100+ Dives And I Still Suck

[Hoomi]

Or that at some point between 100 and 1000, she got a sex-change?

Well, there are those who would argue that would lend to a more intelligent person. After all, you remember what Robin Williams said, don't you? "God gave men both a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to operate one at a time."



I think we should all purpose to keep on diving until we no longer suck. That should insure us a lifetime of underwater adventures...

 

[rakpix]

I can actually feel you there, my man. I've just passed the 50 dives mark and while I've gone out and gotten more advanced training than most of the divers here in the islands, I am just now getting to be an "average" diver, and that's on a good day. It's pretty interesting because I came out of OW thinking I was hot stuff, did AOW, thought I was hotter stuff, and then got deployed. In the middle of that experience I had an opportunity to dive in Lake Travis, Tx and soundly got my rear handed to me by those dark, green, murky waters.

I came to the conclusion that you could be a moron and still have a good time in Hawaii so I sought better training, read a bunch on SB, and even though I'm noticing rapid improvement in my diving I know I've still got a long way to go. IMO, it matters that a diver stays humble, is willing to admit they aren't as awesome in the water as they would like to be, and then work to improve upon that with every dive. Oh yes, watching yourself look like a fool on video helps in the motivation department

Peace,
Greg

not to boast or anything, but since most of my diving so far as been in lake travis, or half-an-hour south at aquarena springs in texas ... perhaps that's made the difference: cause i've actually been rather surprised at how quickly i've stopped sucking in just under 100 dives. i record my weighting on each dive in my log book, and adjust my trim religiously. keep my BC completely deflated for most of the dive, and stay horizontal. still diving wet, don't know when i'll go dry (when i have the cold hard ca$h ... IF i have the cold hard ca$h) but diving once or twice a week has really improved my physical memory, situational awareness, and buoyancy skills! i'm not saying that i don't have a lot to learn (taking my divemaster class this fall), but until i'm ready to invest in doubles, a drysuit, & trimix training, i'm feeling pretty comfortable.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I played competitive golf when I was in high school. boulderjohn's PAR approach is an interesting one. I always found that scoring in golf was predominantly about course management. There are a lot of average golfers out there with unrealistic expectations. In most cases that's why they aren't enjoying the game as much as they could. That's also why the average weekend golfer will have a few disastrous holes (double bogeys or worse) that turn a decent round into a crappy one.

Driving range practice is all about making necessary swing changes, grooving the swing, and figuring out how far you hit each club. Most golfers don't practice enough to know where the heck the ball is going to go. Achieving consistency is the key. Once a recreational golfer takes his game onto the course, he should be "playing" his consistent swing (whatever that is) and making shot decisions to minimize mistakes. On the tee, he should be thinking: "Maybe I should hit my 3-wood or 3-iron so that I can stay in the fairway." On approach shots, he should be thinking: "Where can I miss the shot and still be able to recover?" For long putts, he should be focused on getting the lag right. All I'm really describing is thinking one or two shots ahead.

There really shouldn't be any "swing thoughts" on the course. That's a sure-fire way to screw up your score and have a crummy day on a beautiful course. Moreover, during the round, you should never be thinking about a bad previous shot. Stay in the moment. Mentally prepare yourself to hit that next shot. Remain focused. See the ball. Hit the ball. That's what it takes to hit a good shot...on purpose anyway. Here's a clip from Caddyshack that makes my point :


A few similarities that I find between golf and scuba diving are:

• It's expensive.
• Nature adds an unpredictable element to the sport.
• "Success" relies on risk/course management.
• In general, the more you practice (in the proper way), the better you perform.
• You can always work on improving.

As long as you are enjoying the sport and you aren't endangering yourself or anyone else, go out there and have a great time.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

I couldn't agree more with the OP. Thing is, I was hoping my 'you suck' attitude would fade as my experience grew and my exposure to more varied and challenging diving conditions increased. It hasn't. Quite the opposite, in fact. It would be great to feel as bad-ass as I felt when I got my initial certifications, but that's kinda hard when your cave instructor is grinning impishly as you surface after class and says, "Awesome! You only died twice in there!".

 

[Diver0001]

I played competitive golf when I was in high school.

I used to golf a lot when I was a teenager at a course near where I lived. Of course as a teenager you get the stuffy golfers commenting.... you know the ones, with the attitudes and expectations and etiquette this and commenting about if you should be there in blue jeans and running shoes..... LOL

Well I showed them.

I showed up one day with a buddy of mine both wearing shorts to just below the knee, sneakers, t-shirts and baseball hats.... (all barely legal) and me with my set of 7 clubs that I bought at a department store and had in a bag that I had to carry because it didn't have wheels.

I stood the the first T, a long par 4 but the tee was elevated quite a bit above the fairway, so you could sometimes get nice shots.

Lined up my shot while all the stuffies were watching me and hit the *shot* of my life. You know the one. I don't even have to explain it.

The ball stopped about 3ft from the pin. I didn't say anything, just grabbed my clubs, struck up a casual conversation with my friend like this happened every time we went golfing and walked away.

We didn't stop laughing about that for 2 days.

And just to be clear, I'm a lousy golfer and that really was just a one-off lucky shot.

R..

 

[CamG]

Greetings Sabbath999 and I feel your pain brother! I love what my instructor, "Mentor"still tells me, great divers are not born but made with training and determination to commit to being the best! You are on the right track just stay the coarse. I have witnessed very experienced divers with much more experience than us have horrable, miserable dives. I have also learned that many times our worst critic is ourselves! The bottom line if you dive you are going to have good dives and some bad the key is to learn and embrace the lessons the bad ones teach. Some of my biggest hump dives have been my worst. These taught me huge amounts of valuable information that later, when applied made it awesome. Growth takes place when we least expect it and only when we commit to training, "diving"!
I did not really enjoy my dry suit for at least 20 or 30 dives and really not till fall and winter set in. I like you had better experience with wet diving and it was easier but guess what? When I determined to master the dry suit it was just a matter of 12 dives or so before the learning curve was moving the right direction.
Do not be so hard on yourself that it puts stumbling blocks in your path but use the aggrivation to drive your determination. You will see mountains crumble into mole hills!
No worries just get some more air fills and go diving! Does'nt matter where it is as long as it is wet. Take care and dive safe brother!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[TSandM]

Oh, Boulderjohn, that's a great post!

When I did Fundies, the class didn't demoralize me, because I knew I sucked going into it, and I watched the videos and got excited about the few things I did right, rather than the many I did wrong (which I expected).

With each subsequent class, my expectations of myself have been higher, and the letdown when I can't meet them has gotten bigger.

I should go back to expecting to suck. It would make life easier.

 

[kathydee]

The reason I am posting this is because I think it is important from time to time to stop and take stock of where a person is in their diving... look at things objectively, see what needs improvement then actually DO something about improving it... whether it is find somebody to mentor you, take a class, do some travel, or whatever.

What a great post Sabbath!

You’re telling my story. I have close to 350 dives now, and as I push into new areas of diving and add new equipment, I continuously feel like a beginner.

I stumbled upon scubaboard with 5 C-cards, about 100 dives and the desire to become a better diver. On SB I started to understand that different kicks and in water skills were something that could be learned efficiently rather than by trial and error over years of diving.

Classes, and mentoring have been quite helpful. Sure my recreational diving progressed, but as I dive with better divers, learn new skills and equipment, I often still feel like a newbie all over again. I do, however, feel like I’m making some good progress at the moment.

Have a great dive season !

 

[Diver0001]

I should go back to expecting to suck. It would make life easier.

You can't now, Lynne. Everyone in Cyberspace is watching you! If YOU can't perform, then who the heck can?

Actually, I agree with you. You should give yourself a break sometimes. I'm sure you're much harder on yourself than anyone else is and more more disappointed in yourself than anyone else is.

I can sort of relate. My diving is getting to the point where I think it's ok, but as an instructor I'm still a noob and spend a lot of time being very restless in my head about my mistakes.

R..

 

[dkktsunami]

A lot of wisdom in that.

But I'll tell you a dirty little secret. That feeling never goes away. I've got 1500-odd dives and I still feel like a noob sometimes and I've never felt as though my skills are as good as they can be or as good as they should be.

R..

Ditto.