@Schwaeble , have you considered a course such as GUE Fundamentals? The "balanced rig" is covered, as well as some other issues touched on in this thread. Safety is a major focus.
Yes, actually I did.
The rest here just for FYI... rambling alert:
And I read about their philosophy / requirements ... at the time... I like the philosophy behind it, I sort of tick that way... I am not sure I am sold on the rigidity behind the philosophy... that's the trade off between running a training organisation training to a standard and being a situationally flexible adaptive individual... But based on what I read their training certainly looks thorough and well thought out to me.... Anyway, don't know anyone who trained with GUE in person (well, new diver, duh.), live in Illinois (not a GUE bastion)... when I started, the way I started this (GUE class) did not want to work out - time and place wise..
Also, I am just going to say, I do not have an issue (anymore at least) with a balanced rig... if that is what you are thinking.
So I took a the initial Padi class locally, AOW on Bonaire (with my Teenage son) and off we went diving on our own - and frankly, at that point I felt I learned by far the most during those self guided dives... (of course I've also been trying to keep learning...), although that AOW class was a gods end to get my son and me in sync with each other since we never dove together and both only had the OW dives (at different times and places) so far... That was the right thing to do in our situation and for that reason and for getting set on a track to better and better buoancy control it was a good class... otherwise it was soso at best - but hey, it got us going, so, good!.
A Padi "Fundamentals in Tech class" (learn and practise most everything in Tech 40, except don't do actual deco - sort of like an intro to tech class but two weekends and I think better) was by far the best class I took so far. From what I experienced I can totally identify behind the tech philosophy behind diving and with knowing what you are doing and why you are doing it - period. The other stuff even while it all was new seemed just "light" to me and greatly varying in quality pending on who taught... Ibut i guess it serves it's purpose..
My solo class was SDI but it was at that point mostly for the card, nothing new.. to me at that point (due to the Fundamentals in Tech class and me already diving with a AL40 pony anyway etc...), aside of that it was the second best class I took. Deep and Wreck class (just the PADI "specialities") were OK. Did not think I needed them (after the Fundamentals in Tech), they were meant to get my son safely there (who is too young for anything Tech (and that's a good thing)), unfortunately he had to bail out due to school commitments... Anyway, I enjoyed doing them - it was diving after all and there is always something to learn and practise. Off curriuculum valid learning was working through an simulated silted out wreck (with capable, (and properly certified buddy) and help by volunteer "silters with buckets") and (the wreck was "clean" and small...
... and in (not a training scenario - not intentional anyway) in being in place to see a drysuit diver in front of me struggle with his buoyancy (light legs...) and wrapping himself up in his wreck line in a wreck in a "wildly flailing mess" in the process of trying to recover and in figuring out how to safely calm him down and when to trust he is calm so I dared to get close enough to unwrap him etc...
Anyway, as little as I dove so far, it at this point would be tough to justify to start over from scratch with GUE (the only way they seem to do it start with them from scratch (and from some of the classes I took I fully understand why)... I mean it would be tough to justify the expense and the time... I still think it could / would be good... but, this year I have serious vacation and time issues ... and will realistically end up just practicing dives & scenarios (and hopefully I get to address my yet too skimpy thermal protection) until I have a bigger chunk of time again to maybe get into tech to the point where I feel I trust myself being safe at it.... Now, whom (organisation and trainer) to do that with if and when so... - and where (local or Florida or Philippines or. Red Sea or Caribbean or Thailand or.....) and to do it in BP&W or in sidemount... that I hope to work up to answer for myself maybe this year, certainly next... Got stuff to figure out on the way...