A few years ago, the staff of SB considered creating a thread with things people could look for while choosing an OW course. As a staff member back then, I enthusiastically jumped in, and my immediate suggestion was for prospective students to ask if classes would be taught on the knees. That was summarily rejected by leadership. I withdrew participation,and the project died.
I see often here on SB this point about never kneeling and doing all the training midwater.
I respect every opinion, but really I cannot understand what is "inherently wrong" doing part of the training kneeling.
During my first course, back in 1975, with Cmas, we made a lot of work kneeling, both freediving and with scuba systems. Followed by a lot of work neutrally buoyant.
The course was 6 months long, and the first three months were without breathing apparatus.
One very useful excercise was a 90" apnea while kneeling on the bottom of the pool, looking up, and slowly rotating the head for showing the instructor that you did not pass out...
In the second part of the course we switched to Scuba systems. Mostly the ARO, a CC pure oxygen rebreather.
The ARO requires to calibrate accurately the amount of oxygen in the counter lung so that you are perfectly neutrally buoyant.
We had to repeat all the excercises previously done holding your breath and kneeling on the bottom (for example removing the mask and evacuating it again) while instead floating midwater and breathing from the ARO.
I did find an excellwnt way of training, so I have nothing against first learning a skill while kneeling, and later on having to perform the same midwater.
On the other hand with modern ultra-short courses probably there is not enough time for doing such a slow progression, and jumping over entirely the part of course done without scuba system and kneeling makes it possible to keep it shorter.
So a kneeling-free course, for me, is just a time-saving shortcut.
I still prefer longer, more thorough training, adding the pieces of equipment one after the other.
This is how I trained my two sons, starting with breath-holding, then using a scuba OC system without BCD, and adding the BCD only at the end, after several years.
Ok, with adults you can run faster, but really I cannot see how in a single weekend it is possible to train and certify an OW diver. In a single weekend of course there is no time enough for first learning the skills while kneeling, and then while floating midwater. I agree that it is better to strip away the kneeling part than stripping away the floating part.
But in both cases this will be a too short training...
So the point for me is not kneeling vs floating, the point is making the course long enough or not.
When it is long enough, there will be proper space for performing the skill in different conditions (holding your breath or using a scuba system, on the bottom or midwater, kneeling or horizontal, neutrally buoyant in vertical or horizontal trim, etc.)
