3 things to tell a new guy

[College Diver]

In light of where I am now in my training, I would add one more thing:

get in to some form of fitness regime early on if you do not already have one - the longer you put it off the harder it will be to finally get off the couch and start doing something to get your fitness level up.

The good news is, however, that once you do start a schedule, it provides a renewed sense of commitment to the sport, which gave a little psychological boost to the endorphine rush - all the more reason to keep at it...

[turtleturtle]

This is just reinforcing the other points but...

You usually get what you pay for and don't skimp when it comes to gear and instruction! As important as having the right gear (doesn't have to be the most expensive but from reputable companies) is having the right instructors. If you have to pay more for getting a better, more experienced instructor then go for it! I promise it is worth every penny. When I really learned how to dive on a Broadreach trip when I was 15 (check out www.gobroadreach.com) it wasn't cheap but the value was tremendous. My instructor knew exactly what he was doing and had taught teenage divers for years. Because of his advice, every dive of mine has been safe, entertaining and extremely rewarding.

-Daniel

[b1gcountry]

1. There's no substitute for experience. No matter how many classes you take, how much cool gear you have, or how comfortable you are in the water, you can't underestimate the value of just going out there and doing the dives.

2. Just relax. You will be happiest when you are expending the least energy. Learn how to relax under water. Take things slow. You tend to see more the less ground you cover. Don't rush to do better/deeper dives. There are tons of experiences out there to have underwater at every experience level. If you are rushing to get to the next level, you will miss out on everything.

3. No problem is so pressing that you don't have time to stop and think first. As long as you're breathing, you have time. Even if you are out of air, you still have a couple breaths left. Calm yourself down, and think it through before you blindly react to anything. Doing it slowly one time is faster than rushing through it two or three times.

[b1gcountry]

...and #4: NEVER TRY OUT SOMEONE ELSE'S SCOOTER UNLESS YOU HAVE THE $$$ TO BUY ONE!

[Mo2vation]

...and #4: NEVER TRY OUT SOMEONE ELSE'S SCOOTER UNLESS YOU HAVE THE $$$ TO BUY ONE!

Ain't that the truth.

Ben and Cali - darn you.

Thank you.

Darn you.

Thank you.






-K

[Seainggreen]

Great thread! Wish I'd had this around when I started...

My top 3 pieces of advice (not that I'm particularly any kind of diving guru whatsoever):

1. (an add-on to Lynne's advice) What you don't know is what you don't know, what you don't know can kill you, no one knows everything, so caveat emptor. Think big, start small, go slow. Only you know how you are feeling about situations or experiences, so look deeply within and proceed with caution. Question EVERYTHING. Ask lots of questions. If those questions are met with resistance or blank stares, that should tell you something... And don't dive over your ability or capability. This isn't a "who is the biggest badass" contest, it's just diving.
2. There is a ginormous difference between doing 100 different dives and doing the same dive 100 times. Complacency is dangerous. Overconfidence born of complacency is really dangerous. A team of complacent overconfident divers is too terrifying to think about. And yet I see this in OW and tech divers all the time. The number one dive skill in my book? Situational Awareness. This can only be developed with a rich diversity of experiences and situations.
3. Slow down to speed up. If you think you are going slow, go even slower (trust me). This was great advice given to me by a mentor in the early stages and I'm grateful for it! Think about steering a boat... rookies tend to turn to hard, the correct the turn, then have to correct the correction. If you just go slow and smooth, you dock the boat easy. This is akin to the "look like a fish" comment earlier. If you move, you have to move to fix the move, and then you're in the vortex of badness. Slow and steady wins the race in diving...

and 4. This sport ain't cheap. So don't cheap out. This goes for diving instruction, dive gear, and even dive travel. Ask questions and do your homework.

Great thread BTW. Happy diving! If you are new to diving, welcome to the greatest addiction going. Get ready to learn tons, spend a lot of money, and meet some fantastic people.

[Seainggreen]

Before I forget, my education-dork-self was caught by the comment about overtasking OW students. When students don't know any better, they just accept what is as what is. What I mean by this is that when we tell a student "this is really HARD", they react accordingly and struggle. When a student is told "this is just another skill in the tool chest", etc, they just proceed on like it's no big deal.

Perfect case in point: I learned in a wetsuit back in 2001 and it almost killed my enjoyment of the sport before I completed 10 dives in local water. My husband learned to dive about 4 years ago. I sought out a teacher who would put him in a drysuit immediately (this is Seattle and cold water) and who would be willing to do some experience dives in the mix to blend in AOW elements into the class and stretch it over some time. Contrary to belief, this wasn't information overload or heavy taskloading... mainly because my husband just didn't know any better (by design). Because the instructor made no big deal about learning in a drysuit, my husband just did it... easily... never knowing that it was technically harder to learn in a drysuit than a wetsuit. He also walked right through the "hard skills" with no problem, mostly because of the way in which the skills were presented and done in the class. This is just good teaching and learning, in or out of the water! (Shameless plug inserted here for Sound Aquatics)

Happy diving!

[shawnb]

3. Don't delude yourself that you will be able to party hard and dive at the same time.

WTF? Damn, no more drinking and diving?

[TobinGeorge]

Before I forget, my education-dork-self was caught by the comment about overtasking OW students. When students don't know any better, they just accept what is as what is. What I mean by this is that when we tell a student "this is really HARD", they react accordingly and struggle. When a student is told "this is just another skill in the tool chest", etc, they just proceed on like it's no big deal.

Perfect case in point: I learned in a wetsuit back in 2001 and it almost killed my enjoyment of the sport before I completed 10 dives in local water. My husband learned to dive about 4 years ago. I sought out a teacher who would put him in a drysuit immediately (this is Seattle and cold water) and who would be willing to do some experience dives in the mix to blend in AOW elements into the class and stretch it over some time. Contrary to belief, this wasn't information overload or heavy taskloading... mainly because my husband just didn't know any better (by design). Because the instructor made no big deal about learning in a drysuit, my husband just did it... easily... never knowing that it was technically harder to learn in a drysuit than a wetsuit. He also walked right through the "hard skills" with no problem, mostly because of the way in which the skills were presented and done in the class. This is just good teaching and learning, in or out of the water! (Shameless plug inserted here for Sound Aquatics)

Happy diving!

Trainable spouse = good thing

Tobin

[mikemill]

My list:
1) If you aren't having fun you are doing it wrong. Even in a class where you are working on new skills that are pissing you off you should still be enjoying it. This is recreation not work.

2) Different people have different opinions, learn to listen and and ignore the ones you don't agree with / like / bore you / etc.

3) Get a good paying job. The toys are expensive and not getting them isn't an option

[johnad]

When you are new to any sport, you really don't know how to tell who is really doing things well and who is doing things badly. When I first started skiing, I could not afford lessons, so I imitated the people who looked like they knew what they were donig, thus building up a whole pile of very bad habits I struggled to unlearn once I got into real instruction. Similarly, when I first started diving, I got a lot of really bad advice from some very experienced divers, and I imitated a lot of really bad technique because I didn't know any better.

Doing a lot of diving can be very good for you, but it can also be harmful if you are ingraining poor technique.

Whether you are going to use experienced divers or instructors as your role models in your early diving, make sure you are learning from someone who is truly competent and not just some joker who has been doing the same wrong things for hundreds of dives.

[ypri]

Can I take the liberty and offer a recommendation for somebody who hasn't begun classes yet? I've only got one thing to add really.

Find several instructors, meet them and do an informal interview. Attempt to find an independent instructor or at least one that isn't motivated by selling worthless brand gear.

Wish I had that advice about a week ago! Haha. Just switched instructor because the first one was really more into promotion and money than being a good teacher... Fortunately talked to a few others and found someone great now...

[tijn143]

thanks!

[Alec8100]

Certain two facts on this post unequivocally the best we have all had.It's our responsibility to our families that we look out for each other and we are prepared the best we can so that we all make it back to our beds at night.
I agreed what's said above!!!