Learning

{EAV:0a191976a23a9365}             Recently I have decided to switch from the SSI dive agency to the SDI agency. There are several different reasons for this change.  First and foremost, I believe that SDI has the best teaching practices of any Recreational Dive agency.  Founded by TDI, SDI is grounded in sound diving technique that is geared towards advanced divers.  Many of the techniques used in recreational diving taught by PADI, NAUI, SSI, and the other agency's are adequate, for normal recreational diving. However, take those skills into the realms of technical or cave diving and you just might not make it.  Of course no diver should ever attempt technical, decompression, or cave diving without the correct training. The point is, if you plan on progressing into these more advanced certifications it helps to already have a foundation.  With the other agency's you will have to relearn a lot of your already memorized techniques. With SDI you already have the correct techniques to advance into more advanced diving, and these techniques are much better for recreational diving in the first place.  Frog Kicking is just one example of the techniques that will greatly improve your diving experience.
          Frog Kicking is great because it used less energy, stirs up less silt or dirt, and keeps you stable.  When you flutter kick you are kicking strenuously with both feet using a lot of energy. With split fins you may be able to reduce some of the effort, but not as much as the frog kick.  The frog kick is an efficient and easy kick, the Flutter kicking stirs up silt, breaks corals, knocks the mask off of your dive buddy, gets you tangled, etc. Frog kicking keeps your feet above your body allowing better control. You don't stir up silt, the kicks are efficient and give you better variety of what you can do.  Frog kicking is most efficiently done with blades, most common are Turtles, OMS streamlines, or Jet Fins, I prefer Turtles.  Other blades work as well. Using the frog kick, you can do things you wouldn't be able to do using flutter kick or split fins.  Helicopter turn is one of the most useful, being able to turn around in a stationary spot instead of having to swim in a circle. Also backwards kick is possible, making it easy to back out of a corner, get a better position for a photo or video.  I have tried these kicks, and frog kick with split fins, it works, but is very slow and not as efficient as with blades. Frog kicking is just one example of the benefits of the more advanced training you get with SDI over some of the other agency's. We were teaching an open water class in the pool last wednesday,. Another instructor from another agency saw us and our students performing skills and practicing buoyancy. When we surfaced he asked if we were teaching a Technical or Cave diving class! That is a compliment to our students!
        SCUBA is all about learning and progressing. Since switching to SDI I continue to learn new things. Some agency's say it is foolish to teach more advanced techniques. I say that if it increases a new divers abilities, confidence, and safety, that is is wise.

SCUBA Diving. It is What I do.

          If you have ever tried SCUBA diving, you probably can at least understand what I am about to describe. I have been a SCUBA diver since 2005. I am from California, but ever since I started diving I have lived in Utah. How did I begin diving? My sister informed me there was a course that offered college credit. I had always been curious about SCUBA, but had never tried it before. This was the perfect opportunity to throw some money down on a class as well as what sounded like a cool hobby. So I took the class. I must say, that while many of the others in the class were a bit hesitant or nervous, I loved it and never had one ounce of any problems with it. Clearing my mask, equalizing my ears, everything came natural. My first dive buddy wasn't the most competent, but what is a dive buddy for? So I helped him and made sure he didn't sink to the bottom during our certification dives. This was the start of a great adventure.

          After I finished this class I thought my diving would be just a summer thing. You know? When I went home during the summer, maybe I would do a dive in Monterey, or if my family went on a random vacation to Mexico. It was a fun thing to do, but I didn't know where it would take me. When I went to pick my Certification card up a week after class ended I ran into one of the instructors there. He is a Russian who at that point I didn't know at all. He taught a different group of divers than I was in. Apparently he had watched our class as well as ours and noticed that I had skills. He approached me and said in a deeply Russian accent. You are very good at diving, have you thought of taking more classes? Or even becoming an assistant instructor or instructor? To tell you the truth, I really hadn't. But after a crazy cool Russian compliments your skills in such a manner it is almost impossible not to.

           Well needless to say, after a few days thinking it over, I decided it would be a good idea. I signed up for Advanced Open Water class and Stress and Rescue. I really enjoyed both of these classes. I learned about night diving, navigation, limited visibility, rescue, and deep diving. My favorite class was the stress and rescue class. It taught about what to do in a stressful or panic situation, and simple rescue procedures. About halfway through these classes I was ready to advance into more diving. I signed up for the assistant instructor/dive master course and the instructor course and began my training to the professional side of diving.

            Did I love diving? If I loved diving, I almost loved teaching it more. It was exciting to see students learn. To see the passion some of them had about it. Many of them weren't very good, many didn't have the passion. But those that did, made teaching worth it. Many people think that diving is easy, and that anyone can do it. This is true, that almost anyone can dive, however, here is a certain trait that makes someone a “good” diver, and that is something almost impossible to explain. I finished my training in about 7 months. From here I started working at a hot springs at a resort.

           You must be wondering where in Utah is there a place to SCUBA dive or teach it. There is an amazing formation called the Crater at the Homestead Resort in Midway Utah. I managed it a few days a week and worked this job constantly for three and a half years. This is where my love for SCUBA diving really picked up. I taught SCUBA updates here, took uncertified divers on underwater tours so they could see the miracle of diving. Whenever I had time I took my own dives in the Crater. I have about 325 dives in the Crater. That might sound boring or redundant, but every dive is unique to me.

             Now this is what it really is all about. What I started this article with. If you are a diver you will know what I am trying to express, or I hope you do. For me, being underwater is almost magical, I take that back, it is magical. Honestly even if I closed my eyes and just sunk to the bottom a lake, the Crater, the magnificant ocean and just kneeled there. To listen to the sounds, and the vibrations, and the tranquility, it is something that really cannot be explained, only felt. You feel free, liberated, and weightless. In these moments, nothing else matters. You feel the bubbles tickle your cheeks and you enjoy pure peacefulness. It is really hard to explain anything that comes close to how amazing the feeling is. The only thing that comes close for me is something very special and sacred to me.

             Now if just closing your eyes and kneeling there is this amazing, how much more amazing it is to explore and discover the world that we do not see! Wherever you look there is life! I have dove in many places, and whether it is the Catfish hiding in a crevice in Lake Powell, the lone crawfish in lake Tahoe, the school of Bass in Lake Rollins or Folsom, the Corals of the Caymans, Mexico, or Belize, there is some form of life that you would never see if you never tried SCUBA! To discover and observe these creatures is something you cannot fathom. Once in Belize, me and my sister observed a giant sea turtle gently navigating the ocean at a depth of 77 feet. It was something majestic, so beautiful, that I will never forget! I got video that I will post soon, but being there in person, in that tranquil place is priceless. To be visitors in such a place is amazing.

          I love being underwater, to me it is my refuge. A place of peacefulness, tranquility, silence. I use my time there to think, to pray, and ponder everything. I joke around, that Moses prayed on a mountain top only because he didn't have SCUBA gear. I don't know what the future of SCUBA holds for me. That is the beauty of it. I hope to become a cave diver, a technical diver, and a better diver. What this means, to be a better diver? It is hard to explain, but it is easy to see. When you meet a good diver, you know. I am grateful to have met the Russian Instructor who saw it in me, and I am glad every time I see it in a student. I hope if you are a diver you will continue your experience and education, and I hope if you are not certified to dive, that you will go find the best shop in your area and do it as soon as possible. Find the best shop, not the cheapest, I promise you will thank me later. Please follow or add me as a friend. I love to hear from divers.