I might not like this

[RV6Pilot]

Prior to yesterday, I was very enthused about beginning my scuba training. I selected the SDI course from a LDS because of it's flexability and the recommendation of the LDS. I completed my on-line course and was ready for my training in the pool.

The instructors were good and we got started right away. We spent a total of almost 6 hours in the pool and completed 30 different tasks within that time. At the end of this time I was totally exhausted, every muscle ached and was in bed by 7pm. In talking with fellow students, almost all felt the same.

I came away from this class with a few thoughts:

1) Is one day enough time to learn 30 different skills? I do not think so. My life depends on knowing these skills.

2) Can one person put out the same effort at the end of 6 hours as they did at the beginning of the day. Again, my body and mind screamed NO!

Conclusion: This class, while good in intent, has done more to discourge my desire to scuba dive than to encourage it.

I wonder if anyone else has felt the same???

[LKunze]

1) When I did my open water class it was around 4 hours a day and the time was split between classroom and pool work. I think this involved around 3 or 4 days. I don't think cramming all of the skills into one day is a great idea. Are you saying that was it...one day for everything or do you still have more time to complete yet?

2) Cramming the entire class into one day isn't ideal I don't think. Splitting the time into smaller sessions across multiple days would be better in my opinion. It gives more time for the new things you learned to sink in. I guess I wasn't aware that some shops run there classes this way. I hope you don't get too discouraged by this. Are you done with your class now and are you certified?
One thing to keep in mind is that once you are certified the training and learning doesn't end there. You need to get out and dive and practice your newly learned skills. I'd highly recommend joining in with fun dives that some shops run in the summer time and/or getting together with other divers with more experience to learn and become a better diver. From a personal standpoint I learned much more than any class I've taken by getting out and diving with more experienced divers and observing their technique and listening to their feedback. This helped me become a better and more confident diver. It will probably take you a good 30 dives to feel comfortable in the water and to start getting your buoyancy skills together. Good luck, and I hope you stick with it.

[RV6Pilot]

I did not finish the entire certification. I still need the open water dives. I guess my point was to say, If this is supposed to be fun, it wasn't.

[MNLakeDiver]

I did PADI discover diving in Cancaun fist where we had a 4 hr clase, 1 hr pool and an open water course in 1 day. I was totaly overwelmed I returned and and did the OW course here.
That was also done quickly for class and pool. but when we did open water my instructor took alot of time at the platforms to test our skills and currect things.
I am not a great diver by any means but I do believe I am safe and now enjoy diving just try to fing good buddies and keep learning. OW is just the learners permit thats wher the fun and learning starts not ends

[Dirk Diggler]

RV6Pilot,

Why dont you simply go back the place you received your training and see what more pool experience you can build up without any pressure to complete?

I dont see why they did everythign in one day, most places offer over two or more simply to avoid mental and physical exhaustion or a quickly lost knowledge base.

The LDS I use alllows you to come back anytime they are having a pool session simply to review or work on your skills - all at no charge. I think having any opportunity to practice some more will take some of the stress away and bring back more of the fun.

[jasondbaker]

Does the "online course" mean that you didn't do any classroom sessions prior to the pool? And, then you did all the pool work in one long day? I think you may be seeing first-hand one of the pitfalls of a short and convenient training program.

Diving can be more physically demanding than most people realize. You may be stressing muscles you do not normally use. Heat loss and dehydration can take their toll on your body. I would hate to dive in a pool for 6 hours too.

[DiveCaptDean]

I remember my OW class...We had three days, consisting of classroom and pool each day. The class was split into a ffew different groups of 6 each with their own instructor ( of course). At no time did i feel tired..well maybe after the swim, and never found myself wanting to get out of the water. We covered all skills with plenty of time to ask questions and repeat several times if necessary.
It was an extremely comfortable environment. We, of course still had to do our open water checkout dives. Same senario..plenty of time for whatever we needed.

I feel for you. It sounds like you had a terrible experience. I have not heard of on line classes....hard to ask questions there. I think you should ask to attend more pool sessions. They should be free. If they are not, then i regret to say that you chose the wrong instructor. Please stick with it. If you remeber what it was like to take that first breath under water......well, this should be enough reason to stay with it. It only get better, as do you as a diver. Remember OW certification is just the beginning.....dive dive dive dive dive..
You will get there...i promise
dean

[Brian27]

Diving does take a lot of energy, time, and effort. I cannot imagine doing my open water in that short of time. I did mine through the U and we met two (3hrs) times a week for about 6 weeks, one day in the pool the next in class. I had a blast, sure beat any other classes I had. although, I always got the munchies after the pool sessions.

Stick with it, pace yourself and enjoy it. It is fun!

[Freedive WI]

I worked at one shop, for about 9 days, that did a PADI CD-ROM class.

THey had the students take the CD home, do all of the lecture and quizzes on their computer and then bring in the printed tests. THe instructor spent about an hour going over their wrong answers and that was it. THey then went into the pool for one 3 hour marathon session- with no wetsuits.

THe next weekend they showed up for openwater training. I wasn't filled in on all the details of that shop when I started there, and not just about their openwater courses, but the first openwater check-out dives I did left me wondering why the students were so ill-prepared for their dives. Later on I found out about the single pool session and realized what the problem was. THey did offer the cheapest price in town for their classes.

After a very tense instructor meeting with the rest of the staff, where I found out a lot of other scary details, I quit.

When I started diving the courses met once a week for 8-10 weeks and we didn't even see a scuba tank until week 4. I wouldn't want to go back to those days, but some of these courses are getting ridiculous.

You can do a weekend format, Like Cpt. Dean did, if you give people wetsuits to wear in the pool and break up the day in a sane manor- like only a couple of hours in the pool with individual instruction. I know it works because I also used to teach at the shop where he was certified.

Sorry to hear about your experience, but you probably went with the cheapest course and you often get what you pay for.

Jon

[lrmoll]

I too have often been surprised about the one day or even weekend classes. It hardly seems that the skills can become a trained response in so short a time. I trust these short classes do still do a written test to verify the material was understood?

I suppose some of the effort can be shifted to the open water dives and through more extensive pre and post dive discussions. Are these things done in these short courses?
I wonder what the failure rate is for these classes? If they are not ready I hope they don't pass. The dive shop I work through does not do weekend or one day classes. They will let you retake the class at no charge if you fail.

When I was certified (NAUI) it was a number of classes over several weeks with pool and classroom work each night. There was also a swimming test. I used the weeks to make sure I could pass that. Underwater swim no equipment for 60 ft etc.

Beginners don't know what to look for and probably assume all classes are pretty much alike.

While it is true that learning continues through diving. I believe that initially it is best to get comfortable in the presence of an experienced teacher who is focused on you. Buddies are often focused on getting down to look at the fishes and are often not aware of the experience level of their buddies. Also in an emergency I want some confidence that my buddy will respond in a controlled manner....stop....think....act. I don't mind diving with a newbie but I want to know it up front.

Soooooo....
* If you are not comfortable get more pool time with the shop if you can.
* Take the open water dives, see if you are comfortable then.
* When you dive find a buddy with experience and tell him you are new
* Don't be afraid to call a dive if you are not comfortable about it.
* Practice skills in shallow water with your buddy. You might be surprised at how much an experienced diver will enjoy showing off his amazing skills to you.
* Read literature about the sport