Article: How a Small Group of Instructors Spurred Reform in Scuba Instruction

[boulderjohn]

You can view the page at http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/content.php?r=645-PADI-instructors-promote-neutral-buoyancy-scuba-training

 

[lucca brassi]

Happy to leave PADI .... hey where is his backup

Horizontal, neutrally buoyant student reaches regulator hose with ease without lifting the tank, as it would happen while actually diving.


in that case you have to put first knowing aveable source of air in mouth and then searching for primary

 

[Easdem]

John,

Forgive me if you have already posted this but, do you have an outline of how you progress through the CW training in neutral buoyancy?

Also, how do you demo/teach the equipment removal and replacement skill? Is that one an exception?

Thanks,

Arturo Marchand

 

[mselenaous]

Here is video of neutral UW doff & don.
[video=youtube;T6w89zN-lBY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T6w89zN-lBY[/video]

 

[boulderjohn]

John,

Forgive me if you have already posted this but, do you have an outline of how you progress through the CW training in neutral buoyancy?

Also, how do you demo/teach the equipment removal and replacement skill? Is that one an exception?

Thanks,

Arturo Marchand

It's really pretty easy. The skill progression is exactly the same--it just looks different. I will skip the introductory stuff and get right to the CW #1 skills.

1. I get them lying comfortably in a prone position with just enough air in the BCD that they are not anchored to the floor. As they inhale and exhale, they will rise and fall a little. I am not teaching this as a skill at this point though, so I don't dwell on that. It is counterproductive to have them too buoyant. The horizontal position is most important. You want them to learn the skills the way they will be diving. You do not want them to dive at a 45° angle, so too buoyant is not good.

2. Regulator recovery is the first skill. When students are on their knees, the sweep method is easiest, and that is what most instructors teach first. The reach method is difficult because gravity pulls the tank down and away from the student, requiring the student to push the tank up with the left hand. When they do their OW dives, students only have to show one method, and they usually do the sweep for that reason. That is unfortunate, because in real diving, the reach method is the method most likely to succeed, and it is far easier. (There are pictures of this in the article.) For that reason I do the reach method first--student pluck the regulator easily from behind the right ear. (In fact, it is hard to lose the regulator in that position.) You will also notice that the sweep method is very different while in a horizontal position. Leaning to the right is an entirely different process than when kneeling. As soon as you lean to the right, the regulator comes into easy recovery position--you don't really have to sweep.

3. Mask clearing is again different when prone. The desired procedure we are supposed to teach includes this important step--tip the head back. Why? You need to get the bottom of the mask at the lowest point so that the water will drain out. If you are kneeling, the bottom of the mask is already at the lowest point, so there is no need to tip the head back. In fact, tipping the head back is counterproductive if you are on your knees. Thus, kneeling students must in effect do the skill incorrectly in order to do it well. In contrast, students in horizontal position must clear the mask correctly in order for it to work. If they do not tip the head back, some water will collect in the mask in will not come out. Watch certified divers clear their masks under water and see how many turn their entire bodies upright in order to do so. They have never learned to tip their heads.

4. The alternate air exercise is also more realistic to diving. When kneeling, students kneel chest to chest and make the exchange. How often does that happen in diving? When they are horizontal, the OOA student gives a kick to get to the buddy to facilitate the exchange.

5. In dive #2, breathing under water is much easier for students in a prone position. On the knees, bubbles go up the face and into the nose. When prone, the bubbles go past the cheek.

6. In dive #3, we start with what used to be called the fin pivot. I hope everyone by now knows that the old fin pivot is no longer required. The reason is that PADI learned that instructors were obsessing over the form of the fin pivot. The fin pivot has nothing to do with diving--the purpose of the exercise was simply to teach students that when properly weighted, inhaling makes them ascend and exhaling makes them descend. There is no need to make sure students have their knees locked, fins on the pool floor, etc. Any exercise that teaches the purpose of the skill will do. I tell the students to get into the "instructional position" they have been using, making sure they have enough air in the BCD to rise and fall gently while breathing. They have no trouble with this because they have essentially been doing it all along, and it takes mere seconds. Then I demonstrate doing it orally, dumping air from my BCD and doing what is essentially the oral inflation method of the fin pivot. I don't require perfect fin pivot form for the reasons described above, but they usually nail this pretty quickly in a way that would pass a rigid fin pivot requirement.

7. The alternate air swim is done neutrally buoyant. Students are lightly touching the floor of the pool as I shut the air off. When they start the swim, I swim above them like a guardian angel.

8. I do the CESA starting with the student neutrally buoyant and in a swimming position.

9. Starting with CW #4, I pretty much expect the students to be buoyant and neutral pretty much throughout--with some exceptions to be explained below. I will rarely touch the floor of the pool myself during those dives, serving as a role model, I hope.

10. I do the hover as it would be done on a dive. Students start their descent for CW #4 and stop before they reach the bottom. That's when they hover.

11. When I demo the no mask swim, I never touch the floor. I demonstrate the swim with the buddy, and I replace the mask in horizontal trim. If you have the full article, there is a picture of me doing that. The purpose of the buddy is to guide the swim and then hold on to the BCD to help the diver maintain the position in the water column as they do it. I tell them it is up to the buddy to make sure the maskless person, who probably has closed the eyes, maintains depth. For control purposes, I am over the top of them throughout. I do not expect the students to be able to do it as well as I do in the demonstration. They will probably touch the bottom, etc. They will not, however, be planted on the bottom. I tell them they have to be able to do this on a wall dive with the water 400 feet deep.

12. With both the weight belt and scuba unit removal and replacement, I give them the choice of doing it however they are comfortable--either on the floor or neutral. I demo both skills neutral, and most of them do it neutrally as well. It is not quite as pretty as anchored to the floor, but they can do it. By the way, I got an explanation from PADI that the phrase "on the bottom" describing those skills in the standards is there to contrast with being on the surface. Students do not have to be anchored to the floor to be "on the bottom."

Finally, throughout the CW experience, I have students do as much neutral buoyancy swimming as possible. If I have a large class, while I am supervising buddy teams doing no mask swims, etc., the rest of the students are swimming in buddy teams under the supervision of a DM or AI.

That is how I do it. That is not the only way to do it. We had a number of people share ideas in writing the article, and we all had differences in our approaches. I think it would be great if people shared their ideas here--it would make this a very worthwhile thread.

 

[Peter Guy]

John -- I'd respond but I'm just too tired of this whole thing!

 

[boulderjohn]

John -- I'd respond but I'm just too tired of this whole thing!

Come on! Peter does several things differently, and inquiring minds want to know. I like some of the things he does differently, but I have some logistical issues that influence my decisions and prevent me from doing them that way.

 

[Easdem]

Thanks for the breakdown John. I have a class starting next weekend where I'll try this method.

Arturo

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[maniago]

I'd sure like to read the un-edited version you sent to the PADI Dir of Training. Any link to that? I'm working through the PADI dive master course and this would sure spur some good conversations with my other budding DMCs as well as our mentors/instructors. Thanks

 

[boulderjohn]

I'd sure like to read the un-edited version you sent to the PADI Dir of Training. Any link to that? I'm working through the PADI dive master course and this would sure spur some good conversations with my other budding DMCs as well as our mentors/instructors. Thanks

Send me an email address.