Fundies kicked my a$$

[MXGratefulDiver]

Interesting. I always thought GUE Fundamentals (formerly DIR Fundamentals) was more about what you can't do in the water: can't dive without a buddy/group, can't dive below 100' without adding helium, can't dive without long hose and cannister light, can't smoke. Then again, religious fundamentalists swear they have fun at bible study, so who knows?

Well, it obviously ain't something you're interested in, and that's OK ... but my experience with DIR classes and workshops is that the concept of "can't" just isn't part of the curriculum. They tell you how the system works, explain their reasoning behind why the various components of the system ... i.e. equipment, mindset, planning, preparation, and team ... fit together, and they show you how it all can work for you. Once class is over you're gonna be able to make your own decisions.

FWIW - I solo dive. I'm now diving sidemount. I still benefit from my DIR training ... even though I don't apply it as the system I was taught when I took the classes. It doesn't seem to bother anybody ... it certainly doesn't bother me. In two weeks I'm gonna be getting on a boat for three days with a bunch of DIR-trained divers. This'll be the third year I've done this trip ... not a single one of them has ever objected to the way I've chosen to dive. And I don't object to the fact that they didn't make the same choices as me. We all have fun ... and the concept of "can't" just never seems to come up.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

And fundies teaches you how to ride a tandem mountain bike backwards?

Nah ... that would describe my NAUI Trimix class ... ever try to back kick while wearing doubles, two deco bottles and a stage? Oi ... :depressed:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mossman]

No, you have it wrong -- it's precisely BECAUSE Fundies kicks your a$$ that people should aspire to take it! To make it plain, until you have seen what's possible, you don't know what you COULD be able to do in the water -- and how much more FUN your diving is when you can.

Mossman, I think you have made your disdain for the class abundantly clear; does it serve any purpose to continue to play agent provocateur? Let us celebrate Crush's good class without sarcasm, please.

Celebration should be in The Pub. This forum is for basic scuba discussions. So let's discuss.

All I hear is how Fundies made so much possible, but no details. To me, it sounds exactly like, "I found [insert deity of choice] and my life is so much better now". Better how? What exactly did Fundies do for you that made your diving "more FUN"? Safe, I can understand, but "fun"?

 

[Crush]

Celebration should be in The Pub. This forum is for basic scuba discussions. So let's discuss.

All I hear is how Fundies made so much possible, but no details. To me, it sounds exactly like, "I found [insert deity of choice] and my life is so much better now". Better how? What exactly did Fundies do for you that made your diving "more FUN"? Safe, I can understand, but "fun"?

Personally, I found SCUBA and my life is so much better now. GUE had nothing to do with it.

To me the question of what Fundies did for me that made my diving more "fun" should be separated into "during Fundies training" and "post-Fundies training." For me, during training, I would describe the experience as primarily challenging - for me the "fun" was being underwater and not related to GUE. As for post-training "fun" that remains to be seen (haven't been in the water since the course ended a few days ago). If past experience in other (non-GUE) courses is any indication, the "fun" comes from being more relaxed in the water and from being able to maneuver precisely to snap a nice picture.

Every scuba course that I have taken has made diving more fun and more safe. I can't see why Fundies would be any different.

 

[TSandM]

I'm not sure if the classes are fun, really . . . although I keep going back and taking more of them

But what did Fundies do to make my diving more fun AFTERWARDS? Well, to begin with, I got tools to position myself precisely in the water. Before Fundies, I'd see something cool and drift over it, and I had to swim a big circle to get back to it, and all too often, I'd raise enough silt doing that that I couldn't see whatever it was any more. Now, I start to drift past something, fire off a couple of back kicks, and there it is! No silt, either.

Before Fundies, I didn't have very good control of my ascents and descents. Since the viz in Puget Sound is often low (sometimes the top 20 feet or so is virtually opaque), I had too many dives where my buddy and I would start down, get separated in the murk, and have to surface to regroup and try again. Not any more!

Before Fundies, I spent a lot of time looking for my buddies. They'd be behind me or above me or just plain too far away to see well. It caused a lot of anxiety (this was probably my single biggest reason for going the direction in diving that I did). Now, I know my buddy is right where I expect him to be (except when it's Peter sometimes ) and I know that, if I take my eyes off him for a little while, he's not going to go anywhere I can't find him.

Before Fundies, I spent a lot of time being bewildered by strange or unclear hand signals, given too fast and without consideration for whether I could see them. Now, we use lights a lot, if the conditions permit, and they're much more easily interpreted. When we DO give hand signals, they're slow, emphatic and CLEAR -- and we carry wetnotes for anything too complicated to work out with hands.

I got a ton of things from Fundies that made diving more fun. But the BIGGEST one was an entire world (and I'm not indulging in hyperbole here) of dive buddies who are reliable, predictable, and skilled -- and that DEFINITELY makes diving more fun! In fact, I'm getting on a boat in a few days with 20 other divers . . . and the amazing and fabulous thing about that boat is that you can close your eyes and reach out and grab the nearest person, and know that you can jump in the water with him and execute an absolutely seamless, delightful dive. How many random boats can you say that about?

 

[lavachickie]

But what did Fundies do to make my diving more fun AFTERWARDS? Well, to begin with...

Lynn, this is not the first time I've read a post of yours and said to myself, "Yes! That's what I want!" I'm looking to get a taste of UTD by maybe taking their Essentials class, maybe later I'll look at Fundies. I want to tweak my own abilities, but also get a taste for the different organizations.

I was recently giving someone I dive with regularly the critique that they are a poor communicator underwater: they sign too quickly, don't confirm receipt of the message, and they don't even watch until my message is over, much less provide confirmation. To me this seems DUH obvious, but not to everyone, apparently. *sigh*

Amy

 

[eelnoraa]

The instructors for my fundie is Rob and Susan. Not sure if Beto will show up.

... But the BIGGEST one was an entire world (and I'm not indulging in hyperbole here) of dive buddies who are reliable, predictable, and skilled -- ....

This is probably the most important. I have dived with so many "dangerous" divers in my very short (2 years) of dive career, including lacks of very basic skills, agressive gas management, panic & bail out (ascent) without buddy, fast swimmer assume buddy will catch .... you can image. Improving personal skill and getting to know safer dive buddy is what drives me toward GUE/UTD style of training. Pass or not is not my major concern.

One of the big reason for me take fundie is I have dive

 

[Mossman]

OK, definitely not for me. I can already fin backwards and frog kick to avoid silt, and it sounds like the rest of it is just making sure unknown buddies are compatible on random boats. I don't dive on random boats nor with unknown buddies and usually have more fun without any buddies at all. The last thing I want is to have a conversation underwater, so I "streamline" my diving by keeping signing to a bare minimum: tell me when you're low on air or out of air, that's it. I guess it's just a different approach to life. Some people like rigid structure, uniforms, etc., therefore prefer group "fun" like DIR and the military. Others like to do their own thing, wear what they want, cut their hair however they want, and wake up whenever they want. I'll save my money for that deep air class instead (i.e. TDI's Extended Range).

 

[Tristan.ak]

Congrats on your pass and like any class in school the ones the spit you out are the best are the ones you learn the most in. I look forward to fundies and I know Im not ready for that cup of tea I have to work my butt off and get time and experience. I only have my OW but I want to become the best that I can and strive for better safety and understanding on what is going on around me and how to better my skill sets and planning tools. I practice all the time (even at the University pool for finning) with every dive I have logged I work on my skills since there isn't much to see in the waters I dive (rocks and poor vis).

 

[tddfleming]

Mossman:

I understand where you are coming from, but I am going in the GUE route myself for what some have so nicely stated above. However, to say that the ones that would like this kind of diving are Some people like rigid structure, uniforms, etc., therefore prefer group "fun" like DIR and the military. Cannot be further from the truth. I am pretty much anti military and being told what to do. As my grandmother has always said, I play to the beat of my own drum. To the point of getting my husband in trouble with the Commendant of the Marine Corp when he was an officer. All because I would not RSVP to his wives tea. I also got him in deep water, because I could not play well in the sandbox with the commanding officers wife, by calling her a bitch. I call it how I see it. But yet, I find myself moving in the direction of GUE. So I think to group everyone that finds this type of diving to their liking to people that enjoy the military thinking is out of line. In fact, I am not even group oriented. I pretty much keep to myself and can only take people in small amounts. Yet, another of my, when I get older I will shrink, turn green and find a deep cave to move into.


BTW, Congrats on your pass Crush!