F.I.T. vs. Performance Freediving

[ILDiver]

*I'm not going to go soft on this post, I'll try not to be rude, if I am, someone let me know I will edit*

First, you got them to answer e-mails and phone calls? I usually get answers, but they are busy, busy people. I get replies, they are just a little delayed, but I know sometimes I ask when they have a class going and they do have lives and all. Even Mandy took a day or two when I asked about my mono fin.

In my Level III course I had bad dives and beat myself up. I did better in Level II than III. It wasn't the instructor that didn't do their job. It was me who was unable to do what I wanted. Not everyone can get to 150', some people dive more than others and just have the right physiology to do it faster. I wish I had as much time with Martin in my level III course as I did in my Level II course, but there were 3 times as many people in the level III. Just because I struggled does not mean I deserve more time with them, other people paid the same amount I did to learn from these fine instructors. Level II they give you the information you may or may not already know and they give you the formula to put it all together. Not everyone has the right body chemistry when they enter the class. It takes time, but you have the tools to change that and improve yourself.

You still have not provided us with any proof. You say it is not my business, but in your first post that I could PM you and you would tell me. Sounds like you know it's a petty excuse or you wanted attention. Well, you got it. Your posts are your opinion, but you are not backing your opinion with anything solid. It's easier to blame the instructor than yourself.

As far as Martin taken his knowledge and teaching at his own school....it does not compare to some engineer at Sears. There is only so much science behind freediving. Martin can not change the laws of Physics and Physiology. Again I don't know the reason for the split, but use a little logic and here is what I get. Martin is a World record freediver, he is working for PFI who is a husband and wife team. Most people like to advance and get as far as possible in their chosen field. Where was there for Martin to go? It would be like a great architect working for Frank Lloyd Wright. Everything you design gets Mr Wrights name on it, no matter how great. Eventually you want to be recognised for your own abilities, not doing it to build someone else's reputation. I work at a dive shop that teaches PADI and NAUI scuba courses. You know what the difference is? NAUI added a little more on rescue technique for OW students and they allow you to teach the skills in whatever order you find works best. The skills and technique are the same. Slight difference in requirements maybe, but both have the same end result. Cave course fraction from each other all the time only to have minor differences in teaching afterwards. Why would that be? Because the end goal is the same. It's freediving, not a box of Lego's and build what you want.

Everything in my posts is speculation. The gut feeling I get from reading your posts. I do not know you or anything about you. The read I get, you think you deserved time and attention than others in the class. That your not being honest with yourself. I'm sorry you fell cheated in some way, but it sounds like you had a good foundation going into PFI's course and did well there. Wish I could afford a FIT course in Florida then a trip to HI and a PFI course in Kona, poor me, life is too harsh.

Originally Posted by apnea queen

In closing,many times those we seek to love and support are in fact their own worst enemies and blinded by our feelings we justify dysfunctional behavior and choose not to see what is in front of our eyes,carefully study htat which you defend and you may see the shine may wear off

Sometimes one rubs to hard and wears the shine off themselves. See them for what they are, not what you think they should be.

I'm done, my views are clear. I'd dive with FIT or PFI if I had the chance. People are willing to stand up for FIT and I'm certain the same goes for PFI students. That says a lot about both courses. Good day mam.

[apneaboy]

There was a certain inevitability about this argument that someone would bite just by reading the original question.

I will settle it once and for all for you....... I will take both courses and write an independant review for you..... expenses paid of course

I must admit i do have a bias though... i like all freedivers

xx

[DiverTodd]

Heh heh heh...NICE try, Wellard....

Todd

[apneaboy]

Heh heh heh...NICE try, Wellard....

I'm just a nice guy and like settling differences, what can i say

You just go and have a word with your right hand man there, i'll do the rest.

[apnea queen]

Il Diver FIT stopped returning my calls and e-mails seeking resolution of our problems 1 1/2 to 2 months ago. And as a business consultant and life coach I tell my clients if you can't handle your business hire someone or get out because in the end it's the client who suffers.Second you never pm'd me with a request for info to compare classes it seems you are more interested to gossip and place judgement.Third I never said I didn't benefit from FIT ,I indeed got some good info,but would not and will not endorse,support,or refer
anyone to a system that cannot handle problems they in fact generate professionally.
It is not how you handle easy situations,but how you handle difficult situations.In your post you say you work at a dive shop but you do not state that you are an instructor?
I have been a PADI instructor since 1991 and have been taught by great and not so great instructors and have had experience working on a number of great dive boats so I in fact know good and bad teaching and have always made sure every student 'got it' not make excuses why not to take more time when time is needed,I never asked for more than anyone just equal.And as any good instructor knows not every student is the same,some are better at skills than others so at the end of the day if someone is behind or needs attention they paid for it and it is the duty of the instructor in the interest of safety and
professionallism to provide it PFI does!!! My problems with FIT were centered around continuing training and how an issue was handled improperly.Logically(as you would say)
by not solving their self generated problem not only did FIT lose the income from my taking extended training but they have made it impossible to refer friends and clients to them not the brightest business move.It is often said with one hand a person can destroy
what the other hand is trying to build.It is one thing to have a world record but I dont'
know any landlords who accept world records toward rent.so in the end if you decide to
run a business and don't know how TAKE A CLASS.Hollywood is littered with stars who have either themselves or through a manager,agent,or lawyer had their finances sucked
dry.
In closing don't be jealous that I have earned the livelihood to budget training for my passion but look at how bad you want things in your life and make it happen,second job,
loan from family or friends.work out a payment plan WHATEVER it takes and by all means learn more about me and what i do before you place judgement on me or anyone else.LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT,I HAVE WHAT I WANT DO YOU? Good Luck DeeDee

[billieball]

Never thought I'd see the day when this hallowed meeting place would become so...umm...uncomfortable. So, my observations are as follows:

I've been a teacher, a corporate trainer, an office manager, a Hooters girl, a flight attendant, a university teaching assistant, an administrative assistant, an underwater crime scene investigator, a futon maker, a sales clerk, and so on and so forth. I've acted as an instructor in many of the aforementioned occupations. There were always a couple of people in each environment that just didn't have all the pieces to complete the puzzle we were working on at the time. As an instructor, it was my job to see if everyone was following along. If someone wasn't keeping up, I'd back up and try to assist them...during class time. However, if issues continued to arise with a person who was not advancing, I would have to weigh whether or not it was worth holding up the entire class to address ONE person's issues. Oftentimes, it was not. If the majority were "getting it," and if the minority were not...logic would dictate that I would continue with my class. Not everyone wants to be slowed down or held back during class, simply to be sure someone else "gets it." There are all sorts of reasons that someone may not "get it." If I were training an investigator or a flight attendant, then "getting it" was imperative to ensuring we all were in a safe environment in the long run. Since safey is a necessity, well...I'd have to address the person after class to see what could be done to help them "get it." I cannot tell you the number of times the things that were holding them back had nothing to do with the material being taught/learned. It was most likely due to some deep-seated issues (e.g. family, friends, health, mental, external stress, yada, yada). Until that person learned how to separate the different parts of their personal lives from the classroom, NOTHING would get through to them to make a difference in their learning experience. I'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons FIT (and probably PFI) offers one-on-one training for those who want it. Some people need more attention than others, right? Some issues take more than what can be offered in a group-learning environment. Anyway...

I love freediving. FIT introduced me to freediving. The people I've met through my freediving endeavors are people I'll never forget as long as I live. We all come from such different backgrounds, and would probably never cross paths...were it not for freediving. We all support each other, encourage each other, and regale each other with all sorts of tales--freediving-related and not. I've had my good days and my bad days. Hell, in LIII, I didn't beat my personal depth best...and it didn't bother me one bit. The skills I learned need to be mastered. I didn't expect anyone else to hold my hand and pat me on the back. I laughed at myself, as I realized that "sometimes you get the bear; other times, the bear gets you."

Peace and warm thoughts,
Billie

[fcallagy]

Billieball all the above are good valid points and i dont like to go off topic but i think we should all know more about more important stuff like your job as a hooters girl?

[ILDiver]

First, I am a Divemaster and soon to be instructor. I've had my share of dealing with poor instructors. I left one shop to go to another because the previous shop was so bad.

As for your comment on my jealousy, I'm not jealous. My point was look at the bright side, you've traveled to Florida and Hawaii in the same year to freedive.

How many people were in the advanced class with you? How many were in the Level II class.

Why did they stop returning your calls? What was the nature of your calls? What were your demands upon them? Were they unreasonable? You STILL have not come forth with facts or proof. You wish to have the fact held private which means even YOU do not believe in them. Even YOU know they were unreasonable. YOU know that they would not hold up under public view. If you feel that a struggling person get more attention than accelerating students, then you are cheating the accelerating student from progressing as far as they could have.

It's not about gossip, it's about the truth. You chose to state that FIT had many issues and were not professional. I have seen nothing but professionalism. It's not longer about weather FIT is good or bad, it's about your integrity as a critic. When a person looks at OPINION, they have to consider if the source is reliable or not. You have not proven yourself to be a reliable source.

I have to unsubscribe to this thread, there is now communicating logically with an illogical person.

[azapa]

Billie, I have to say I'm with Fergus on that one!

[Tony Babowicz]

Billie!!
Hooters girl?? Who would have thought!!

[salibandy]

Woah.. Chillax you guys.

DeeDee, I don't see why you said (in your first post) Martin copied PFI's system. Martin came up with the course that PFI is using. He designed it. However I agree with you that it is unprofessional of them not to return your calls after so long.

I also agree with IL Diver. You haven't really given any proof, thus you aren't a reliable source. But IL Diver, you're getting a bit too emotional about this, I think. You must a good reason, maybe?

My uncle told me something yesterday that I think is relevant. He said, 'no one is perfect', we were talking about instructors. I believe both PFI and FIT have their issues, but nevertheless are good schools.

[kelp princess]

Originally Posted by Tony Babowicz

Billie!!
Hooters girl?? Who would have thought!!

so you can all start drooling Tony, Simon and Fergus - not only is billie passionate about freediving - she also must be a super hottie 'cuz she worked at hottie central - and they say the hooters in florida has the most competition.

so you boys can dream on


(total respect to you Billie btw)

and IL Diver and DeeDee thank you for sharing your opinions - it's the dynamic dialogue of DB that makes it a great place to be - no harm no foul, everyone's got their own POV.

cheers,

kp

[billieball]

Y'all are too funny! Just when I think things are getting really nitty-gritty on this thread, you start in with the Hooters jokes! Ahhh...many moons ago...

Seriously, there have been some really valid points made on here. I think the main consensus is that only good can come of taking a formal freediving course. The safety that is taught is definitely worth the cost of the class, right?

The other thing that has been demonstrated on this thread is that opinions are like _____________; everyone has one!

[Jon]

Seriously, where the hooters pictures?

I don't know that anyone ripped off anyone else's teaching systems, but the diving styles of FIT and PFI seem to be pretty similar when you compare them to other courses out there- like Apnea Academy, the Solomon's and others.

Just an observation.

Jon

[Tony Babowicz]

The other thing that has been demonstrated on this thread is that opinions are like _____________; everyone has one!

[/quote]

Opinions are like_______? Ohhh! I get it. I don't have one of those. My wife has one though. She says he goes diving too much.