In a lot of ways this discussion reminds me of when I was a kid ... in the third grade, living in Knoxville, TN, when school integration was mandated by the courts. There was a lot of turmoil outside the school, where parents and professional agitators were having all manner of objections. Meanwhile, the kids were inside getting along just fine and wondering what all the fuss was about.
People take Fundies and other DIR-oriented classes for all manner of reasons. Sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with becoming a holistic diver, joining the club, or diving with the cool kids ... the class just happens to offer them something they want. Then they stumble onto threads like this, read the usual arguments, and wonder what all the fuss is about.
I just spent three days in British Columbia, doing a bunch of dives with nine other divers. Three of us were in BP/W, long hose, and some manner of DIR training. The rest were more typical recreational divers ... all in split fins, short hoses, and cloth BCDs. We had a great time diving together ... and that's really kinda the point of diving, don'tchya think?
Dale, a comment on this point you made earlier ...
I will still maintain that if one is going to dive recreationally, the way many people do, one will wind up violating some of the core tenets of the DIR philosophy.
... so what? I think the majority of the people I know who went through a Fundamentals class ultimately decided to pursue some other direction in their diving ... I certainly did. People evolve, after all, as their diving experiences expand. And I'll still maintain that my Fundamentals classes were money well spent ... both times. What I learned in that class provided a solid foundation for classes and diving styles I pursued later on that had absolutely nothing to do with DIR.
I still don't understand why we get these recurring arguments ... I think, for a lot of people, the reason they choose a Fundamentals class really does boil down to a lack of being able to find someone else who teaches these skills ... in large part because they deal with dive shops who think they're unnecessary, or who lack instructors who are capable of teaching people the solid skills they desire.
I ask you, Dale ... if you could take a non-DIR class at a local dive shop that offered the skills you wanted, would this topic even interest you? Why would you care about the cost of Fundamentals if you could get the same training elsewhere at a lower price? The fact that you do care tells me that ... despite claims to the contrary ... the alternative simply isn't available. Dive shops are more interested in telling you what you need than they are in selling you what you want. So perhaps all these objections are aimed at the wrong people after all.
Like those kids in my third grade class, I really do sometimes wonder what all the fuss is about ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
