What are your thoughts on stressing divers in training?

[WaScubaDude]

I only have my AOW, but in my youth was fortunate enough to be able to assist in training OW divers in the Pacific Northwest.

At the LDS where I cut my teeth they would start slow and try to make everyone comfortable, but by the last pool session we would do serious stress testing including foiling over the mask, turning off the air, pulling on the fins, flooding the masks etc.
This all was done to, what I know call "raise the freak threashold."

Two decades later while diving in jamaica, talking with instructors and DM's they look at me strange and say; "why would you want to do that?"

I was wondering what is the norm now? What do you do to stress test divers?

Thanks,
Sean

[ScubaToys Larry]

They don't. All that stuff is pretty much forbidden by the training agencies. The days of turning off air, ripping off masks... as much fun as they were, are over. Is that good or bad?? Hard to say. But in attempts to market to the masses, taking away the "navy seal" feel was mandatory. That is why back then the female percentage of divers was close to nill, and today it's about 40%.

All the agencies have "softened" the courses.. some I feel a bit too much - but in spite of that, we are turning out more divers, and statistically the injuries and deaths have not really gone up. Is that because or in spite of training today?? New better gear?? I don't know.

[WaScubaDude]

It is a little scary. I guess the best training I got was just a lot of dives where some little thing went wrong and I could build on my skills and confidence and live to dive another day.

[Capt Hook]

If they were still doing that the would be a lot less divers.

[gtjason2000]

It would be nice if the instructors could gauge the level of the class or some of the students and then do some extra exercises. As a swimmer and lifeguard everything has been cake so far, except for navigation, never learned to use a compass as a kid. Once I become and instructor if I see the people can breeze through the basic skills I would start including stuff from rescue, peak performance buoyancy, navigation, search, divemaster in ow and aow.

[jwdizney]

Albeit clearly a training for the worst possible scenario, I don't know if i would be able to deal with that kind of training!...

[ScubaJenn81]

We had our air turned off when I was doing my OW 3 years ago. They did it carefully, but they wanted us to know how it would feel when we had no air. We also had our buddy lead us around with no mask. I thought it was good, but then again the people in out class were pretty good swimmers to start with, so I do not know if that is the norm.

[nightdiver]

We did all those things also, plus breathing from a free flowing reg, buddy breathing, but nothing that wasn't controled or unexpected.

[in_cavediver]

Today, much of the same 'stress' training is taught such as the no-air, no mask etc. Its not the same though. In the PADI system, the no-air drill is done by the instructor while the student watches thier air gauge. No mask swims are done with the student removing thier mask, agian, the student is in control and knowing what's going to happen.

I'd personally like to see a bit more of the stressors added back. I've seen a lot of near misses and ambulance rides for people who had to use on of the 'stress skills' and not be able to. Biggest cause where I am is the cold water causing stuck inflater's and free flows. Heck, free flows killed two divers near me earlier this year. Neither case should be anything other than inconvenient and at worst blood pressure rising. Not fatal or even an ambulance ride, but they were.

To do this, simply have in the last pool session some drills that simulate those conditions. IE signal air share now and the diver then has to go to another diver and get air without using thier own. Teach swimming with a single fin and functioning without a mask. Complicate the process. IE, lose the mask, then do an ascent in the pool. This need not be the macho bs stuff but it should model things that can and have happened. (Think applying accident analysis to aid training????)

The idea is to build confidence in the student so that can handle some of the unexpected situations and actually expose them to it. The reality is you may have zero warning you'll need one of these skills. Training needs to reflect that (in a safe way).

[willardj]

Originally Posted by gtjason2000

It would be nice if the instructors could gauge the level of the class or some of the students and then do some extra exercises. As a swimmer and lifeguard everything has been cake so far, except for navigation, never learned to use a compass as a kid. Once I become and instructor if I see the people can breeze through the basic skills I would start including stuff from rescue, peak performance buoyancy, navigation, search, divemaster in ow and aow.

If most people did this it would cut into the $$$$$.. PADI don't like that.