The Tale of Tater: Relearning Old Tricks

Hello Team Manta!!  I hope everyone has survived the seemingly never ending winter and is ready to get out and do some diving, I know I am ready!  (Ok no surprise there).   Pearl Lake and Haigh Quarry are open for business!! Probably freaking cold, but open.

Now back to my DM quest. Real life got in the way of our Divemaster training and we had a tough time getting a schedule fixed up for all of us, so with Lisa’s guidance I jumped into working on the DM required 24 skills.  Now as divers you have all done the 24 skills at some point.  Most of the skills we have done at least twice, once in the pool and once in open water.  Some of the skills we do on a regular basis in the course of diving.  Some of the skills may not have been done since certification.  As for me, my dive buddy and I have committed to practicing those skills during the course of each dive season, but in all honesty we usually have more things we want to do on dives, than dives to do them.  Thus the good intentions are not all fulfilled. If only we lived in a year round dive location like Cayman Brac..(Insert longing sigh and Jimmy Buffet music here).

Do you like pina coladas?

When it comes to the 24 dive skills, for certified divers there is nothing particularly difficult about performing them.  Some of the skills such as removing and replacing all gear under water have a few challenges that we may not be used to, but with a little effort they get accomplished.  For new divers, that is not usually the case.  They are in an environment they are not used to with equipment they haven’t used before; doing tasks they have never done before.  That’s where the Scuba Instructor and Divemaster need to be able to slowly, accurately and with added emphasis demonstrate the dive skills.  It is very different to be able to perform the skill vs. be able to carefully demonstrate the skill.  To learn to demonstrate the skills is almost like learning them all over again.  

Take remove and replace the regulator as an example.  We have all done it many times, often for fun or to ham it up for a picture.  When demonstrating for students there is the added emphasis of pointing out that the regulator should point down, the natural instinct is to point the mouthpiece away from you.  Students also frequently need to be reminded to exhale a stream of bubbles any time the regulator is out of their mouth so as to not hold our breath.  Even something that may seem obvious to a certified diver, such as making sure to first put the regulator back in your mouth and then purge the regulator before breathing may be something a new student doesn’t realize in this strange new environment.  I had to learn to stop and dissect every movement for clarity.  I’ve used this skill as an example but the idea applies for each of the 24 dive skills.

Also, it is important to know which way the bubbles are going!

The follow up to re-learning all of those skills is to carefully watch students execute the skills.   Demonstrating is only half of the trick.  The other half is to study the student execution of the skill so as to be able to help students with their difficulty, if they have one.  Lisa having done this many times had some really valuable tips to share on what students may do incorrectly.  For example they sometimes do the regulator recovery sweep by dipping their shoulder on the same side they see the demonstration like a mirror image, which of course is the side away from their regulator.  Another aspect of helping correct a skill is the underwater communication so as to be able to help them with emphasis on what they may have forgotten and to try again to properly execute the skill. Finally, the good part is to let them know that they have in fact done it correctly.

I won’t bother going through all of the skills, much too boring, and you get the idea.  From my perspective as a DMC, I am a student studying how to help students.  I do find it gratifying when I can help someone with a skill.  I want them all to have a great experience diving and hopefully come and join Team Manta on some dives.

Clearly these skills and teaching them are a requirement to become a DM but I also think it helps me as a diver to be even more confident and capable of doing those skills in the open water whenever they may be needed.  Not just the skills themselves, but the overall attitude/feeling to stop and think what is happening and then decide how to correct it.   

Having said all of this, I do feel like I can demonstrate the skills, I also feel like I can contribute to student learning.  I don’t feel like I am an expert at it by any means.  This goes back to taking my time.  I look forward to working with more students not only because it is rewarding but also because they will teach me how to be better at it.  When it comes to diving I need to practice, practice, and practice.  

I have an idea.  Let’s Go Diving!!