Psychology of Tec Training

[Boston Breakwater]

To answer your question directly, it’s 100% been about curiosity, adventure and the desire to remove the recreational boundaries.

I’m probably going to stray a bit or perhaps narrowly focus on something but it’s germane in my mind.

I completed Trimix training last month and I still think I’m just an advanced open water diver. I’ll probably feel like I’m a technical diver once I’m on a RB with deliciously long BTs south of 70m. Like @helodriver87 indicated, it’s about training and having the comprehensive skills to accomplish the dive objective.

I think it’s great to touch on the psychology of advanced (OK, technical) diving and, for me, there are two aspects to be studied - motivation and behavior. While I believe most of us pursue technical diving for virtuous reasons (motivation), we seem to let some of our worst traits come to fore after we get trained (behavior).

What’s interesting to me is the amount of emphasis there is on team diving in technical dive training. Yet, I think many of us struggle with what it really means to be on a team, to work together like a team where effective communication and durable trust are sacrosanct and to make the best decision possible as a team where life and death are at stake. I try to start my dives thinking that I have to be able to return this person to his / her loved ones, dead or alive, and look them in the eye that I did my best in planning, dry land rehearsals, execution and contingency procedures.

It seems many of us (technical divers) get on SB and rather than coach people along, we weaponize our opinions about techniques or gear selection and lose sight of principles (I hold that principles are more important than techniques). Things are competitive but not in a healthy way.

So, I offer that while the variety of motivations to pursue technical training are likely virtuous and redeeming in some way or another, it’s our behavior after a course where I think we flag ourselves as “getting it” or not.

I admit team-building can be hard because a lot comes down to the mix of personalities. But it’s either something I strive for in all aspects of my life in which case I can lead no matter my position on the team. Or it’s something I intuitively want but aren’t quite sure how to achieve. In that case, I’m trainable. Or it’s something I can probably answer correctly on a test but am not really ready to put into action for a variety of reasons. In that case, I require some real effort.

I’m interested to find out where I fit in once I move back to Florida. I do believe that paying more for an instructor is worth it when that instructor represents a gateway to a network of seasoned, reliable, proficient and emotionally mature divers who are motivated to explore.

Hello. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint/ perspective. Your post strikes me as being very rational, and sound. Thanks.
Cheers.

 

[ToneNQ]

I got into Technical diving for a few reasons. Mostly because I love wreck diving and hated the short bottom times. Partly because I just enjoy the ongoing process of learning and partly due to the buzz of being able to go where few go, and be able to see more/stay longer than most who get there. I'd love to be a more skilled and better diver, but I'm quite aware of the time I have available to dive and the proficiency I can sustain. With my current family and work situation I'm probably capped at 25 dive/yr basis for the next few years, but when I can dive more regularly I'd really love to get a CCR.

I like John's article, but I've read some things that perhaps add to it. I think achievement motivation is a big thing, probably the big thing. But then something separates those that drift away to those that keep going. I'd suggest its probably reward dependence. Low reward people are the type that can analyse a problem for days on end, not achieving much to sustain them, until they find the issue. High reward people gravitate to more attainable achievements to get a daily fix, and when the buzz fades they'll pursue another. It all plays into the underlying motivation as for all technical divers its a means to an end, but to some it's an endeavour whereas to others it's a sport.

One of the silkiest divers I've had the pleasure of diving with did 400 dives per year, so he had every opportunity to be slick and he took them. He also lived in a share-house, because that's your income when you instruct and guide for a living but want to own canister lights and five regs. As inspiring as it was to watch, the entire package was a bit less appealing. Diving has that affect on people, and its more realistic to be a dive pro than a basketball pro or ironman triathlete.

 

[Doc Harry]

...my question is how much of your technical training has been driven by a legitimate curiosity for new dive adventures versus that need to be an expert (or some would say ego)?

My desire to pursue full cave certification was driven by the fact that I am an advanced technical caver, and I wanted to add cave diving to my repertoire. I like caves, whether they're full of air or water.

I think that any competent tech diver understands that the need to become an expert goes hand-in-hand with the desire/curiosity. It's ying and yang.

 

[Hodg]

More generally, my question is how much of your technical training has been driven by a legitimate curiosity for new dive adventures versus that need to be an expert (or some would say ego)? Is the desire for expertise and that sense of accomplishment a good enough reason to expand your dive training (even if you don't necessarily care for, by way of example, doing multi hour cave explorations on CCR)?

I'm still a newbie when it comes to tech diving (Intro to Cave and AN/DP) but I took both of those classes out of the desire to be able to do the dives they would allow me to do. I had done some guided cavern diving and absolutely fell in love with it and KNEW I had to learn to cave dive. I took AN/DP mostly so that I could extend my bottom time and depth.

I will say that when I took Intro to Tech, it was more out of a desire to become more expert in my skills. I still didn't know sh*t about tech diving or that it would become something I would end up spending all my free time and money working on, I just wanted to be more bad-ass. I would say that the desire for expertise and accomplishment is certainly a good enough reason to expand your dive training. Even if you aren't planning to do the type of diving you've learned, you are still improving your skills and broadening your knowledge. Nothing wrong with learning for learning's sake!