Precision Diving

I found this article. I wish I had the name of the original author so I can give proper credit. But this article is an absolutely great one on team diving and building a strong dive team. While reading this, I found many similarities with the individuals I dive with regularly. It is long, so take your time reading it.

Team part 1: The basic brick of the team – The individual
I’d like to throw in some thoughts regarding the idea exposed in a thread on Ocean Discovery about team building. I will start talking a bit about the individual before going to team. I do this because I believe that while a team can be the sum of the strengths of the members, it can also be the sum of their weaknesses. And in serious situations, the weakest member of the team can determine the “breaking point” of the team.

For an (advanced) team to be successful, and result in a unified (dive) team I believe that it’s potential members must meet a basic set of conditions:

1. Share the passion for the sport.
2. Have an open mind
3. Share a common set of *realistic* goals.
4. Share a minimum common level of knowledge in sport specific skills and theory. Differences in this level should be minimal.
5. Have a success oriented attitude
6. Have the ability to adhere to a set of standards and procedures which are adopted by the team for its operations.
7. Manifest a continuous need for improvement in sport specific skills, general sport skills, theory (where applicable), and mental training.
8. Subject themselves constantly to self assessment and peer assessment.
9. Adopt a common configuration for equipment and hardware.

While many of those 9 points are either self explanatory or have beaten to death as in the case of equipment configuration , I’d like to explain a little more on some of the other points.

Specifically:
Share Realistic goals:
Its clear that sharing goals is a condition to have a good team. However goals should be realistic as well. By reaching your goals in the near future, you basically propel your motivation forward for the next set of goals. Setting unrealistic goals, and failing to reach them can act as a demoralizing agent , which will weaken the individual and implicitly the team which have this individual as member. But goals shouldn’t be too easy to reach also, so they should be set in such a way that a considerable amount of work and progress must be done to meet them.

Have a success oriented attitude

Simple. The individual should expect success. Failure is not a defining point in the evolution of the individual. Should failure to meet goals occur , the individual is prepared to learn from it, and derive a positive experience. Such individuals also often decouple their self-image from their actual performance. This should allow an individual to enjoy and derive new experiences, without having their self esteem lowered by eventual failures.

Improvement in sport specific skills, general sport skills, theory (where applicable), and mental training.

Mental training is important in a individual. Even in a sport like diving.
There are situations when an inappropriate emotional state, strong emotions like anger or fear can spell disaster. An individual should cultivate his/her mental abilities, learn to control strong emotions, deal with fear (real or imaginary).

Subject themselves constantly to self assessment and peer assessment.

Self assessment is important. It is important to identify current levels of training, identify weaknesses and set goals for correcting the identified weaknesses. However, an even greater importance is to submit yourself to peer review. While self assessment is a great asset for progress, it is still a subjective evaluation, and therefore should be completed with peer reviews.

In the process of a learning experience it is also important to ask your instructors for a complete assessment.

Individual Mental Training

In any sport mental training is very important, and mental and emotional aspects of training should always be considered.

Related to diving, for example, there are direct implications of the emotional state of mind and fear over diving. Think cave diving for example, and think at the old book “A blueprint for survival” by Exley, where at least two of the 10 commandments in the book are directly related to psychological factors and mental discipline. For those which haven’t read the book, I refer to rule 4 , “avoid panic by building up experience slowly …. ” and point 10 “never permit overconfidence to allow you to rationalize violating a recommended safety procedure”.

But mental attitude and fears play a critical role in the educational part of an individual as well, although this may not be so obvious at first sight.

For example, a failure oriented attitude, will hinder progress of an individual towards goals. More so, a failure oriented individual will fear embarrassment and fear failure above anything. Such an individual will avoid failure at any price, instead of deriving a new experience from it, and move forward towards his goals.

A direct consequence of fear of failure may be that the individual will avoid high quality training, for example they will go forward with their training with an organization and instructor whose standards are lower, will avoid very good but tough instructors, and in a word he will move away from anything which even remotely can be a cause of failure.

A consequence of fear of embarrassment can be, for example, to pass up an diving opportunity offered by a more experienced member of the community, because you fear that “you will look bad and be embarrassed by your lack of skill”

This is why posts like “only 1% pass ” on The Deco Stop exist in the first place. And to be fair, I hope that the instructor did not scare the student by saying to him “that 1% only pass”. This can only add unnecessary burden to the student. Rather I hope the instructor told him:
“It will be very hard, but I will do anything which depends on me to see your goals for enrolling in my course come to life”

Team part 2: Linking the individuals
Preferably, a team should be formed by members which share as many as characteristics as discussed in the previous post. Some of them are mandatory, such a set of common goals, and passion for the sport, and the will to adhere to a set of common rules and procedures + equipment configurations adopted by the team, while others, such as slight differences in the technical level for the individual can be compensated for in training.

Many times when such individuals meet, assuming that they are not already part of established teams, a natural bond will form, which is the first step towards building the tam. It is likely that an individual which meets another with which he shares so many characteristics will prefer him as a member of a team to another person which doesn’t share the same state of mind and goals.

Quote:
Unfortunately, it seems that divers that are in the best position to start this team-building process are often the most embarrassed, uninterested, or indifferent to this process – the recreational DIR divers!

Well nailed. From my point of view, creation of the team will not happen so easily here. This is because I believe the immediate goal is “to be a safe DIR rec diver”, but for most of them the next goal misses them totally. Because of this, a motivation for progress doesn’t always exist, and a team, even if one forms, will be focused on “lets meet next Sunday and spend some time together diving” , rather than evolution to the next level of training and improvements in both individual and collective performance.

Don’t get me wrong, such a team is OK as well, and can be safe and educated. And many people will genuinely want to stay at this level and not go further than that.

Here, I believe, the instructor can play a positive role. The instructor should try (especially instructors coming from agencies for which the team is central in diver education) to spark the need for continuous self improvement and a thirst for knowledge in the individuals he has just trained. For many of them, this will be enough to want to know more, to be better, and help others to be better.

In other cases, as for example in places which are isolated geographically, team members may initially share less common traits than above. This is because they might be the only potential members for a team there. Yet as long as an open mind is kept, and players work together to meet the required characteristics and work for improving the team , this is OK.

In conclusion I believe that the best teams are configured by individuals which share common profiles. It’s only natural to be so. Its also for the best, because this way progress is natural and unhindered by capital differences in mind set and perception between the members.

Players in such a teams are powerful ones, and can recognize easily individuals with similar characteristics. Don’t dismiss a potential team member just because he was trained by agency “X” and you are trained by agency “Y”. Recognize the potential and help a potential team member improve , of course if he accepts that. =)

Team part 3: Coaching the team
This is a complex part. A part about which I believe one can easily write books with hundred of pages, and a very hard subject to handle. Coaching a team is way more complex than coaching an individual, after all, despite the fact team members share a lot of traits, they are different human beings. Not only has one to deal with different humans, but also with the links and inter dependencies between the humans forming the team.

Once individuals are linked together in the team, they must begin to think as a team. This doesn’t mean that individual thinking is discouraged or negates the fact that each team member is unique. Yet each team member will contribute something, and will move the whole team towards the next common goal.

Maybe the best results are meet when the members of a team constantly train together. This has the advantage that the set of procedures and standards will almost become a religion for the team members, and the familiarity between members enables them to act as one.

The efficiency of this type of team was fully proved by military in many cases.

A point which is also important for the team, at least as important as it is for the individual, is self-evaluation and peer review. Like an individual , a team should assess itself and its workings, and constantly work to improve the team. Like an individual, a team should always exercise its weak points, not its strengths. Individuals should complement each other and function in such a way that one compensates for the others weaknesses.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

As the DIR philosophy continues to grow, people need to know the difference between true DIR training and the quasi-DIR type training. Many people believe that that the only true DIR training is through GUE, this isn’t completely true. There are many non-GUE instructors that offer very strong DIR dive training. The creator of GUE’s curriculum isn’t even with GUE any more and was teaching through NAUI before starting his own agency (UTD). There are many ways to determine good DIR focused training.

Mastery!!! This can not be said enough. DIR is much more than just equipment. It’s focus is on continual improvement and mastery of the fundamental diving skills. The instructors who have the DIR mindset will hold themselves and their students to a higher level of mastery. They will define performance requirements that are much higher than what is outline in course standards. The true DIR instructor is not motivated by money, but by seeing their students excel at a higher level of performance. The students of the DIR instructor will perform at this level prior to receiving a c-card.

Teamwork. Just like the Navy Seals, a DIR instructor will believe that to only achieve the dive goal and safety is to work as a team. The team needs to be on the same page for the dive goal, process, and communication. Without a strong team, the safety of the team can be heavily compromised. There is no such thing as a DIR solo diver. A DIR instructor will focus his/her classes on teamwork as well as skill proficiency. By doing so, this will ensure that when the diver enters the water with their buddy, they will have the awareness and communication skills to handle situations that may arise on a dive.

Values. Just like holding students to a higher level of performance, a DIR minded instructor will hold their own values high. True DIR instructors are passionate about diving. They don’t want to see divers bouncing off delicate coral reefs or kicking up silt on shipwrecks. They use this passion to continually improve their own teaching abilities. Just like a good diver is always reviewing their own diving performance, a DIR instructor will continually review their teaching performance after each class. They will use this to modify the next course offering. This way instructor can continually provide a high quality education. The goal of a DIR instructor is to provide the highest quality class possible. There are many instructors and dive stores that believe if you have the money, you can do anything. The DIR minded instructor does not succumb to financial duress as money isn’t the motivating factor in determining how or what the DIR instructor will teach.

There are many more traits that a DIR instructor can have, but all will all share in the belief of higher mastery of skills, developing team building skills, and holding themselves, and their students, to high values. By having these characteristics, a DIR instructor can build higher diving capacity into their classes and create well-rounded, thinking divers. So if you are looking for DIR type training, look for an instructor that will develop your diving capacity by holding you to a higher standard, building a team diving approach, and have a good sense of values.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Many people have asked me why I put so much effort into showing my students the backwards kick. In this article, I intend to explain why the backwards kick is so important to all levels of diving.

First, let’s look at using the backwards kick in a recreational environment. As we dive, we dive in teams of 2 or 3 divers per team. The backwards kick is essential to maintaining position in the water column. When the team of divers ascends/descends, it is the most critical time of the dive. This is where the majority of problems occur. In order to perform a safe descent/ascent, the team must descend/ascend together. It is critical for the team to stay together. As the team descends, depending on current/conditions, they should descend facing each other. To prevent bumping into each other or swimming around in circles, the backwards kick enables divers to quickly stay in one position, thus focusing on the team members. Same thing holds true for ascents.

These reasons are the same for recreational divers as well as technical divers who must perform decompression stops. By maintaining the team position, the divers can now turn their focus onto more important activities such as the gas switch, shooting a bag, etc.

Now let’s look at using the backwards kick in the technical/overhead environment. When performing tasks such as line tie offs, it is critical for the team keep it’s position. While one person is performing the tie off, another team member should be watching the environment around the team as well as keeping his/her light on the reel/line for the tie off. This requires significant buoyancy and trim control. Thus requiring that the backwards kick be very solid. As the team move through the overhead (either wreck or cave), it is critical that the divers do not bounce off the environment they are moving through. Moving through a wreck or cave requires significant control over your self and equipment. By being able to stay in one spot, divers can turn their attention to handling situations that may potentially creep up.

In this article, we touched on reasons why the backwards kick is an essential skill for divers of all levels. It facilitates control over yourself in the water column. Thus allowing the diver to keep a high level of situational awareness instead of trying to keep their position in the team formation. The backwards kick must be instinctive. That is, that the diver can do it without thinking about it. We are able to walk backwards if the person in front of us. We need to be able to do the same thing while underwater.

Here is an example of what the backwards kick looks like:

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

I have had many discussions with students, potential students, and even other instructors about why I no longer teach the “standard” safety stop for recreational diving. In this article, I will discuss a new way to ascend from a dive. I’m using a depth of 100 feet as an example. This “new” method is safer in my opinion. This article will introduce the concept of a deep stop for recreational diving.

A deep stop is a “pause” for 30 seconds to one minute at a depth that is half of the depth for the dive. In our example, we’ll use an average depth of 100 fsw (33 msw). The reasoning why a diver would want to do this is to slow the ascent and give the body a chance to adjust to the change of pressure. The body will start to off gas at 75% of the average depth for the dive. In our example, we’ll start off gassing at 75 fsw. The deep stop will allow our bodies to adjust to the pressure change and start off gassing. It also gives us a quick chance to clean up any gear that may be “untidy”. Such as turning off lights and clipping off light heads.

For the 15 feet for 3 minutes, PADI put that into their curriculum when the DSAT Doppler study years ago showed a tremendous decrease in symptomatic and asymptomatic bubbling when the stop was done and using the standard 60 fpm, at the time, recommended ascent rate. They now recommend 30 fpm.

I do understand the rationale for the stop at 50 feet, as that would be indicated as a “recreational deep stop”. I know that NAUI has used the RGBM and Bruce Wienke’s recommendation of 50% of max depth of any dive past 40 fsw for the recreational deep stop and then 3 minutes at 15 feet and a 30 fpm ascent rate.

We then take that 3 minutes at 15 feet safety stop and stretch it out so that the stops are divided equally at 1 minute at 30 feet, one minute at 20 feet, and one minute at 10 feet. This gives us a smoother ascent profile vs. the one stop at 15 feet for 3 minutes, this decreases rapid reduction in ambient pressure and gives cleaner deco vs. ascending to one stop at a shallower depth and waiting the whole time there. This also begins to shape our thinking regarding deco as we progress to more aggressive profiles. In other words, we start to accustom ourselves to this “smoothing” of the deco curve as we ascend and lengthen the shallow stops as we ascend.

The reason why we do this comes from decompression research that shows a tremendous reduction in bubbling if we address decompression from a dual phase approach. This dual phase approach says that inert gas exists in two different forms in the body. One phase is called the “free phase” or bubble phase, and one form is the dissolved gas phase. In a nutshell, the bubble phase of off gassing is addressed at the deep stops and the dissolved phase is addressed at the shallow stops. The two different phases use different driving gradients to eliminate inert gas. The bubble phase gradient is increased w/increased depth (hence stopping deeper) and the dissolved gas driving gradient is increased w/reduced depth (thus the shallow stops).

Deep stops limit sudden reduction in ambient pressure and thus limit the size & formation of more bubbles by keeping ambient pressure high.

This is a very simple explanation of a complex process that is still not fully understood even by the experts. I would recommend doing a bit of research on the subject on the Net…any search for Brian Hill, Yount, WKPP deep stops, Richard Pyle deep stops, Bruce Wienke, RGBM (Reduced Gradient Bubble Model), VPM (Varying Permeability Model), etc. will yield a ton of info.

Thanks to Brandon Schwartz for providing some of this information.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving