What event made you head toward/away from DIR?

[gfmayhew]

I consider myself a really new diver.  I only have ~70 dives under my belt, and only a handful of those are sub-100.  I first heard of DIR though discussions with a local dive shop owner, and then in further discussions within our club.  Recently, a friend of mine loaned me his Fundamentals book, which I've begun reading.

Here's my simplistic and rather uninformed take on DIR:
1.) It's not really out in the open as an advertised alternative to the Big 3.  Its obscurity makes it more "mysterious" to new divers.
2.) There is a HUGE amount of information to be gained from DIR training, but this information can be very overwhelming; enough to be intimidating to new divers who are very uncertain of themselves in the water.
3.) [flame-retardant undies on] DIR finally gives specifics on the generalities mentioned in every OW and AOW class.  This isn't NEW stuff.  However, it is GOOD stuff; and by that I mean it's very much worth learning.
4.) DIR seems to be about efficiency to me.  With that in mind, an efficient diver is one that can perform further tasks while diving without constantly futzing with his trim, equipment, buoyancy, etc.

So, I want to be a better diver.  I think everyone who takes this seriously wants to be a better diver.  It makes the experience much more pleasant and safer.  I think the DIR approach is a potential way to make that happen.  I'm still not entirely convinced, yet

BUT...I do _not_ appreciate DIR divers looking down on non-DIR divers, which seems to happen quite a lot.  Nor do I think it constructive to criticize good instructors from the Big 3.  I challenge every DIR diver to look back at your own career and find your first certifications.  With the exceptions of some of you "old dogs" out there, I'll bet every one of you has PADI/NAUI/SSI in your log books.

So, I guess to summarize:  I'm attracted to DIR because I want to learn new skills and how to make my body and my equipment work for me while I'm diving.  DIR provides a nice package to do this.  But, I'm repelled from it because of the elitist attitudes of some of the people involved.  That being said, I can ignore some people, take what I can get from the training, and steer my own course.

I'm just here to have fun.  ;D

Peace

[matt t.]

    Sounds like you have the right attitude about learning. DIR is NOT a certifiying agency. There is some latitude in the "big 3" that does allow an instructor to teach their classes with a DIR approach. I guess this would depend on the teaching philosophy of the instructor or LDS that you take the classes from.
    As far as the "elitist attitudes" goes. I don't think you're going to find that around here. All of the DIR divers that I have met are more than happy to talk about the "system" (that's for you "Trey" ;D). The gear works for any diving around here (recreational to tech) and the dive planning/gas management aspects work well if followed. I think Deep Blue is planning a DIR-F class this fall. Good luck in your studies.

[WIdiver_Paul]

DIR is a good way, but it's not the only good way to become a great diver...

Congratulations to Shultz and George for having the courage to "peek over the fence" to find a way to enhance their skills. I hear Gert runs a great class.  What a great way to glean all the important skills and ideals from all of the traditional tech classes without having to dive to 300' on trimix in a cave. I use the same skills and mindset with my diving, but without all the Kool-Aid 

Use and apply all those tools you learn, but never be afraid to "make it your own"....  (currently on my bench: a sidemount mod for my BP!)

[Chris H]

That picture would be funnier if there were bungees on the red umbrella!
;D

[WIdiver_Paul]

Nah, it's a statement enough that the only thing different about the red umbrella is that it isn't black and doesn't have an "H" on it.

/ Ethan should like this, he's always picking on my H's


This thread is about what turns you on or off about DIR: having met many excellent divers falling into the DIR or non-DIR category, I sincerely have to say it's the ones that have the skills, experience, and still able to have fun that are the most pleasurable to dive with. If I dive with someone and they're scowling and stressing out about everything and doing alot of posturing, that tells me they don't have confidence in themselves enough to be able to react positively in a truly dangerous stressful situation. Many divers calling themselves DIR (not all) i've seen as being very unrelaxed and tweaky on the dive platform. Makes me nervous. I think DIR is a great foundation for other things, but nothing could be one-size fits all like they say it is. I've come to learn it's a tool, like everything else. I think some in this thread talking about photography have discovered the outside of the confined envelope of the DIR philosophy: if you read what's been said to define DIR, you would understand that underwater photography, freediving and spearfishing don't fit within it, believe it or not. Some locksteppers would call anyone carrying a camera a "stroke", to be avoided at all costs, because they are encumbered, task loaded, and unprepared to help their buddy in an emergency. So you have to modify what you have to begin with and think about what you want to change in a thoughtful and safety-conscious, streamlined way to make it efficient. And it may or may not be "DIR", depending on who you talk to. Just make it your own. If there's anything that turns me off about DIR it would be closed minds and the "Borg Collective" attitude that some out there feel is neccessary to make themselves feel superior to others. Luckily I haven't seen much, if any, of that around here (knock on wood). Talking to some GUE trained divers I hear that the organization has toned down it's sourness a few notches and had to modify some of it's stances on things. Which is probably good, and predictable. As the "rookie" of the dive agencies it seems like they're learning their lessons as any other rookie would. A rookie comes in all fired up with the knowitall/i-can-change-the-world attitude and pisses everyone off, then after a few years they mellow and realise they can attract more flies with honey than vinegar. I don't want to change the world, I just want to dive.

And for those of you that are still passing around the Kool-Aid, don't lose your sense of humor, it's very unflattering. Now where's that Amen?

[matt t.]

Paul,
     Something that crossed my mind while reading the last post. I can't see any logic to the idea that DIR would not allow a camera. Having recently taken some classes with 2 GUE trained DIR diving instructors, I witnessed both of them using video as a class tool (as I remember it is also used in the DIR-F classes). Where are the pics coming from on the GUE site? The Halcyon catalog?
     
                              matt t.

[scubert]

sounds like the I-DIR (or internet dir, my favorite new phrase) divers to me ;D
How else would GUE film their cave explorations, and as matt pointed out, all the stuff in their books?  And don't they film the FUNdies course for later review by the new students? (hey kids! show us your FUNdies!! )  :o  It'd be a bit odd if they were teaching the fundamentals of DIR and violating one of it's rules at the same time.

I don't really know how you could be DIR and freedive, they don't really cover the same ground, but I'm not a DIR expert either, so maybe there are some rules for it.  I believe that I've heard JJ mention freediving as a great training for focus and breath management.

[Dive time]

Diving is support to be fun, Right.     I got into diving because I was having a ball diving and exploring fun new underwater sites.  I have taken all sorts of classes and I find that just about everyone I know has a slightly different way of doing things.  I will confess that I do not dive DIR or any other style.  I dive my style, and I will add just about anything that works.  Anything that doesn’t work I don’t use.  I don’t care how useful it may be to others, or if other people have liked it a lot. If I can’t use it then I don’t.  I have however used many things that do work.  One example, I like the way DIR has lights attacked onto the harness, but I don’t take it to the extreme and bungee everything or have cut-a-ways on everything.  I like hard points.  I know that somewhere out there some DIR Guy is saying I’m a Stroke,  > but I’ve been diving some fun places and have never had a problem with my gear getting stuck, instead it seems that the whole rig will get hung up on something or in tight places on shipwrecks, and always in a place I can’t see and can’t reach.  ??? Don’t think for a minute that my rig is not tight, and very organized because it is.  Care must be taken to place thinks were (1) they are useful, (2) they are out of the way, and (3) they don’t block other pieces of gear.  DIR is a tool to use.  Add it to your configuration if it works for you, and use only those parts that work well.  In a cave system your gear is different than if you are diving Great Lakes Shipwrecks.  Doubles, Singles, or CCR configurations, bail out, and just plain diving is different for each diving application.  Only a fool would say that one way is the best and end all to end alls.  CCR diving is another whole topic, but related to DIR because CCR is most defiantly outside DIR and yet CCR will give you longer bottom times, better deco, more bailout options, a lighter rig, and gas consumption DIR couldn’t even dream of having.  So you tell me, if I dive CCR and dive deeper, longer, and with more bailout options than any DIR convert,  Is that a bad thing?   :-\  And If someone comes to me and starts spouting all sorts of stuff they know nothing about, because they THINK they dive DIR.  That’s more Entertaining than anything, because I have seen these same people in the water and they are anything but qualified divers.  I have also seen DIR guys who are very qualified, and most of them to there credit dive, and don’t talk crap.  

[Chris H]

Welcome to the board.
Your style may work fine for you.  DIR isn't about the individual, it is about the team.  Does your buddy know what works for you?   Could he find your back-up mask if he needed to; how about your knife?  The other thing that gets lost in the majority of these online discussions is that DIR is a holistic approach to diving.  There is one chapter on equipment in the DIR-F book.  I think there are at least 10 chapters on the other things that are important in DIR.

The fact that you happen to like the way DIR divers place back-up lights are on their kit is great, but to call that DIR is like putting Ferrari valve stem covers on my Volvo and calling it a Ferrari.   That method of attachment used in the DIR system, but choosing bits and pieces you like is nothing more than just that.  Why is the cave line attachment OK on your lights, but not on other equipment?   Why didn’t you use the same method you used for your other gear to attach the lights?

I disagree agree that DIR is a tool and prefer to think of it as a well organized shop.   But again it isn't about which part of it you like or don't like.  Do you think they all sat around and made a bunch of stuff up?  This stuff was developed for a reason, to have fun, and dive safely.  It is about like minded divers safely preparing for a dive as a team and not having to wonder what their buddy is going to have on this dive because we all dive with the same mindset and gear configuration.   In the big picture that is DIR, I would think there isn't a one of us on the board that truly fits the bill.   Some of us are closer than others and some just don't get it at all.

I recommend a DIR-F class so you can get the real story.  I agree that internet divers are annoying.   You can't learn to dive on the net, you need to go and dive.   All things DIR are done for a reason, there are many GUE instructors available to tell you why it is done that way, and most will do so in a friendly, professional manner.  If you do take a DIR-F class, be sure to open your mind and get the most out of the class.    After seeing the GUE instructors in the water, all I have to say is why WOULDN'T you want to be able to dive like that?   They have some serious dive skills.

[matt t.]

I'd like to second Chris' post. Also I'd like to add that although I don't know about a CCR, I do know that the WKPP regularily uses the Halcyon RB-80, which is a SCR. Kinda hard to stage gas back in a 17,000ft cave that no ones been to the end of. I'm also curious about your comment that gear is different for different types of diving. The nice thing about the DIR (Hogarthian) gear "system" (that's for you "Trey" ;D) is that it will work for ALMOST every type of diving (This is Pauls cue to come in with side-mount, no-mount, etc ;D). You may think the teams that came up with this "system" are fools, but take a look at the dives they are doing and their safety record........