What to choose? Tec Diving or Go Pro


This is a question that many divers do to me, mostly after they finish with the rescue diver course.

My answer varies depending on the profile of the diver who is asking me. There are many different types of divers. I have seen the thinking divers, the card collectors, the internet divers etc.

At first, it depends on what you want to do. 
Do you want to earn money from now on or you want to grow your knowledge base?

One of the best things you can provide to students is stories of your experiences to aid and add to their excitement and education.

The central part here is experience, and more specific experience in teaching. In any case, experience in diving is what you should have.

Someone told me this: ‘’the entire tec bandwagon where every training agency is jumping on is fine for more advanced divers as task loading increases significantly. Why load that on a rec diver when he/she is only going to 10-15 m deep to see fish and coral, ... Also why load the extra cost of the all gear on the diver?’’



Tec diving (including sidemount diving) is not bandwagon.

We all agree that diving is 90% mental and 10% strength. So you need to understand that the diver has first to take proper training on how to become a thinking, team diver.

The technical diver is doing this but with much more pieces of equipment and with much more information on the theory than an Open Water or Rescue diver.

The diver is familiar with the task loading from the first time in the water and that increases during the all training up to EAN diver or even better to Rescue diver course. With this in mind, we could say that task loading is the nature of diving in general.

Technical diver training will be for sure an add on for the upcoming DM or OWSI because during this training he will have more clear understanding on the equipment, the proper way of problem prevention and solving and the diving theory. Technical diver means more experience on the way of diving, gas management, time management, logistics and more!!!

The sellers (in general), are preparing their strategy for the month or for the year. If they need for example 100 euros they are doing their plans for 120 euros so to earn 100 euros. If they will plan for 100 euros at the end of the month or the year they will have 80 euros.

The same is with diving DMs and instructors. If you want to be a good DM or instructor you have first to learn as much as you can even if you will never tec dive. You have to be able to answer questions from all the range of diving because you have to protect your students from Dr. Google!!     
    

Let me give you an example…

From the first steps in diver training (OW) the candidate learns how to manage a huge volume of information in addition with the minimum requirements of diving equipment.

All the organizations require the diver to have


·         Regulator with
o    First Stage
o    Second Stage
o    Alternate air source
o    Direct feed hose
·         BCD
·         Suit
·         Mask
·         Fins
·         Weights


Organizations say nothing for hoses length, BCD type or fins type. So this is not a cost issue but just choice for the proper pieces of equipment.

The equipment is the tool that in combination with the brain will help him/her to solve problems. The brain will help him/her to prevent them and this has to be the point.

So what is the reason for the student OW diver, not to learn to dive on a back plate – wing BCD and 2m long hose???

If the instructor is technical diver then he knows that the back plate – wing system, helps the diver to control his buoyancy in horizontal position and that the long hose is safer, because in case of an emergency the other diver will pull the second stage that i have in my mouth!!! This explains that the long hose is not only for tec diving or narrow caves or wreck environment!!

So simple and it is not ‘’technical diving’’

Additionally, the tec instructor knows the importance of buoyancy control in horizontal position and he probably knows the way to teach the diver on how to maintain buoyancy while in horizontal position.

He knows how to teach the breathing technique so to maintain his buoyancy.

He knows how to explain better the DCI and the narcosis issues.

He knows the importance of the team and how to teach the divers on how to become team players.

He knows how to use the brain to handle several issues that have to do with the equipment, the buddy, the team, the emergency procedures etc, at the same time and this will help him to teach them on how they will become thinking team divers!!!

He knows the importance of proper fining techniques for several environments so he will teach them how to perform these techniques. The anti silting techniques are very important if someone wants to protect the underwater environment!!!


Of course these are just SOME of the benefits. There are so many others that I need hundreds of pages to explain them one by one!!

The key is TO AVOID putting signs for the equipment. There are not recreational and technical BCDs. There are not recreational and technical regulators. There are not recreational and technical fins.

The point is you to understand that if you want to become DM or instructor you have to be able to teach your students how to be more safe for them and their buddies or their team, to teach them perfect diving skills to protect the underwater environment and the most important, how to effectively use their brain for being thinking team divers!!

Good luck!!!

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