hands while diving

[thanksforallthefish]

There is a difference between "waving" your hands and using your hands to manoeuvre.

Why is using your hands a bad habit and why would using them cause more silting than using your fins???
A hand movement will cause less disturbance than a fin kick and can be sufficient to achieve the same result.

I agree that you can manoeuvre by finning alone, however if it is easier to use your hands then why shouldn't you?

 

[DevonDiver]

I train not to use the hands for propulsion/control, in the expectation that if I train to the highest level, then students can adapt and choose later what suits them best. If they have effective control using their fins only, then it opens up many other options for them and helps their long term development.

Here's an article I wrote that explains why:
Using your hands whilst diving - Scuba Tech PhilippinesScuba Tech Philippines – News & Articles

 

[DevonDiver]

Why is using your hands a bad habit and why would using them cause more silting than using your fins???

With proper trim and bouyancy, your fins will be well away from the silt and unlikely to disturb it. The hands can cause more silt disturbance if they are used without control.

Whilst it is inaccurate to say that using the hands produces more silt than using the fins.... it could be a fair assumption that those divers who have to rely on using their hands do so because they don't have good fin control. If they lack fin control, and rely upon hand use, then they are highly likely to be silt rototilers....

A hand movement will cause less disturbance than a fin kick and can be sufficient to achieve the same result.

The fins shouldn't be in a position where they can raise silt. The hands will be.

I agree that you can manoeuvre by finning alone, however if it is easier to use your hands then why shouldn't you?

Because one day you might be using a camera, or a reel, or deploying a DSMB.

As long as you can use your fins for complete control, it is fine. However, most divers I've seen use their hands because they cannot achieve fine control and manouvreability without them.

The difference is between choosing to use the hands... or relying on using the hands.

I also think that using the fins for control brings the same benefits as using the fins for propulsion. They are bigger, more powerful and demand less effort.

 

[boulderjohn]

Why is using your hands a bad habit and why would using them cause more silting than using your fins???
A hand movement will cause less disturbance than a fin kick and can be sufficient to achieve the same result.

All unnecessary movement should be avoided. When finning in such situations, the fins are above the body, and the proper kicking technique used propels water away from the silt. The hands, on the other hand, are below the body and next to the silt. Any movement of the hands there will be more disturbing than a fin kick with proper technique.

 

[TSandM]

I don't have a problem with students using their hands to keep off one another -- until you have a back kick, that may be necessary. But why are they so close together that they can't turn, and why is the student turning to his left when there is someone that close on his right? I don't understand the circumstance in which this would occur.

When we are diving in very low viz and therefore have to be shoulder to shoulder, if I want the team to turn left, I signal to go left, and we both (or all three of us) turn. It's pretty unusual to want to turn my back on my buddy.

 

[Garrobo]

What GUBA said.

 

[Walter]

What I mean is if I have to turn to my left, but my dive buddy is to my right. I don't want to use my fins to turn and then kick my buddy in the side, so I would use my hands to turn myself and propel myself forward until I am able to propel myself without kicking my buddy.

I'm trying to imagine why such a turn (using any method) would be necessary or desirable. I'm drawing a total blank. While a sharp turn might be necessary, I can only imagine them in situations where we would be in single file (no room to be side by side). Normally, I make turns that are best described as curves, not 90° turns. Both buddies turn together, remaining side by side.

 

[stairman]

Maybe not for openwater but in cave class Ive heard of more than one instructor go up and hold the hand of someone seen hand sculling. I

 

[DevonDiver]

What I would like to discuss, is how everyone feels about the use of hands while students are next to each other. What I mean is if I have to turn to my left, but my dive buddy is to my right. I don't want to use my fins to turn and then kick my buddy in the side, so I would use my hands to turn myself and propel myself forward until I am able to propel myself without kicking my buddy.

Your initial premise is faulty. It assumes that using the fins for turning would result in the instance of kicking your buddy.

Only incorrect use of the fins would result in this scenario. Flailing around with the feet in a miscoordinated manner, without proper trim or control. That is NOT using the fins for turning. That IS being a muppet.

Use your hands, or use correct turning technique.... SIMPLE!

Here's what I mean by correct technique.... not much chance of kicking a buddy is there?

 

[spectrum]

As any diver who strives to be halfway decent will have read/heard/been taught, the use of hands in diving is inefficient as well as unnecessary, and will lead to an increase in gas consumption.
What I would like to discuss, is how everyone feels about the use of hands while students are next to each other. What I mean is if I have to turn to my left, but my dive buddy is to my right. I don't want to use my fins to turn and then kick my buddy in the side, so I would use my hands to turn myself and propel myself forward until I am able to propel myself without kicking my buddy.

Don't overthink it, this is during training sessions while students are all next to each other, and bumping into one another etc.
Yes, I know you can also lightly push yourself off a fellow diver

You need to keep in mind this is during teaching dives/classroom ow/cw dives, not during a normal dive
Discuss!

First off since you have asked in the Open Water student context I say forget about it. They will be new, excited, fairly clumsy and any tendency to stick together should be encouraged. A little incidental contact is to be expected and will lessen with experience.

I don't have any problem visualizing the turn scenario you describe. When I see that potential I use more of a frog like kick to get my fins above the nearby diver. Also if you gesture that you will be making the turn they can better anticipate you swinging back into their path. The diver on the receiving end is wise to raise a forearm to shield their second stage & mask. From mask to fin tip a diver may easily be 8 feet long and some crossover will happen when diving close. With a little experience and decent visibility divers will take a wider berth and it all diminishes.

I would rather have a biddy sticking close and have some incidental contact than playing where's Waldo the whole dive.

In general no hands is a goal not a do or die mandate. If they are occasionally used with purpose that's fine. By that I mean to regain control when surprised by surge or other sudden influence. This is usually a gentle touch-off perhaps with a single fingertip.

Sweeping arm swings are unacceptable at anytime for any diver. They are menacing and especially in the OW student context nobody wants a mask or regulator disturbed by surprise. Arm motion should also be discouraged anytime it disturbs the bottom.

Start with a foundation and let students build from there. Awareness is often the cornerstone. They may dive like turds when certified but if they have awareness of what good diving looks like they will have a visual of where they want to go with things.

Pete