Tech training

[Kayak Diver]

I'd like to hear from you techies out there about your training. John Bennet wrote a great article on the different agencies and it made me want to hear from others about their experiences with these agencies. What courses have you taken, from which agency, what did you like or dislike?
My tech training has been limited to TDI & PADI. I've got a great TDI Instructor I take courses from in the Monterey, CA area. He's very good, thorough, but also very busy and hard to schedule with sometimes. There is a definate shortage of good tech instructors here. I've found TDI courses to be very good, good materials, learned some good useful skills from their programs.
PADI's tech stuff is pretty new and theres not too many instructors teaching it here yet. They put out some good materials, I'm impressed with their new gas blender course. The Tec Deep Diver course seems a little weak, very conservative which I guess is to be expected of a brand new system.
Please let me know what your experience's have been.
Thanks,
Dale

 

[Tech D]

Thanks Dale appreciate the compliment. Dave Ross must share any pats on the back, his input on GUE, PADI and NAUI where invaluble.

Hopefully we will hear from a few more tech divers, it is always good to where the good Instructors are.

John B

 

[Andy]

Hi Dale,

You wrote "The Tec Deep Diver course seems a little weak, very conservative which I guess is to be expected of a brand new system. "

I can only say by own experience as an Instructor, that there is no other educational material as good as the Tec Deep Diver manual for divers at that level, out on the market at moment.
I can agree that there is a lot the usual "PADI" information, don't do this or that, -"then you might end up dead or worse", but the book is very handy is very thourough. I didn't find it weak at any point of the book.
I also teach the IANTD Advanced EANx but my student always get both books. So they can use the IANTD material more as a reference material.
What I like about the IANTD course is that you focus more on learning how and why the formulas work and exist more than the PADI material that concentrates more on solving the mathematical problems with looking up the values in tables all the time.

As to being very conservative, I can only say that it's a lot safer to be a conservative diver then to cut corners!

Best regards,

Andy

 

[Tech D]

Hi Andy,

Well put, I think you are getting at pretty much the way I feel.

Each of the agencies has its good points, and their bad. I agree with you that the DSAT materials are hard to beat when compared with the others on the market. But then with PADI behind them I expected no less.

The problem being as I see it is that the sport is evolving so quickly that any materials provided can only give you a base to work from. The rest lies firmly in the hands of the Instructor; his knowledge and his williness to provide that little bit extra content in form of handouts/manuals etc...more power to you Andy.

As far as agencies go the BSAC tech program is also very good; it provides some very good materials. Their water work is also up there when compared with the others out there. They are to their credit one of the few training agencies that demands that individual skills should be practiced repetitively.

I still believe that at the end of the day it gets down to the individual Instructor and his drive to train his people well.

John B

 

[redhell]

I really sometimes cannot understand the conversation about the best training agency. The opinions are like the a**-holes. Everybody has one. We can't say this organisation is better or worst because allthough the training programs are important the most important factor in training is THE INSTRUCTOR!
If you have the best instructor in the world and a bad program to follow it is sure that the instructor will make the necessary modifications in a way the results'd be perfected...

But since you guys mentioned it...

I started my diving with CMAS and PADI, to pass into TDI the last 3 years.

 

[Andy]

Thank's for the input!

Hi John,

Thank's for your input, I haven't had a chance to see the BSAC Material yet. I'm Swedish and I don't think we have BSAC here but I would love to see it. I'll probably get a chance soon.

I definitly agree on:
-"that at the end of the day it gets down to the individual Instructor and his drive to train his people well."

It's Like Redhell puts it:
-"We can't say this organisation is better or worst because allthough the training programs are important the most important factor in training is THE INSTRUCTOR! "

The course material can be ever so good, but in the end it all comes down to, how well the instructor train and drills the student...

For us here in Sweden where it's usually colder and darker in the water.
We make everything a little bit harder for the students, all in their best interest. All my students really appreciate it, we take them beyond their limits both mentally and physically in a controlled manor. We push them to do better all the time during each dive and they grow both as indivual divers and team mates.
Making them more stress durable and better team mates.

We have them do more skills, swim longer than standards require, we also require at least a 100 logged dives for the Advanced EANx course and at least that they are Rescue certified.
We also advice them to have done at least 20 dives with twin tanks and the "new" configuration, before they show up to class.

I can't answer for how other instructors around the world work but I never let a student go before I'm 100% confident that he/she has really mastered the skills more than the original required amount.
I believe and hope all instructors look after the well being of their students and their potential buddies/team mates and don't certify anybody, who hasn't really earn't their c-card...

Redhell wrote:
-"The right attitude is what keeps you alive! "
I can only say that I couldn't agree with you more on that!!

Good luck to you all and dive safe!!!

Semper Deep,

Andy