advanced training

[LKunze]

You would be the perfect instructor for that Jean!

[tcjtn0]

Thanks a lot!!!
(Hey , I have a big ol grin on my face ;D ...Like you guys said, I will NEVER LIVE IT DOWN!!!!) Again , thanks for the compliment! You have to be good at something, right? :-[

Jean

[jasondbaker]

I'll give a little equal time here to Going Under. I took their TDI nitrox class last year and was impressed by the quality of instruction. I just wish the store was closer to my house.

I think the Adv. Nitrox class is the obvious next step. The class does not require a significant gear investment, plus you begin to learn the fundamental deco theory.

After doing DM training for two months last year I'm sick of training for a while. I missed some good diving.

[DRE]

[quote='gp link' dateline='1043345788']
\"Yeah I'm with Joel on this one. While tech diving sounds real interesting it's just too expensive for me when considering the extra gear costs and the price of trimix fills.\"

Trimix training is reaching toward the end of your tech training - first you have to get the basics right, and that's done in the Adv. Nitrox - Deco procedures class (check out my other post on that topic.


\"I'm more interested at this point in learning better buoyancy, new fin kicks, navigation, buddy training etc. I'm sure the DIR fundamentals class would be a step in the right direction but it would be nice if there was something taught like that locally.\"

Like I said, I think SD&T is working in that direction with their PADI adv. class. However, a lot of the things you mentioned you can learn from just diving with more experienced divepartners - I'm more than willing to go on a couple of dives with you, either at Square or at Wazee, and give you pointers in the right direction.
I admire GUE for having organised the Fundamentals class, and I agree that there is nothing like that with any other agency. However, most of the things taught in the Fundamentals class can be learned from hanging out with people who walk the walk and talk the talk, and the good thing is that the latter is for free. Just ask FMT (Todd) how much he learned from asking the right kinda questions and getting wet without even taking a class...[/quote]

[Derrick]

Which schools in this area (let's include Lake Wazee and Crosby) teach tech diving and what agencies and what type of classes are tought.

Derrick

[FMT]

You mean Todd who always has 5 or 10 questions every
time he visits his technical LDS? Yes.
I have learned a lot just from asking a lot of questions and I go out to square and wazee to practice a lot. This has helped me to advance a lot in addition to the technical classes I have taken. A lot of it has to do with a desire to be a better diver and also a desire to go beyond the average (no not beyond the pale ), to see and do new and interesting things (echoing GrooveKitty there).
I think beeger would echo that as well.
The only two LDSs in this area (MSP) that I know of teaching technical classes are GUDC and SDT. Both teach TDI but I'm sure you'll find many differences in their instructors so it would behoove to talk to both and find someone YOU are comfortable with. This is not the kind of diving to do with someone who doesn't want to answer questions or who doesn't do this kind of diving outside of instruction or who you don't get along with personally.
Todd

[FMT]

Oh and also GUDC does rebreathers.
But technical in a rebreather is a long way and big dollars from recreational diving.
T

[Derrick]

Let's say that I am interested in tech diving and liked one of the local TDI schools, but I want to take it slow and just take a class each summer due to cost and I want to perfect the new skills.

Which class would I want to take after basic nitrox (already certified)?

What would they teach in the class?

What does the certification allow me to do after I finish the class?

Derrick

[DRE]

Depends on how many dives you have and more importantly, how comfortable you are in the water. Depending on that, my personal recommendation would be to either go on fun dives and dive with people who can give you pointers to improve your technique, etc. or to take the advanced nitrox (breathing mixtures upt 100% O2), which is usuallt taught in conjunction with deco procedures (using nitrox mixtures for deco purposes). The next step would be to take entry trimix, but that class you need to take in doubles, so if that's too much of an investment right away, I'd say take the first class, dive for a year, two years, buy the doubles and get used to diving them, and then enroll in the trimix class.
Whether you're recreational or tech diving, it's all about staying amply within your limits, and experience is only buikt up with actually doing the dives.

[tbrown]

Actually Kitty, that was what I was trying to say, you just did a much better job of saying it than I did. ;D I think the progression of classes has been discussed, but thought I would add one more point. Most curriculums start out with new techniques, but similar gear to rec diving. Sort of getting your feet wet (literally) to gauge if you want to go on. Let's face it, Ebay and other sites are filled with gear that had been purchased, and then the diver found out that kind of diving was not for them. Nothing like having an intrest, spending a fortune in gear and training, only to discover that it is really not what you wanted at all. Or conversely, to find that something was better than you ever thought it would be. My wife thought that cave diving was insane, sucked ect. After a trip to High Springs, and a Cavern class, she can't understand why anyone would not want to cave dive, and hopefully we will go back for more this spring. Course it is a womans perogative to change her mind, but the complete 360 surprised me. I'm still bummed out that no one has came up with a magic money solution. After all, if I take a second job, that will cut into my dive time! ???