Posted by Kendall Raine on November 10, 2000 at 17:05:47:
In Reply to: I think we mostly agree posted by Wayne on November 06, 2000 at 18:36:14:
Wayne;
Thanks for your post. Sounds pretty rational to me-even the second to last paragraph.
When my buddy Troy first started reconfiguring his gear to DIR, I was suspicious. Troy was always rerigging himself. I had refined an equipment system over seven years of doing mixed gas dives which borrowed from a lot of other people's ideas. It worked for me. My rule was only modify one piece of equipment at a time for any serious dive. That's what I did, smaller and smaller refinements until I felt really dialed in for deep, cold water wreck dives. As I learned more about what Troy and others were adopting, however, and the logic behind it, I became curious. The DIR configuration intrigued me because it was built around a cohesive strategy of simplicity and minimalism. I studied this system and asked a lot of questions of people I knew and respected before integrating any of it. Once I started, however, I went full tilt boogey. It works, it makes sense, it's identical to the rigs of the guys I dive with regularly and it's flexible to the environment. I believe it's the best configuration going and everything else is a compromise. For the type of diving I do, compromises are dangerous. For laid back shallow water dives, compromises may not be dangerous, but they're also unnecessary. Why not just use the same basic system for everything?
The DIR system also embodies a commitment to fitness not found elsewhere. All the agencies pay lip service but their attitude boils down to "it's better not to smoke," "it's better not to be fat," "it's better to have good aerobic capacity," etc. In DIR, smoking is unacceptable. Being overweight is dangerous. Getting winded by a 100 meter swim is revolting. Fitness isn't an option, it's a requirement. Like the equipment configuration, there is no compromise on fitness. The body and brain are integral to the gear configuration. Fitness is a lifelong goal and, if you're not pursuing that goal to the best of your abilities, you're not doing it right.
The core of DIR is "no compromises." Some see this attitude as unnecessarily rigid. Fine. It's a free country. No one is forcing anyone else to dive DIR. But the issue really gets hot when someone ridicules the attitude of no compromises as "Nazi-esque" or whatever. Being a fascist and refusing to compromise on one's gear selection or attitude to fitness are two different things.
Seems to me that some people in DIR, like George Irvine, have a problem managing their own frustration. They are passionate about their system of no compromises and just blow a fuse when they see other people arguing that other systems, built on making compromises, are just as good or better as DIR. George chronically debases himself when he goes on his near-psychotic rants. As such, he becomes a lightening rod for people looking to enjoy the spectacle of George acting like a child. It's a loop. Jarrod, conversely, seems to keep his cool. As a result, people don't seem to seek him out for the same sort of fun. The communication seems pretty business like. The message is the same between George and Jarrod. The approach, tone and style are totally different. I think George is actually trying to get mellower on this, but who knows. There are a lot of people like Jarrod diving this system. They tend not to make quite so much noise, however.
Any movement with as clear and well-thought out message as DIR is bound to attract the occasional slave or cult member. That's not the intent, I think, but it is a potential by-product. Ignore them! They're irrelevent. Common sense will identify them to you because they won't be able to really explain their system-they probably aren't in great shape either.
Take your time with it. Ignore the noise and invective. Later.