Posted by MHK on September 05, 2001 at 17:49:26:
I recently posted that I thought IANTD's use of the accronym DIC, was not only foolish, but I thought if you were going to rip off an idea that you should chose one that doesn't sound like a male penis.. To that end DIR gets such an inordinate amount of flake because some claim that the term Doing It Right is so offensive..
What follows is a article written by the President of IANTD and I would especially like Bill Johnson to add his comments:
>IANTD's "DOING IT RIGHT" TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
>by Tom Mount
>
>In recreational and technical diving there is growing emphasis on the term
>"Doing It Right". In the
>simplest of definitions this means to use the correct training, equipment
>and technique for the style of dive
>one is undertaking. The environment and diving conditions will often
>dictate
>slight alterations in each of
>these.
>
>First in recreational diving there are a few essentials that need to be
>discussed. Equipment configuration,
>although seldom discussed in Open Water courses, is none-the-less important
>even at the novice level of
>diving. The Open Water Diver should be introduced to the practical
>advantages of setting up their
>equipment correctly. At this stage the diver should be taught to set up
>equipment in a manner that
>prevents dangling octopuses and gauges. Indeed the equipment should be set
>up for ease of access and
>freedom from entanglement or contamination by being drug along the ocean,
>lake, quarry, wreck or cave
>floor. To facilitate this the pressure gauge or console should be secured
>by
>a snap hook to the BC or waist
>strap. This assures ease of use, reduces environmental impact and creates
>less drag for the diver. The
>octopus/regulator used for gas sharing should either be secured around the
>neck with a detachable strap or
>(ideally) be the regulator that the diver breathes from. If the handoff
>regulator is the one breathed from
>then the backup regulator should be attached by a permanent neck strap
>which
>is easily grabbed once the
>octopus is handed off. A second choice would be to use a backup regulator
>that also works as the BC
>inflator such as those offered by ScubaPro, Eagle, Sherwood and other
>manufacturers. Divers should
>avoid awkward placement of the octopus such as in octopus pockets. While
>these pockets protect the
>octopus it is also known that this configuration makes it difficult to
>access in an emergency.
>
>Buoyancy control and body posture should be emphasized so that the new
>diver
>graduates with a
>reasonable degree of mastery of a streamlined dive profile. This reduces
>work load, produces less
>environmental stress, and does result in lowered gas consumption. As a
>result the diver is a safer diver
>than one who has not yet developed good posture and technique. In addition,
>the reduced workload from
>good posture rewards the new diver with a much more enjoyable experience
>underwater. Kicks should be
>analyzed by the instructor and corrected until the toes are pointed, kicks
>are extended from the hip (not
>merely the knee) and the "lazy leg" tendency is overcome. At the open water
>level the diver should
>develop a good modified flutter kick and have a reasonable understanding of
>the dolphin and frog kicks.
>The body posture should be a straight line parallel to the bottom.
>
>The open water diver must be introduced to realistic emergencies that may
>be
>encountered as an Open
>Water Diver. For instance the IANTD Open Water course requires divers to be
>introduced to the
>psychological aspects of a real gas sharing emergency. At this level the
>simulation of the gas sharing
>situation features the out of air diver swimming 30 feet (9 meters) to a
>buddy who is facing away from
>them, get their attention and commence gas sharing. This would be
>comparative to being on a dive with
>ones buddy swimming 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) away. By the time one
>gets to the buddy they
>would have easily had to swim 30 feet (9 meters) or more. This is truly
>realistic training and provides the
>open water diver the confidence to deal with actual gas sharing situations.
>In fact there are numerous
>stress management exercises in not only the open water course but at all
>training levels offered by
>IANTD. As the difficulty of the dive style is increased, so are the
>training
>skills. Yes, it is true. This does
>place a larger work load on the instructor but the reward of confident
>divers who are therefore safer and
>less likely to become diver dropouts will almost always be worth the
>effort.
>Confident divers get hooked
>on the sport and are more prone to remain active. Confident divers also are
>more interested in further
>developing skills and abilities via advanced training (usually with you!).
>In short, realistic and practical
>training combined with an in-depth understanding of stress management in
>the
>water combined with the
>diving philosophy appropriate to the training level and the importance of
>correct equipment and technique
>for a given task form the foundation of the IANTD training philosophy. Some
>argue that the IANTD
>Open Water course is too difficult and time consuming to teach. In reality
>all agencies recommend 12
>hours of lecture and 12 hours of confined water training with four SCUBA
>dives. IANTD likewise
>recommends these same minimums except with more stress management
>exercises.
>The courses can be
>taught effectively within the recommended class duration with complete
>competence in the skills required
>by the student. IANTD is dedicated to safety first and we firmly believe
>that many students value safety
>highly enough to dedicate more effort in a training program than may be
>required in other courses. While
>large numbers of divers is attractive to a certification agency, IANTD
>believes that safer, more confident
>and thus lower diver drop out rates is a more worthy goal than numbers
>alone. This approach rewards the
>student by gaining a higher skill level and the confidence to dive outside
>the supervision of an instructor
>and lays a foundation for continuing diver education. The instructor is
>rewarded by seeing more
>accomplished divers graduate from the course and by a higher number of
>students returning for advanced
>training. The facility actually benefits the most as confident and
>knowledgeable divers will purchase more
>and better quality equipment. Dive charters gain additional business with
>divers who have developed
>sufficient skill levels to go diving more often and who are capable of self
>rescue. Therefore it is our
>opinion that the IANTD program is a win-win situation for all aspects of
>the
>diving community and
>especially for the diver him/herself.
>
>As the recreational diver gains experience they usually begin to dive in
>the
>90 foot (27 meter) to 130 foot
>(39 meter) zone. At this level additional safety training and equipment is
>needed. For most these depths
>are beyond a practical, emergency-free ascent zone. Thus in the event of a
>gas failure a true backup is
>mandated. This may be either through the use of a dual outlet valve
>featuring two independent regulators
>or a standard valve and regulator accompanied by a pony tank and regulator.
>In this manner the diver not
>only has a back-up system for his buddy, but a redundant one for
>him/herself. The octopus provides
>absolutely no back-up for the diver personally. In fact, on deeper dives
>the
>octopus may be a threat to
>safety. If an octopus free-flows it can cause the dive to be called early
>or
>it may inhibit sufficient gas to
>surface. In colder climates regulator freeze up is a true threat to the
>divers safety when there is not a true
>redundant system. In addition, the deeper the dive the greater probability
>of becoming lost from the boat
>(or entry zone) there is, thus a need for use of lift bags or marker buoys.
>These are an essential
>requirement of the IANTD Deep Air and Advanced EANx courses. With the
>additional equipment the
>need for streamlining is even more important than in the Open Water Diver
>level.
>
>As one migrates to technical forms of diving the emphasis on clean
>configuration, good technique and
>stress management is even more demanding. "Doing it right" becomes a
>significant factor for survival in
>adverse situations. While this article cannot touch on all aspects of IANTD
>training it will highlight a few
>of the more controversial points.
>
>Stress management exercises are the most essential means of preparing
>divers
>for true diving emergencies.
>IANTD programs emphasize simulation of various situations allowing the
>student to gain confidence in
>dealing with these. An in-depth knowledge of the psychological aspects of
>diving is expanded once the
>diver enters the technical realm. As the physiological risk also increases
>the course materials presented
>explore a more in-depth understanding to the complexity of the human body's
>behavior underwater.
>
>Dive technique is elevated to new dimensions. The most demanding of the
>technique courses are those
>involving cave and wreck penetration. Ample amounts of in-water time is
>required to develop reflex
>incorporation of these techniques. For instance, although the IANTD cave
>course requires a minimum of
>450 minutes of bottom time (in caves) most conscientious IANTD instructors
>average in excess of 600
>minutes. All other IANTD courses require minimum in-water bottom times to
>build a safer diving
>foundation.
>
>Emergency drills are repeated until reflex action occurs and total
>familiarity with ones equipment takes
>place. To facilitate this emphasis is given to a variety of correct
>equipment configurations and
>standardized responses. Mental drills, as well as physical ones, are
>incorporated to develope the
>appropriate reactions. The skills and responses have been developed by
>researching the causes of both
>accidents and "close calls".
>
>The programs use standardized texts enabling one to continue their diver
>education through IANTD
>anywhere in the world as the same materials and training practices are
>consistent. In other words, the
>program is designed to enable one to acquire a different segment of
>training
>in other parts of the world
>and still have the same foundation to build from.
>
>Equipment configuration is emphasized to provide a safer diver. While it is
>true that no one configuration
>is totally complete for all environments, basic foundations are laid that
>one can adjust with each change in
>style of diving. Overall there is emphasis on reduction of non-essential
>redundancy. A Cave Diver does
>not need as much equipment as a Wreck Diver or an Open Water Technical
>Diver. For instance, in caves
>the essential needs are manifolded doubles, a proper harness and backplate
>or backpack, a long hose
>(seven foot, not longer), cutting tools (2) for gas sharing and reels as
>needed plus the correct exposure suit
>(wet or dry) for the locality the dives are made in. This is topped with a
>primary light and two backups.
>Open sea diving, including wrecks, requires a lift bag.
>
>When diving a considerable distance off shore it is recommended that flares
>and EPIRP be carried. Some
>advocate two lift bags when doing mix dives. These are in two different
>colors with one designating "I'm
>adrift but OK" and the other designating "I/we have a problem and could use
>assistance". While these
>items are recommendations, those who have evolved to twin lift bags, etc.
>ha
>ve done so due to their
>experiences mandating the need.
>
>While the majority of IANTD instructors, including myself, advocate
>breathing from the long hose and
>using the short hose as the backup some have strong arguments to support
>breathing from the short hose.
>In analysis of accidents there is no evidence to reflect that either is
>better. Due to opinions formed by the
>different approaches this has and will continue to be a heated debate. Hose
>storage is another issue that
>plays a major role in technical "conversations".
>
>The most popular means of long hose storage is the "wrapped method" as
>introduced in the '70's with the
>advent of first five foot and then seven foot hoses. The Hogarth model, as
>well as others, emphasize this
>type storage. In this model, the hose is ran under the arm, usually behind
>the backplate/backpack and
>when wearing waist mounted lights is routed beneath the light the across
>the
>divers chest and then a 1/4
>turn around the neck. A second method opted for many is to stow/tuck the
>long hose in loops along the
>side of the backplate/backpack. Both of these methods have about equal
>reaction time in securing the full
>length of hose to a diver who is out of air. In the stowed/tucked form the
>diver handing off the regulator
>must pull the hose free while doing the handoff. In the wrapped method the
>diver must remember to pull
>the hose free from beneath the waist light. Recently several instructors I
>have talked with have started
>routing the long hose by going under the arm and then tucking it in the
>waist strap. This reportedly results
>in quicker exchanges of the full length of the long hose.
>
>Either of these methods is acceptable in IANTD programs. The one method
>IANTD is discouraging is
>tucking long hoses under tubing on the side of the cylinders. The reason is
>in this position the hose has a
>tendency to become entangled on wreck dives and get chaffed on cave dives.
>
>Basically equipment should be redundant where primary life support is
>needed
>and reduced on
>non-essential items.
>
>Divers in IANTD programs are required to label all cylinders with the
>appropriate mix and MOD.
>Cylinders with different mixes must be identifiable by touch, sight and
>labels. In open water dives where
>decompression cylinders will be dropped/staged at the same location, such
>as
>when wreck diving, IANTD
>policy requires cylinders with different mixtures to be placed on opposing
>sides of the diver. The intent is
>to incorporate an additional safety step in avoiding incorrect gas
>switching. This is a requirement on all
>open water dives. This assists the diver in identification of the cylinders
>and makes it easier for the buddy
>to verify proper placement and to quickly verify gas switches on
>decompression.
>
>In cave diving where gases are staged at different depths per intended use
>the diver may elect to either
>carry the cylinders on opposing sides or carry all stages on the same side.
>In this instance the possibility of
>a wrong gas switch is remote as the intended mixture is staged (dropped &
>picked back up) at its
>operational depth. Of course to make certain the cylinders are correct they
>must be labeled with mix and
>MOD and be identifiable by touch and sight.
>
>Part of the IANTD confined water skills when using different gas mixtures
>is
>to perform a blacked-out
>mask drill where the diver removes the cylinders, at which time the
>instructor may move them around and
>even intermingle them with other students cylinders. The student then while
>still blacked-out must be able
>to identify and correctly configure the cylinders where they belong by
>touch
>only. Amazingly I have not
>had one student fail to do this properly.
>
>The training philosophy emphasizes an old concept known as "know your
>environment" and instills in the
>student recognition of the need to ask questions to others who may have
>more
>experience in a particular
>location or style of diving than themselves. It allows one to recognize
>that
>while the standard course
>knowledge, skills and equipment configurations develop a foundation, it is
>just that, a foundation from
>which to build and to adjust as new environments may dictate.
>
>In Summary, The IANTD Training Philosophy Is One That:
>
> 1.Develops confidence
> 2.
> 3.Produces thinking divers
> 4.
> 5.Provides knowledge of the type dive being trained for
> 6.
> 7.Develops stress recognition and management which emphasizes problem
>solving
> 8.
> 9.Helps develop and evaluate a good attitude for safer diving
> 10.
> 11.Develops an open mind to inquire about new environments
> 12.
> 13.Makes one aware of alternatives in dive style and configuration due
>to
>varying environments
> 14.
> 15.Educates one to be selective in whom they choose as dive partners
> 16.
> 17.Develops a self-sufficient, non-dependent diver. This is the diver
>who
>makes a good buddy as he /
> she is confident and capable of assisting a buddy in emergency
>situations
> 18.
> 19.Educates the diver to the fact that formal training is a foundation
>and
>the real training is done by
> oneself evolving from the formal setting to real life experiences.
>Training is a life long experience.
>
>As always, do it right for safe diving, Tom.
>