When did you learn Buddy Breathing

[DennisW]

My open water class. 1988 YMCA. I assume you mean sharing a single regulator when you say buddy breathing. I have had people tell me that buddy breathing was giving your Octo to your buddy. Handing off your Octo or Primary is not the same thing at all and it is not buddy breathing.

 

[vladimir]

So let me get this straight, you believe that divers and instructors that are less and less capable and comfortable in the water will benefit from less training, or is that just what you have observed?

I believe that they should be comfortable in the water before we ask them to buddy breathe. Any decent swimmer is accustomed to breathing and not breathing at the appropriate stages of his stroke--a perfect prerequisite for buddy breathing. If somebody struggles to swim 200 yards or can't swim freestyle, then, in my opinion, they are not ideal candidates for scuba training. Can they be taught to safely scuba dive? Sure. You can safely scuba dive without ever buddy breathing. Ideally, however, you would have the skill.

So, to answer your question more directly, I think that those less capable and comfortable in the water will benefit from more training, but that training should consist of basic swimming and free-diving skills before they work up to buddy breathing.

Even if we disregard the obvious benefits of BB we are still left with the fact that the diver has improved confidence in dealing with stress and the ability to work as a team member when the skill is taught. We gain nearly nothing by omitting it.

Actually, I think that this is the primary benefit of the buddy breathing skill. Perhaps you could achieve the same goal with less risk using, I don't know--ditch and dons, maybe. I don't disagree with you, by the way, I think a competent scuba diver should be taught buddy breathing and should find it easy. But that's assuming you start with a competent candidate.

 

[The Chairman]

PADI DM class somewhere around the turn of the century. I have never had to use it, but then I have never run out of air on a dive.

I introduce it to my students as a confidence builder. Quite often, accomplishing the task of buddy breathing from one end of the pool to the other without changing depth ultimately calms them down and helps them to breath a lot slower during the rest of the pool session. It's nigh on to useless to learn as a diving skill other than that.

 

[Peter Guy]

If I'm not mistaken, it seems the primary rationale for teaching BB (at least from this group) is that it helps teach "confidence" and/or "comfort" in the water by providing the student with a little bit of stress. Maybe so -- but if so, it is a stupid method to build confidence and/or comfort, if for no other reason than there are so many other skills that could be taught THAT ACTUALLY ARE USEFUL!

For example, want to task load? Use the time to teach the student to shoot an SMB while maintaining position. At least they'd learn a skill which they might actually use from time to time in normal diving.

Or you could use the same amount of time doing more compass work with their buddy -- one follows a course, the other keeps time and position in water column.

Either in the pool or in OW there are many other more practical skills that can be taught which also create confidence and/or comfort. Now if you have an unlimited amount of time to teach.......

 

[The Chairman]

If I'm not mistaken, it seems the primary rationale for teaching BB (at least from this group) is that it helps teach "confidence" and/or "comfort" in the water by providing the student with a little bit of stress. Maybe so -- but if so, it is a stupid method to build confidence and/or comfort, if for no other reason than there are so many other skills that could be taught THAT ACTUALLY ARE USEFUL!

Actually Peter,

It stops them from hyperventilating and teaches them how to control their breathing impulse. Like the underwater swim, you have to get calm to succeed, so it forces them into relaxing.

Panic induces hyperventilation and the subsequent buildup of CO2 induces more panic. Getting students to slow down their breathing patterns WITHOUT encouraging them to skip breathe is a big step to creating comfort and confidence in the water.

 

[Hank49]

Open Water in 94, but really just intro. Gear exchange while buddy breathing during divemaster course in 99 was the real learning.
I don't think it was useless. It was my first experience in my PADI training where you really had to rely on your buddy and trust him to put the reg in your mouth for you as you were putting on or taking off your gear. From what I've read about DIR training here on SB, it's PADI's closest attempt at GUE's goal of team and buddy dependency, which I believe is a good thing. Whether or not you'll ever use it, you learn to really trust a buddy.

 

[Damselfish]

PADI OW, 1990. We practiced in the pool, while swimming around the whole pool. I don't recall if we practiced it in open water.

 

[Walter]

For example, want to task load? Use the time to teach the student to shoot an SMB while maintaining position. At least they'd learn a skill which they might actually use from time to time in normal diving.

Or you could use the same amount of time doing more compass work with their buddy -- one follows a course, the other keeps time and position in water column.

Great skills to learn and I also recommend teaching them, but they aren't confidence builders.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Great skills to learn and I also recommend teaching them, but they aren't confidence builders.

Agreed, shooting a bag and waiting on your buddy to place a reg in the general direction of your blow hole while blacked out are two different animals.

 

[CamG]

Greetings all and I did not buddy breath until my Adv. Nitrox / Deco. class and DM.
After buddy breathing I really do not know why it is not taught. It actually is a fun confidence builder that would take some extra time but well worth it in my opinion.
I understand that rarely if ever a OW diver would use the skill but the gained breathing control and confidence would be priceless under some very real conditions.
For comfort levels alone the skill would merit attention. With current gear configurations most agencies have eliminated the necessity of the skill but it still is a life saving option. If one is never taught the what if could catch you.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!