Skills to practice

[Ryanh1801]

What would be some good skills to practice and types of dives before going into a intro to tech class, . I have been working lately on trim and buoyancy (Mainly working on it while multi tasking, which was an issue at first but getting better.) Also navigation. I figure I will have 50-100 more dives before i am able to start the class, so what kind of stuff should I work on? Also are instructors wanting to see many deep dives? Most of my dives are in the 40-60 foot range, with a few deeper.


Thanks
Ryan

[Rainer]

Deep dives aren't necessary. In fact, I'd suggest practicing shallow. Valve drills and s-drills in 10', without visual reference. That's a good measure. Personally, I wouldn't work on specific drills, unless you have a competent mentor. Why learn things incorrectly? You're already working on the hardest parts: trim and buoyancy. Have buddies give you feedback. Tell them to be honest. Feedback while you're diving is really useful, especially for trim. For buoyancy, good practice is timed ascents/descents. We would do 30 second slides for 10', then hold there for 30 seconds, then slide again. Do that from the surface, down to about 40 (stopping at 10', 20', 30', then 40'), then come back up (30', 20', 10', surface). If you do have someone to show you correct procedures, practicing valve drills and s-drills would be good, especially mid-water (again, no reference). Fin kicks would also be something to work on (flutter, the tech one, not the rec one, modified flutter, frog, modified frog, helicopter, back).

Good luck!

[Ryanh1801]

Originally Posted by Rainer

Deep dives aren't necessary. In fact, I'd suggest practicing shallow. Valve drills and s-drills in 10', without visual reference. That's a good measure. Personally, I wouldn't work on specific drills, unless you have a competent mentor. Why learn things incorrectly? You're already working on the hardest parts: trim and buoyancy. Have buddies give you feedback. Tell them to be honest. Feedback while you're diving is really useful, especially for trim. For buoyancy, good practice is timed ascents/descents. We would do 30 second slides for 10', then hold there for 30 seconds, then slide again. Do that from the surface, down to about 40 (stopping at 10', 20', 30', then 40'), then come back up (30', 20', 10', surface). If you do have someone to show you correct procedures, practicing valve drills and s-drills would be good, especially mid-water (again, no reference). Fin kicks would also be something to work on (flutter, the tech one, not the rec one, modified flutter, frog, modified frog, helicopter, back).

Good luck!

I'm still in a single setup and probebly will be until I take Intro. (advice from others say this is the best course of action). I did go ahead a get a 7 foot primary so I can practice with that, until I get my doubles setup. Ill try the timed ascents/ and descents that sounds like a good like drill. I already frog kick , and have been working on back kicks (still giving me hell though).

Thanks

[DallasMarineBio]

Work on buoyancy and trim, buoyancy and trim, and buoyancy and trim 1st

Ranier makes a very good point about depth, a shallow pool or quarry will give you more bang for your buck in terms of buoyancy shifts, if you can hover just off the bottom while moving around, starting and stopping in 3' of water without breaching the surface you are off to a good start. Keep working on the helicopter turns, backwards swimming, and trim. Make that conscious effort to keep trim good- nipples and knees in the same plane, legs bent 90 degrees at all times.

Work on getting really comfortable with the basics, mask removal and replacement, donating your primary reg and re-stowing the hose (long hose), shutting down valves, et cetera- all while keeping your hover and not floating upwards.

Once you get that down start task loading- the main thing in any form of technical diving is that the basics become 2nd nature and you can focus on more complex problems. Make a conscious effort to have good gas management - you should know your SAC rates, and being conscious of your BT/depth at all times be able to guesstimate pressure to within a couple hundred PSI every time you glance at your gauge. All the while keeping good form and never touching the bottom- remember that all underwater operations in any form of diving can, and should be performed while hovering, there is never ANY excuse for kneeling on the bottom like an open water instructor

Once you get pretty proficient in all that, start doing some additional task loading- reel work, run a line, deploy a SMB with a spool, be able to work a reel while using a compass, et cetera. The main thing is to just keep diving , gaining that experience, and making that conscious effort to keep your form, display good buoyancy, and stay acutely aware of your gas management until it all becomes second nature.

Good luck!

[gregor]

DMB's ideas are really spot on. The basics need to be done without thought. If you find yourself thinking about trim, then you don't have your trim down yet. Even though you might think you've got it, the litmus test is what happens to your trim and buoyancy when there are other things to think about. Most newly certified open water divers have buoyancy skills that are fine when they are swimming in a straight line, then give them something simple to do and you see that they don't have the fundamentals. So work on those two things every single dive.

I am of the camp that it isn't useful to try and work on things that are going to be taught to you in a class. If you try and work on carrying, deploying and using a stage/deco bottle before the class, you may teach yourself some bad habits that will be harder to unlearn down the line. Buoyancy and Trim. If you go into a class with those basics, and compete comfort in the water switching to doubles is easy, takes a few dives to get used to the mass and new trim, practice for a while. Then you get introduced to the stage/deco bottle and it isn't a big deal because you are only adding one small thing at a time. Have the basics down, and then listen to your instructor and absorb everything he gives you, soak it all in, then go practice some more.

[CompuDude]

Yup.

Buoyancy and trim. Ascents with precise stops. Pick a depth and hover, nearly motionless, for 30 seconds, ascend directly to a depth 10' up (or down) and repeat. Do this with your lask off. Do this while sharing air with your buddy.

Practice kicks, too, but that can be last.

Finally, decide why you are taking the class. Are you taking it to get the card, or are you at the point where you are learning for the sake of learning... and so you can stay alive while doing dives where this level of skill is needed? Passing is not important (first go-around, at least). Learning the skills is important. Learning what to practice, what your weaknesses are, and the correct way to practice, is what you should expect. If you have to come back for a re-test to actually pass, that's a good thing: That means you did not fail, but you have time to put your new learning into practice, and get things dialed in properly before progressing to the point where you can really get yourself into trouble.

[Ryanh1801]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Finally, decide why you are taking the class. Are you taking it to get the card, or are you at the point where you are learning for the sake of learning... and so you can stay alive while doing dives where this level of skill is needed? Passing is not important (first go-around, at least). Learning the skills is important. Learning what to practice, what your weaknesses are, and the correct way to practice, is what you should expect. If you have to come back for a re-test to actually pass, that's a good thing: That means you did not fail, but you have time to put your new learning into practice, and get things dialed in properly before progressing to the point where you can really get yourself into trouble.

First off thanks for everyone taking the time to write out your responses.

Taking the class for a few different reasons, mainly a lot of stuff I want to see/ dive is not a rec. limits. And im on of those people when I start something I like to learn everything and aspect of it.

I would love nothing more than to find an instructor that is not scared to fail people and is hard on his students. I have gotten a few suggestions on this site on who to take/ not to take, so ill look into them in a few months when im closer to being ready.

[DallasMarineBio]

Also I will mention that the best place to start, regardless of whether or not you intend to subscribe to the DIR philosophy, is to pick up a copy of Jarrod Jablonski's Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving. Chapter 3 really addresses a lot of the fundamental "self evaluation" type questions you can use to assess your progress, and contains a lot of good info on what to look for in an instructor, et cetera.

[dayo]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Yup.
Buoyancy and trim. Ascents with precise stops. Pick a depth and hover, nearly motionless, for 30 seconds, ascend directly to a depth 10' up (or down) and repeat. Do this with your lask off. Do this while sharing air with your buddy.

You can better task load if you have your buoyancy mastered. It is the key reason divers fail to finish my tech classes. However, the Intro to Tech is a class meant to show you your weaknesses and prepare you for later technical diving and training.