS Cavern might not ask you to make major modifications to your recreational equipment. You may just add a long hose or make no changes at all. Other courses such as GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or an intro to tech class may ask you to adopt a backplate and wing. If you are seeking to learn propulsion techniques beyond those commonly required for recreational diving, PSAI's ABC, UTD Essentials, and GUE Fundies require modified flutter kicks, frog kicks, modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, backward kicks, and basic skills performed in horizontal trim.
GUE-F changed my life. On one hand, I learned a lot. On the other hand, I had bad experiences which found me seeking info from other tech/cave sources. It was the total sum of the parts that led to me becoming a solid diver and having the background to become the training director for 2 agencies
Knowledge based courses such as nitrox, marine life I.D., ratio decompression, etc., may require no dives or the diving skill of the student is not the focus of the course. These rarely help you to be better in the water unless the instructor chooses to add dives and is a tough critic. Underwater basket weaving could be the best course in the world in the right hands. Some of these knowledge courses might be the sort you get from attending a seminar at a trade show such as Beneath the Sea or from taking advantage of the online seminars you can access with a DAN membership.
Safety courses attempt to save lives; either yours or someone else's. These might be obvious like rescue, but even cavern courses and wreck penetration courses may be considered safety courses because you learn techniques that can save your life or another's in an overhead.
Finally, experience is often a great teacher. The biggest problem in diving is finding the right people to coach, train or mentor you. Most people on the board would agree that GUE and UTD have a certain higher level of quality control because of the standardized diving equipment, techniques and instructor development. For some Fundies was where the fun began for others it was where the FUN DIES. Looking good underwater doesn't make you a great diver. It means you look good underwater and such skills might help you be a better diver because you gain maneuverability like a helicopter which is really handy for delivering gas to an out of gas buddy, running a reel, or performing various tasks. I equate recreational style diving to fixed-wing flight vs. helos in tech diving. Pound for pound helicopters can do more than airplanes, but airplanes often do what they do either faster or with a greater fun factor.
A good diver is someone who dives safely and responsibly. Whatever paths you seek try to never forget why you started diving. Try to always foster good relationships within the diving community and with land owners and others who can help us access dive sites. Protect our natural, cultural and historic resources. Don't just strive to be a good diver. Strive to be the best diver in the world. Know who the best diver in the world is? The one having the most fun!
1. Watermanship
2. Skills emphasized
3. Knowledge emphasized
4. Safety
5. Experience
Watermanship courses will help you improve your comfort and physical endurance in the water. Not all watermanship courses are scuba certification courses. Snorkeling/freediving courses, lifeguard courses, swim lessons, gym fitness programs, various watersports such as surfing, water polo, etc., all can help make you a better diver if you lack fitness or comfort in the water, especially in rough ocean conditions.
One of the most valuable courses I ever took was the semester-long American Red Cross Advanced Lifesaving/WSI course for a phys ed credit as a freshman in college. It was brutal! Lots of swimming, towing victims until you think you can't do it anymore, and getting beaten and even bloody. That brutality served me well when I've wiped out in big waves on my surfboard, whenever I swallowed water or vomited while diving, when I've made ocean surf or diving rescues, and even a technical rescue where the victim fought me most of the way from depth to the surface.
Courses that emphasize skills attempt to foster control and finesse. Various recreational courses such as PADI's Peak Performance Buoyancy, PSAI's ABC, the GUE Primer, or even NSS-CDS Cavern might not ask you to make major modifications to your recreational equipment. You may just add a long hose or make no changes at all. Other courses such as GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or an intro to tech class may ask you to adopt a backplate and wing. If you are seeking to learn propulsion techniques beyond those commonly required for recreational diving, PSAI's ABC, UTD Essentials, and GUE Fundies require modified flutter kicks, frog kicks, modified frog kicks, helicopter turns, backward kicks, and basic skills performed in horizontal trim.
GUE-F changed my life. On one hand, I learned a lot. On the other hand, I had bad experiences which found me seeking info from other tech/cave sources. It was the total sum of the parts that led to me becoming a solid diver and having the background to become the training director for 2 agencies
Knowledge based courses such as nitrox, marine life I.D., ratio decompression, etc., may require no dives or the diving skill of the student is not the focus of the course. These rarely help you to be better in the water unless the instructor chooses to add dives and is a tough critic. Underwater basket weaving could be the best course in the world in the right hands. Some of these knowledge courses might be the sort you get from attending a seminar at a trade show such as Beneath the Sea or from taking advantage of the online seminars you can access with a DAN membership.
Safety courses attempt to save lives; either yours or someone else's. These might be obvious like rescue, but even cavern courses and wreck penetration courses may be considered safety courses because you learn techniques that can save your life or another's in an overhead.
Finally, experience is often a great teacher. The biggest problem in diving is finding the right people to coach, train or mentor you. Most people on the board would agree that GUE and UTD have a certain higher level of quality control because of the standardized diving equipment, techniques and instructor development. For some Fundies was where the fun began for others it was where the FUN DIES. Looking good underwater doesn't make you a great diver. It means you look good underwater and such skills might help you be a better diver because you gain maneuverability like a helicopter which is really handy for delivering gas to an out of gas buddy, running a reel, or performing various tasks. I equate recreational style diving to fixed-wing flight vs. helos in tech diving. Pound for pound helicopters can do more than airplanes, but airplanes often do what they do either faster or with a greater fun factor.
A good diver is someone who dives safely and responsibly. Whatever paths you seek try to never forget why you started diving. Try to always foster good relationships within the diving community and with land owners and others who can help us access dive sites. Protect our natural, cultural and historic resources. Don't just strive to be a good diver. Strive to be the best diver in the world. Know who the best diver in the world is? The one having the most fun!
