Half way done with Fundamentals, Day 1 & 2 review

[StreetDoctor]

Fundies Day 1 & 2 Overview
A group of us just finished up the first two days of GUE fundamentals with Instructor Ed Gabe. The course is happening at Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, IL. The class was kind of put together last minute as originally I was planning on taking it in spring. Ed lives in Kentucky and fortunately enough we were able to make all of our schedules work. We scheduled the class over two weekends due to work. Unfortunately I got off work at 7am on the first day of class with a total of about two hours of sleep. We ended up starting at 9am after we got tank fills and lots of coffee. Before I go any further two of the three of us in the class have done a decent amount of diving with another instructor that is fundies trained and teaches DIR, so we had an idea of what the class was going to be like.

The morning of day 1 consisted of getting to know each other a bit, talking about what our goals are in diving, what the standards are for fundamentals, and a brief lecture on GUE, team diving, and some skills we will be shown in dives later in the day. Even though I had seen most of the propulsion techniques before Ed’s enthusiastic teaching method taught me a few things I had never picked up on before that really helped me tighten things up a bit. All three of us are looking for a tech pass, so that means full tech gear- doubles, dry suits, can light, etc. and a stricter standard. Two of the three of us are diving HP100’s and I’m in 130’s. After the lecture we had lunch and then went over equipment, including the pre-dive check “GUE-EDGE”. For the most part all of us were pretty squared away with no major changes necessary. Ed was able to explain all the equipment requirements and provide sound reasons on why they exist. (Not once did I hear because you’ll die LOL) Day 1 was rainy, and mid-forties for the majority of the morning. Water temperatures were in the mid to low 50’s. Luckily enough shortly after our first dive the skies parted and the sun came out. Our first dives consisted of going over different propulsion techniques- frog, modified frog, flutter, modified flutter, helicopter turn, and back kick. We then went over the basic 5, and S drills. I don’t quite remember how many dives we did- 4 or 5, but after every one Ed did an in-water critique and gave us tips on how to improve, all the way down to the smallest of details. We had all used these propulsion methods before but Ed was really able to break them down and teach us little things to help our technique that would make a big difference in the long run. The in-water session of day 1 finished when we ran out of day light. A video review then took place at our hotel after grabbing some food, which really helped enforce what Ed was explaining during his in-water critiques. He also to give us more pointers on what we were doing right or wrong and how we could do them more efficiently. We had finally finished up at 10pm and after not getting much sleep the night before I was exhausted.

Day 2 started at 8am at the local fitness center for the 300m swim test, and 50’ breath hold. The swim test must be completed in less than 14 minutes and none of us had a problem, although there was a fair amount of anxiety beforehand. I believe we finished in 7:40, 8:00, and 10:00. After the swim test we headed back to the quarry (after a mandatory stop at starbucks for more coffee). Luckily the weather was much milder on day 2 with highs in the mid to high 50s and sunshine for the majority of the day. We got into the water right away after another “GUE-EDGE” to finish off our gas from yesterday and began again with propulsion techniques, the basic 5, S drill, and added the valve drill, and ascent/descent drill. These also went moderately well with all of us able to complete the tasks without killing each other. We then got air fills and had lunch while Ed gave us a dive debriefing. After lunch we did some work with back-up lights and also a no-mask swim, both of which went pretty well. We then spent some time working on S drills, valve drills, and finally an SMB deployment/ascent drill. After we got our gear put away we did another video review finishing up around 7:15.

During the last two days Ed has always let us know where we’re at, and really based on doing the skills it was easy to grade ourselves. So far I’m really impressed with the class and Ed’s teaching method. I have already spoken to my girlfriend about taking this class next year in recreational gear as there is still a whole lot to benefit for someone that has no interest in pursuing technical diving. Personally I believe this course should replace AOW as the skills taught in fundamentals really will make you a much better diver. In the last two days I feel my S drills (something we often practice) have gotten 10 times better and my comfort level doing them is much higher. Days 3 and 4 begin next weekend with more task loading promised. We’re going to try and sneak in a practice dive during the week to try and shore up some things in our S drill and valve drills. Meanwhile I’m stuck at work now, exhausted… I can’t wait to be able to go back to bed. Day 3 and 4 reviews to come…
-Nick

[LCF]

I've heard nothing but good things about Ed as an instructor, and this is another good report. I'm glad to hear he was able to add value, even though you guys were already well on your way -- I always wonder if the people who practice and practice before class get anything out of it, and it sounds like you did.

[DWill]

Congrats on the training.

A great choice of insructor and agencies.
If you're going to get training there's no reason not to go with the best. You've done that and you're off to a good start.

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[StreetDoctor]

I have to say a big thank you to Duane (ppO2 diver) and Tom (b1gcountry) for helping out with video taping. Both are GUE trained and in the midwest that's pretty rare.

[StreetDoctor]

I've heard nothing but good things about Ed as an instructor, and this is another good report. I'm glad to hear he was able to add value, even though you guys were already well on your way -- I always wonder if the people who practice and practice before class get anything out of it, and it sounds like you did.

I think it depends on what kind of initial training you have. Two of the 3 of us were trained by Duane (ppO2 diver- precisiondiving.net ) who is fundies trained and also teaches an intro to tech class much like an abbreviated fundies course. In this sense it helped out very much. We were able to have the core concepts of the drills down before entering class, that way we could really work on skill refinement in the water with Ed. Two of the three of us had a pretty decent back kick going into class with the third really making large strides of improvement during the class, I'm sure you know how much easier that makes all the drills. On the flip side I could see someone with very limited experience in a backplate and wing making leaps and bounds in their diving skill if they took this class with no prep.

[ae3753]

Congrats on the course, sounds like a great experience.

Thanks for sharing.

[scubamountaingirl]

First, congrads on your class....

can i ask a newbie question? i am as some of you know, plotzing to take my fundies. Time and money have held me back.

if you go into fundies not having used doubles yet or learning the back kick and your frog kick is just OK....should you wait until you have the other stuff down or is the class a real place to learn? i feel as though there is not enough time to learn and practice and get results before you have to move onto the next agenda. Adjusting to doubles and new weighting and new trim etc. could take a whole day.

One of the reasons why I ask this is that when i do take it, and only get a provisional, i would have to have the time to practice what was weak and retest within six months. here in the east coast. diving pretty much is an late april to nov sport and with working full time there is not that much practice time..

i am a bit nervous that i should know my stuff before trying to squeeze it all into a small time frame and I would then have to repay to test again.....This has been my main theme holding me back.

thanks in advance for your feedback

if i am hijacking this thread feel free to move it...

ww

[cmalinowski]

Nice writeup StreetDoctor. Hope you get a lot out of it. Ed Gabe seems like a nice guy the one time I have met him and I only hear good things about him.

First, congrads on your class....

can i ask a newbie question? i am as some of you know, plotzing to take my fundies. Time and money have held me back.

if you go into fundies not having used doubles yet or learning the back kick and your frog kick is just OK....should you wait until you have the other stuff down or is the class a real place to learn? i feel as though there is not enough time to learn and practice and get results before you have to move onto the next agenda. Adjusting to doubles and new weighting and new trim etc. could take a whole day.

One of the reasons why I ask this is that when i do take it, and only get a provisional, i would have to have the time to practice what was weak and retest within six months. here in the east coast. diving pretty much is an late april to nov sport and with working full time there is not that much practice time..

i am a bit nervous that i should know my stuff before trying to squeeze it all into a small time frame and I would then have to repay to test again.....This has been my main theme holding me back.

thanks in advance for your feedback

if i am hijacking this thread feel free to move it...

ww

Don't try to overplan or overthink fundies. Your best bet is to talk with your desired instructor (Bob?) and get the info from them on what they think is a good course of action leading up to your course.

I went into fundies expecting not to pass--and I succeded in that It takes a lot of the stress out of the course and allows a lot more time for, and effort to be put into, learning.

And you don't need doubles unless you are going for a technical pass and not a recreational pass.

Chris

[StreetDoctor]

First, congrads on your class....

can i ask a newbie question? i am as some of you know, plotzing to take my fundies. Time and money have held me back.

if you go into fundies not having used doubles yet or learning the back kick and your frog kick is just OK....should you wait until you have the other stuff down or is the class a real place to learn? i feel as though there is not enough time to learn and practice and get results before you have to move onto the next agenda. Adjusting to doubles and new weighting and new trim etc. could take a whole day.

One of the reasons why I ask this is that when i do take it, and only get a provisional, i would have to have the time to practice what was weak and retest within six months. here in the east coast. diving pretty much is an late april to nov sport and with working full time there is not that much practice time..

i am a bit nervous that i should know my stuff before trying to squeeze it all into a small time frame and I would then have to repay to test again.....This has been my main theme holding me back.

thanks in advance for your feedback

if i am hijacking this thread feel free to move it...

ww

Similar to what Chris said the class is a great place to learn. Doubles are only necessary for a technical pass. If you take the class in recreational gear you can always go back to your instructor later and try for an upgrade when you are more comfortable in doubles. I most likely wouldn't do my first dives in doubles during a fundies course because I'd want to be able to focus on learning the core skills in the course. Getting comfortable and figuring out weighting can really be done at any time with a buddy.

Ed had some awesome pointers for really getting a grasp on the back kick, if it was necessary he was prepared to take us to a pool to give us some tips on the surface without any gear on. If you've never seen yourself on video before or had someone experienced give you tips during the review you will see a HUGE improvement. If your instructor runs it like Ed did it'll be four full days and if there is anything you feel you want to work on more it's not a problem.

[rjack]

Don't overpractice. I would take the course in a single tank and aim for a rec pass.

Then come back at any time (no 6month window) for tech upgrade. I know quite a few people who have done this progression, but how many days the tech upgrade takes might be student/instructor specific. There's no established format for that.

The whole 6 months to re-evaluate issue is my only big complaint about GUE-F. For many people its unrealistic logistically and its essentially arbitrary. Going for a single tank rec pass and planning on coming back later for upgrades has to date been the best workaround for most people since it avoids the whole 6month timeline. It does require you to continue (with the upgrade) with the same instructor tho.

[limeyx]

Don't overpractice. I would take the course in a single tank and aim for a rec pass.

This is what I would do too (and in fact did) although there was no tech pass back in those days. I would still do it the same way though.

There is nothing to be gained by rushing to doubles, but there are things to be lost by not getting into DIR-F ASAP so you will then know the "right" way to do things and not reinforce old bad habits

[rjack]

This is what I would do too (and in fact did) although there was no tech pass back in those days. I would still do it the same way though.

I did it in a single too. After a year's diving I signed up for T1. I think I had about 4-5 dives in double before Tech1, that's about what JoeT advised back then. Rushing into doubles is a big mistake. I've seen people do it and they actually regress or stagnant vs. diving a single tank longer and getting more inherently stable first.

[Jack Hammer]

I gotta add a huge + for having someone take video of you and watching it afterward to see how you actually did something vs how you felt you did it. I was surprised to see how flat out awful I looked doing certain drills where I had felt I nailed it near perfect. The same is true the other way around. Certain drills I "felt" I did horribly bad but when watching the video I was surprised to see it was much better than I believed. Video can be a great tool to allow you to "sit outside yourself" and view yourself as others do.

[scubainchicago]

I gotta add a huge + for having someone take video of you and watching it afterward to see how you actually did something vs how you felt you did it. I was surprised to see how flat out awful I looked doing certain drills where I had felt I nailed it near perfect. The same is true the other way around. Certain drills I "felt" I did horribly bad but when watching the video I was surprised to see it was much better than I believed. Video can be a great tool to allow you to "sit outside yourself" and view yourself as others do.

Jeff, this thread is about the Fundies class, not the bedroom.

[Jason B.]

I had Ed Gabe as my instructor and agree, he is a top notch guy all around - in and out of the water. Enjoy the remainder of your class.