No question about it--you had to have superior physical skills to complete the course back then. Doing pushups by the poolside with all your gear on was a common sight. It was in many ways like boot camp. Many people failed to meet those requirements and could not be certified. Please explain why those requirements are critical to basic OW diving.
Please explain why those superior swimming skills, including swimming laps over and over again, are so in modern scuba.
Buddy breathing has already been talked about--it did take many many, many repetitions to get that down. Buddy breathing has been replaced by alternate air sources, so it is not longer a part of the course.
Once again, we see the mantra repeated: "We spent many more hours listening to lectures, so what we had was superior!" Since that has been answered many, many times in the this thread already, I won't bother going over it again.
Please explain why those superior swimming skills, including swimming laps over and over again, are so in modern scuba.
Buddy breathing has already been talked about--it did take many many, many repetitions to get that down. Buddy breathing has been replaced by alternate air sources, so it is not longer a part of the course.
Once again, we see the mantra repeated: "We spent many more hours listening to lectures, so what we had was superior!" Since that has been answered many, many times in the this thread already, I won't bother going over it again.