Thanks for the invite! I've always wanted to try a little cavern diving.
If I were you (or me) I would hire Trace Malinowski @ Dutch Springs,re, bang for the buck,re, diving in general.
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Thanks for the invite! I've always wanted to try a little cavern diving.
What if what you already know and are doing is wrong? What will all that additional practice do for you?You are going to become a better recreational diver just by diving and continuing to think about and practice what you already know and are doing.
Well stated! And, that is a key element. The diver may have to be willing to part with 'beloved' gear, IF doing so will materially contribute to becoming a better diver. At the same time, it is also true that gear doesn't make the diver. So, becoming a better diver is a matter of mental and physical skill development.we worked with it until *I* decided to change.
What if what you already know and are doing is wrong? What will all that additional practice do for you?
Over the years, I believe I have become a better diver by a combination of endeavors:
a. Courses, including DM training and technical dive training in particular – both of which required me to assiduously work on precision of buoyancy and trim control, precision of finning, precision of movement through the water (ascents, descents, backward, forward, turning), precision of breathing, precision of gear configuration, etc. The agency happened to be PADI. I don’t think the agency was as important as what I did.
b. Self-study, including a lot of internet reading, video viewing (YouTube is our friend), and Q & A (for example, I hear there is this thing called ScubaBoard where . . . ). That process, of self-study, started early on and continues to this day.
c. Activity related to diving, and I have to say that becoming an Instructor really (really, really) helped me become a better diver. It is not so much the training (IDC) as the doing, and thinking about how to present ideas, and demonstrate practices, and figuring out how other divers learn, which has helped me better understand how I learn, and has led to a number of ‘AHA!' moments.
d. Diving, including 1) specifically working to make EVERY dive a training dive (I work on something each time I go in the water, be it trim, breathing, finning, whatever), and 2) diving with others who were / are i) better divers than I am (‘I sure want to do / look like THAT’), and ii) poorer divers than I am (‘I sure don’t want to ever do / look like THAT’).
As a result of my experience, and the ‘journey’, I don’t think there is one and only one right way to become a better diver. I don’t think there is one particular course that makes the difference, even though I specifically mentioned two that helped me a lot. Where courses have helped me has been having 1) a new standard of performance (precision) laid out for me to work toward, and 2) an Instructor who observed things that I was doing, and suggested changes. Courses provided the start, self-study provided the booster pump, and diving (and activity) has made the difference. One caveat: I don’t think that simply diving more would have brought me to where I am. First, it is a somewhat slower and less efficient process than facilitated (by courses, and self study, and even observation) development. Second, if I didn’t know what to change, and possibly how to change it, I don’t think I would have done much differently. After all, if I always do what I’ve always done, I will always get what I have always gotten. So, whether it be a course, or organized coaching, I think it is important to have outside input. Otherwise, you risk possibly becoming a very proficient bad diver.
I certainly don’t mean to suggest by item c., above, that you have to become an Instructor in order to become a better diver. That particularly helped ME, so I mention it by way of background. But, learning about my own learning was the critical element. (In fact, I said many, many times before I started the IDC, that I really had no interest in teaching scuba. I was already teaching in university and didn’t need to do more teaching.) I certainly don’t mean to suggest by item a., above, that you have to take professional (DM) or technical courses in order to become a better diver. That particularly helped ME, so I mention it also by way of background. But, developing precision of skill was the critical element.
A final note: I LOVE IT, when a diver comes to realize they want to become a better diver (not just take more courses), and asks for ideas on how to do that.
At this point, in my diving, if what I knew and what I was doing were both wrong, I would say that I have adapted through practice and it works for me! I know 2 wrongs don't make a right, but 2 Wrights make an airplane! Sorry, couldn't resist.
I know a diver who prefers to overweight and use his BC to adjust buoyancy which has been his practice for years. That may be considered wrong, but it is what he feels works for him. His practice (any dives he does) of overweighting makes him better at making adjustments with his BC. At least that's how I see it.
I see your point though. Having been a coach of swimming/diving and basketball, I taught technique/skills and then went with an idea of the time that "perfect practice makes perfect." But I also realize that techniques/skills can be tweaked (or completely ignored) and improvement or proficiency can still be obtained. The way something gets done may not be as efficient as another way yet can work for the person.
Having reread the OP's original post, I now realize I just plain misread (or didn't read) what was being asked for otherwise I would have left this quoted statement out.