I was someone who said I would never dive because I thought it was super dangerous. I started watching you guys 3 months ago and now I’m taking an open water class next weekend. Thank you for inspiring me to try a new hobby
👌 Always good to see somebody come out of their comfort zone and face their fears ✌️ Welcome to the world of divers you won't regret it, the experiences and sights and feelings you will get being under water are out of this world ✌️👌
one more thing id like to add, there are a lot of non scuba divers who watch your videos and that speaks volumes about your channel. It's amazing content that it attracts everyone. Again very informative and entertaining. keep up the great work
Very true. I have never even used a snorkel to breath under water 😂 but I’ve been binge watching Dive Talk since discovering their channel like a week ago lol. they’re both their own character in every way but it just goes together perfectly which makes the content hilariously good but also serious when needed. I hate to see the comments about Woody wanting to pause to speak like it’s not a reaction video, that’s what they’re suppose to do. Like stfu & skeet if you don’t like it. I be in tears sometimes with them but I’m actually learning at the same time. You have a fairly new and a more experienced instructor reacting, so you get both point of views. Plus all the amazing guest they give us the pleasure in learning and hearing from also. They’ve made learning about diving and everything that goes into it so interesting which in fact makes them Influencers so yes Woody and Gus you are indeed influencers & are doing an amazing job bros . Keep at it 🤿💪🏼 continue to be who you are as people & wish you guys more success!
Problem is though, all of us non divers are getting entirely one sided and biased opinions of two guys that agree with eachother as they trained together and one instructed the other. So we don't know when they say something correct, or something wrong. And naturally like anyone, they are going to have flaws and make errors. Undoubtedly they've taught us some things that are incorrect, or not the best method. Overall though, I would like to think that they are extremely good and accurate the majority of the time
Do it. Like planting trees, the best time to learn scuba is 20 years ago, the second best time is right now. It took me 10 years from my first try scuba, which I loved, to my OW, the only regret I have is the 10 year wait. I could be so much better by now, but such is life.
WOW GUS!! I've been traveling south America for 9 months with no phone or internet just to find this healthy looking skinny guy! Congrats my man. Water resistance activities help so much. All the best!
I'm a divemaster and almost all the instructors I work with teach the skills on their knees - it drives me nuts. So many times I see students swimming along, and then they need to clear their masks, and they immediately sea-horse - knees bent, legs down, and they start to sink while they clear. It's because they learned to clear their mask from that position, instead of at true neutral buoyancy in a horizontal position.
Piss poor practices add to compounding trouble... "It's no big deal" might be true until you get a Linnea Mills situation, and that was just the result of one little step after another "normalizing complacency". It is a lot like Woody pointed out. "If you treat it like it matters, then THEY will treat it like it matters." Frankly, I'd be more proud of the 20 students that I did train showing themselves to be serious in every aspect than I could possibly be about the 2000 students I trained flailing around, silting everything up, and generally making a mess and getting into trouble. ;o)
sounds like a PADI instructor to me. SDI instructors never did this though with me. All PADI ones i worked with did this. Then again, PADI doesn't believe in solo diving and teaches it like its common law, even though the World Recreational Scuba Training Council doesn't have a standard on it.
@@RandoWisLuLThough commonly on this channel woody and Gus heavily recommend you not dive alone. I don’t think they differentiate this opinion between cave diving and open water either. I’m no diver, but I sorta see the point behind always diving with at least 1 other person
@@mastersanada I see the point. But its not an official ruling. That is why other agencies that are just a reputable( IE: SDI) DO offer solo diving courses that are much more in depth. My point is PADI does push their own narrative quite a bit. I experienced this myself being part of both programs. Even with PADI and its narrative, PADI THEMSELVES started to offer a " self reliant" diving course, although SDI has a longer history with it and has longer courses. Cave diving and open water are two completely different bears and id never go into a cave or a wreck alone. never.
shouldn't u be at neutral buoyancy anyway with how ur weighted before the dive when u pause or no? I understand there may be current or etc at play that may move u around but. I always thought if ur sinking to quickly while diving ur over weighted or intentionally want that for diving extremely deep. So not sure why the person would be sinking from just clearing a mask.
As a person who almost died from drowning and scared of water! you two definitely make me want to try if I had instructors like you two to make me feel safe.
I discovered this channel recently and ended up binging a ton of videos in just a few days. It's just unreal how much healthier Gus looks now compared to even one year ago. Keep up the amazing work guys !
Coming from the Marines, we train like we fight. You want to train with good trim good buoyancy so when you aren’t in training you dive with good trim and buoyancy because it’s what you know. Keeping calm and think and prepare for what your next moves will be (adding air to dry suit as decending for example) and ALWAYS planning in case of emergency. Complacency kills. Always check your gear over, go over your checklist every dive. I’m only a DM however I LOVE diving and i do take it serious as small mistakes may not matter on their own but smalls mistakes can add up to catastrophe. Training and knowledge can’t be substituted.
Here are my 2 cents. There are a lot of skills we have to teach students and students have a lot to take in. We expect them to and require them to demonstrate these skills so they can prove to us that they are ready to safely go out and scuba dive. Some of the skills they will probably never use. And if they dont dive frequently, they will forget most things (as proven on every fun dive, and every scuba refresher i do). That being said, it seems to me, that scuba certification in general is to prepare students, to go out and actually dive... amd take that diving as seriously as they choose to. When I go diving, i train at least three skills deliberately every time. I have done that since the day after i was first certified. Because i want to be a better diver. Still do. If a student turns into a certified diver, they are likely going to do a number of things poorly right out the gate. 1. Buoyancy 2. Trim / streamline 3. Air consumption 4. Finning (oof) 5. Arm swimming 6. Awareness 7. Descent and ascent... 8... the list goes on. Its easy to look at a video like this and have superior opinions about buoyancy. But the question becomes... which of the fundamentals are most important right out the gate? The fact is, it takes time and multiple deliberate dives for divers to connect dots, and understand "ooooh, when i breathe too much lime this, i go up and down and use a lot of air, and when i fin like this, it clouds up everyones vis behind me, and .akes me breathe heavier. And when i dont trust my compass i end up in tazmania..." etc. Buoyancy is by far, one of the coolest parts about diving. But its not the moat important thing right out the gate. I start off my scuba classes like they are try scuba. Like woody's try scuba. I also encourage people to fin tip in the water in the pool. But i also break up my open water dives 2 per day (padi is 4 dives in ow for cert), with a 3rd excursion dive each day. Those excursion dives are the IDEAL time to have them focus on buoyancy, trim, breathing, finning, awareness and other skills while having a "diving" experience. I think that the skills should be learned in a manner in which the student is the least stressed. If thats fin tips, knees, or hovering... so be it. Those excursion dives are critical though. (Bringing to a total of maximum 3 training dives a day). But most instructors want to get the students in, and out for the day as fast as possible... and THAT... that... is the REAL issue here. Its not knees or no knees... its intention. And when the instructor's intention is about what time they can go home... all is lost.
Instructor from Israel here. I was actually taught on my knees and was taught to do the same with my students during instructor training. There's only one thing I don't agree with you guys. I think the only reason instructors keep teaching on the knees is not because they themselves don't have proper buoyancy, but rather that they don't know anything else. It has become the norm, and no one really puts the time to lay out the arguments against doing so so masterfully like you guys. So thanks for that, and I'll keep that in mind for the next course
I’ve taught adults for 15 years. Totally different context, but the principles are the same. Research into learning science says people learn better and retain their skills longer if they learn in context. Get them using necessary skills immediately. If they struggle at first, that’s fine-effortful learning, as it’s called, results in better skill retention. There’s absolutely no reason to do something super awkward and unnatural at first, like getting them in their knees, and THEN teach them how they’ll actually do it later.
I think I was lucky with my instructors. Bouyancy was one of the first things we learned. So in a pool, in the shallow end, with a load of weights. Then removing weights till we felt neutral bouyancy. Then most of us ended up doing the buddha thing, or just discoved we could sit cross-legged and bob up & down a little with our breathing. And it looked funny, was fun, and we learned. When I progressed to open water, we had a little more weight and tended to take a knee, but that was mainly to get us used to being moved by tides and currents, then we moved on to neutral. Edit: Also forgot Gus's comment.. If you drill students to take a knee to clear their mask, what happens when they're far from the bottom? That was something my instructors told us, ie we'd need to know how to do this in a neutral/stable trim.
Buoyancy is the most important thing in diving. No good buoyancy = trouble all way long for the diver, the divemaster or instructor and then whole group. I remember diving with indians, Chinese or Arabs. That was like hell. A whole family, all certified but none could dive at all. Some countries should stop certifying people just because they paid for the course. Paying the course means you are a customer and meeting all the skills requirements, knowledge about the marine environment and act respectfully means you are certified
This channels has helped me out too, after 23 years haven't dived, now my son is at classes (kids) and I'm starting again, you guys have had a big part in it-thank you
In my class (OW) we started on our knees and it was awful because yes you can at times enter the water and be "neutral" but if you haven't been practicing that form from the start and don't know how to control your breathing you won't be able to MAINTAIN that position. Like woody said everyone can be neutral but it's about MAINTAINING it and controlling your buoyancy. If you can maintain your trim then that's an issue.
I also started learning OW on my knees. It took me alot of dives to figure out proper trim and was able to shed weights little by little, now realizing i was much overweighted and did not need that extra weights.
That's because your technique got better,including importantly your breathing.I'd argue you did need those extra weights initially,depends how much though.@@XtremeDrake
I started back in 2002 in Puerto Rico I was set on my knees with 26 pounds of led and dive like that for a lot of years! My new instructor who is Cave diver teach me how to dive correctly, neutrally buoyant with no weights on fresh water and only 4 pounds on salt using a backplate and wing and a steel 100. He also teaches me the beauty of the long hose wish I love with all my heart!! Today I am in the assistant instructor class and I am really proud of my self, and super grateful with my instructor!!
@@SilentRio I've never scuba dived but I believe they meant salt water. You're more buoyant in salt water than fresh water. Not sure about the long hose though.
I love Dive talk ! This is my new guilty pleasure, when I’m in the pool I act like I’m diving in the 4ft side 😅 Y’all two compliment each other so well I can’t think of a better duo!
Hi Dive Talk, I want to say thank you for the work you do here on TH-cam. I’ve been a fan for a while, and finally had the opportunity last week to get my open water certification on Santa Catalina. I don’t think I ever would’ve even considered getting certified if it wasn’t for this channel exposing me to diving. Every second spent underwater was absolutely magical and I will surely take my diving further, and maybe even become a cave diver like you guys one day. A lot of the things I learned watching your videos were wonderful assistance in the certification process. I used to be afraid of the thought of breathing underwater from a regulator, but by watching this channel my fear was erased and I was never once afraid while I was underwater (not to say I don’t respect the dangers posed by being submerged however). This is a pretty long comment so I’ll cut it off here. Thank you so much Gus and Woody!
My open water class, years ago, not a single one of us had ever taken a breath underwater. Our very first pool session, the instructor had us in the shallow end and just had us sit and breathe underwater for a few minutes. It allowed us to get over the mental hurdle of actually breathing underwater. After that, we regrouped and the skills were introduced and that was that the only time we're instructed to be or permitted to be on the bottom. Not knowing what to expect, that initial introduction to just breathing underwater did help me. Just my opinion and experience
As s dedicated fan of the channel since the pandemic, I HAD TO CLICK ‼️ I KNEW Gus was going to lose his SCHITT 😮😂 I can barely snorkel and I knew the #DiveTalk guys would rip this foolishness to shreds. Thanks for my early AM laugh. 😂😂❤
I'm thinking of marketing scuba shoes. They are basically lead filled shoes that you strap on instead of fins so you can just stand on the bottom and do your skills. Also I'm going to add some security tabs that allow you to lock or zip tie them on your students' feet so they can't fall off if they panic. Students are already comfortable walking so now they will be more comfortable doing skills. I think they will perform just fine on silty bottoms but will work even better if you use them on a reef where the ground is firmer.
Props to you two, I could tell you were holding back a little considering how brutal that video was to react too. Those two guys are total tools especially the backwards cap instructor. Love DIVETALK!
As someone who never scuba dives and has no desire to, I have learned so much about diving watching this channel. Gus and Woody are both informative and entertaining. Great work from both of them. I'm absolutely team Dive Talk
I've been bingeing only Dive Talk videos for the past week and a half now, and I'm seriously considering going to get an OW certification someday. Never thought I'd be interested in scuba, but now I have you guys to thank when I become obsessed with diving!
You guys inspired me to finally make the choice to get open water certified. I start tomorrow morning in south FL :) just completed my e-learning. Hoping they teach me proper buoyancy. Much love!
I was overweighted and my weight was an issue during my OW course. My instructor kept overweighting me to the point where when we got into the water I was sinking faster than the instructor. But also as soon as they removed some of the weight because they were compensating by inflating my BCD I shot up fast almost to the surface. I could see the top and the waves. Luckily I was able to control my ascent and down kick somewhat we my instructor flew up and grabbed my hand.
Y’all’s interaction with each other is fantastic. Makes your vids exciting and easy to see you are comfortable trusting one another with your lives. I had a wonderful “flying Buddy” back in my flying days. Same, same. Your Buddy helps you survive. Best diving vids on the Net. Thanks
you two are really impressive and inspiring. i´m actually scared of deep water, but because of you guys, i just did a 2 days lesson of scuba diving at the university nerby, to get a glance of diving. it was so beautiful and i´m gonna do my diving license now. i wouldn´t do that without you two, because your videos help me a lot to get the right mindset. thanks and greetings from germany
I was fortunate to have Woody as my dive buddy in Cozumel. His trim and buoyancy is absolutely top notch. I felt like a brand new open water diver next to him. I certified in ‘09’ learning and practicing all the skills kneeling in both the confined and open water checkout dives. Looking back, I wish my instructor had taught me more than just the basics for proper trim and buoyancy. If he had spent the extra 10 minutes it would have taken to show horizontal trim, back arched, feet up and frog kicking - I wouldn’t have spent the last couple years trying to perfect it. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Woody and Gus are right, trim and buoyancy are fundamental diving skills that should be part of Open Water training. If your taking or thinking about becoming a diver, ask your instructor to give you as many pointers as possible on proper weighting, trim and buoyancy. If you’re a brand new OW diver and want the additional training, take a buoyancy class. You’ll get instruction on proper weighting; for you specifically as well as how to achieve that flat and level hovering Woody and Gus are always encouraging.
I have never scuba dived in my life, not interested ever in cave diving myself but I love your videos. For whatever reason, I find them fascinating. Keep it up please!
Thanks guys for the video. Just a week ago my 14 yr old son and 12 yr old daughter and myself were "try scuba" students. We loved it!! Woody explained it perfectly. They give us about 5 minutes of skills in the water at about waist deep. Then we went under and took our first breath under water on our knees and came back up. Once the class had all took that first breath they took us out a little deeper and within a few minutes everyone though not perfectly were diving horizontal and we had a great time. My kids loved it. Thanks to Woody and Gus for explaining this. I really enjoy your videos and they inspire me to try scuba diving.
Breathing out of our eyeballs 😂 Gus you are hilarious. Btw I like when you pause a video and add your input, even thou I'm a non diver I enjoy always learning something new from you guys.
Diving has honestly helped me get over fears of deep water. I can't imagine how things would have turned out if I didn't have the well experienced instructor that I did when I completed my open water course. We learned mostly on our knees, but he gave us many opportunities to "free swim" around the pool and test our skills.
I found you guys last week from your Chernobyl videos! I cannot get enough of your channel, 70% of all the TH-cam im watching since then has been all you guys, I have a special interest in the ocean and massive ocean creatures, and I had a huge fear of being in open water, but you guys are making me feel like I have to learn to dive before I die :)
I love you guys. Gus you're super straightforward and logical. I appreciate how you say things straight up and step-by-step, just dismantle nonsensical things. Woody you are clearly of the same mind, but I see you being your usual sweet self, not wanting to really be that brutal. Anyway, more than just learning about diving, I come here to enjoy the videos because you guys have such a great dynamic.
I'm currently doing the Open Water Driver course and we started in shallow water on our knees doing the first excersises. Now on our final dives we are experimenting with the concept that you talked about adjusting your bouyancy with your inhale and exhale. I don't feel it was any drawback starting on your knees, because there are people that are a little anxious in the begining that need that feeling of safety that standing on your knees on the bottom gave.
I always learn so much from y’all. Your discussions are so helpful to those of us considering diving. We don’t know what we don’t know. Thank you both. 💪👍
What Woody said about proper weighting is super on-point for me. While I did learn to try to be neutral from the word go (except the initial head under water moment) it would have been away easier if I had better weighting. I think I should have been pushed to really try with less weight and that would have accelerated my experience by months.
I think a student that says "I can't get down" is just a really good opportunity to teach them about body awareness and relaxation. Students will chest breathe and not even really know it. This means they will hold lung volume that makes it hard to get down. Just say "let's just try something - I want you to forget you have gear on for a minute. Really loosen up and relax and breath out and just wait to see yourself slowly sink down. If you can get down a few feet then you can start just breathing normal and you won't pop to the surface. I'll hold your inflator up to help you get all the air out while we try this thing." That would have been pure gold for me.
Very new to the channel. Less than 24 hours. Seeing this guys weight loss thru the videos is very cool. For what he does, it has to literally open soo many possibilities for him. Excellent stuff
Diving is so amazing. It’s flying through a thicker medium than air but still flying to me. I wish I could do it. Thank you for showing me places I’ll never be able to go.
I must confess that I was taught on my knees. During training and many dives after I struggled hard to determine the proper weight, but nowadays I dive with 2 to 4 kg less than I used to when I got my OWD. In hindsight, now I know that I should have spent more time in the pool with a relaxed breathing and not just keep pushing through the course tasks. BTW, sometimes I don't feel confortable in neutral because of the neck extension and have to tilt slightly my position, don't be hard on me if I'm not in perfect trim 😢
A slight head-up attitude is fine. You need your neck to be comfortable! I have an old neck/back injury and I find it hard to get flatter than about 15 degrees, and it's fine (th-cam.com/video/iYTg4gHF7E8/w-d-xo.html)
My ow was on my knees, instructor supposedly didn't like it but was compelled by his employer at the time. Every bit of training since my "pool sessions" have been in the less surgy part of a cove,
Thanks for talking about that topic. Getting tought on my knees got me quite confused about how much weight I really need. Practicing being neutral, safety stops at 3 m and nice and slow ascents probably took, and still takes, me me probably more time than necessary because I tend to carry to much weight, which causes all the problems you just described. I found out practising all of that in a pool from 0 to 3 m maximum is a great way to improve myself just like you mentioned. I like starting my pool practice using a halfway empty tank, if I can get my hands on one, so I can factor in the effect of an almost empty tank while practicing safety stops. The last thing I want to happen to me is to shoot to the surface too early while doing a real safety stop out there after an otherwise wonderful dive.
@@lidewijvos Thanks for your hint. The way I understand it is that inexperienced divers may find it more difficult to stay neutral at three m than at 5. Myself included. Especially if there is not too much gas left in your tank and you carry one of those (dreadful) aluminum 12 l ones and you don’t like to carry (like me) extra weight the whole time just to have the perfect safety stop. That’s why PADI and maybe others recommend that recreational divers perform their safety stop at 5 m. However, N2 removal is supposed to be more effective at three m. That’s why tec divers choose three m. They must master three m. Should I ever choose to do tec diving i.e. become certified to dive deeper than 40 m, I must master those stops at 3 m. That‘s what I was talking about.
I started watching your channel a few weeks ago and the way you explain everything so methodically made me want to see if I could do it, so I did a try dive with the Solihull Sun Aqua Club (UK BSAC), loved the underwater calmness, and now have joined the club and will start my Ocean Diver qualification in 2 weeks!! I couldn’t have imagined it, thanks Gus and Woody for opening up this new adventure for me!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Just want to tell you guys that I found about you just 2 weeks back and have been binge watching your videos. Just for context, I am a guy from Nepal which you may realise is a landlocked country and I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to get hands on any of the equipments/ training you talk about. But still man, you guys are awesome. I love your chemistry and I love your content. You make me wanna learn cave diving and diving in general, and if I get a chance even if it's after a decade I would love to train and dive all while following the 5 rules.
I was taught on the bottom and recently getting back into it, and I have defaulted to anchoring myself before solving a problem but my buddy helped me weight properly and had problems staying on the bottom. Your videos are pushing me to be a better diver.
I started watching your vids some months now so its old ones coming forward watching this new one today am very impressed with Gus weight loss keep it up sir. Fan from Trinidad.
It would be awesome if you could do a video explaining how to properly weight yourself for us non divers. You always talk about how important it is and it would be sweet to see how it's done. Love the content guys
Gus u look Fantastic, my friend! Almost as slender as Woody....but I dont mean to focus on that, just something iv noticed cause i watch u guys as much as I have time for...i dont dive or even swim well At All- but i love learning about it for some reason and i find both of u guys very entertaining! Thanks!
i totally agree. i used to clean tanks at an aquarium and i only learned proper buoyancy and trim there since the windows were so tall i had to be perfectly neutral to clean them all. i was taught on my knees and it didn’t help
I used to be a PADI instructor 15 years ago. I agree with the what you are saying, buoyancy is one of the top skills for a diver. on the other hand I also see the point of knee exercises as it reduce the stress of someone who have never been diving, and already stressed. you are speaking from a diver prospective not a new diver who is still trying to comprehend the idea of breathing underwater. And definitely new divers need a little bit extra weights, until they have few dives under their belt, and realize the weight difference between the beginning and the end, and whatever new gear they buy. It took me at least 10 dives to prefect my bouncy
Love your channel! Been binge watching for about a week now. I’m not a diver but I’ve always been fascinated by it. I just think anxiety & impatience means I should stick to snorkeling 😂
This is a great video and discussion. I'm a PADI rescue dive and I've always been an advocate for protecting the ocean. The first most important thing there is the ocean, second the students and then the instructor. I totally agree with Woody, if you can't give the time then don't teach because a shortcut could be a matter of life and death if the students can't get it right.
Thanks, Gus and Woody. I am from Malaysia and have been viewing your video when researching prior to taking my ow in March this year. Your video are knowledgeable and informative for me to know the ways to dive properly and safe. I had finished Aow last month and still diving and practicing my trim and bouyance.
Hi you both! I really appreciate your work on these videos. It's great to have discussions about topics like this because it's the right way to learn and evolve as divers, as a community and as a person as well. I am a DM and participated in classes during my DM training. So beyond critical judgments, we can get some facts behind both videos: - Learning diving skills while maintaining neutral position and good trim is ideal but being on your knees is another valid way to learn in pools. - Instructors must consciously train themselves in their own neutral position and trim in order to transfer quality knowledge to students. With that in mind, you can teach students how to properly transition from kneeling to a neutral position (not vertical, not seahorse). - Overweight students or DSD participants is not okay under any circumstances. - As a diver you should avoid contact with the floor of the natural environment. Finally, I want to mention that the industry is doing a lot of things wrong when it comes to training new divers. In some places new divers are trained as fast as a McDonald's hamburger is cooked. I have seen it with my own eyes in Spain, the place where I currently live. It would be interesting if you could make a video about the current state of the recreational diving industry.
I’m 49 and my daughter is 16. We both dive a BP/W setup and when we dive the boat DMs always come around and ask us how much weight we need. Our response is…”none.” The look of shock on their face is always hilarious…and then they watch us dive. And back on the boat they always come around and compliment us on our buoyancy control. Makes me proud of my daughter as proper trim and buoyancy is hard to come by these days. Proper training in shallow water is key…I taught her how to be horizontal the second she completed her open water course.
I absolutely love this video! I am a new instructor and after 20 try dives finally finished my first open water class today and experimented with teaching neutrally buoyant. The location I work it is standard to teach on the knees but I decided differently I did first confined water on knees and the rest on ‘fin tips’ by the open water sessions we did everything neutrally buoyant no contact with the bottom. By our last open water dive my student was by default performing the skills neutrally buoyant without even being reminded! When I asked them they actually said from doing our first skills on our knees to neutrally buoyant that performing skills neutrally buoyant was so much easier! Sure it took a little longer but by the end of the course they where constantly in trim and only went vertical a couple of times. Teaching this way was so rewarding and I just hope I can replicate it when I have 4 students 🤣
I wish more shops and instructors would teach with your philosophy. My OW class was on the knees, my refresh was on the knees, and even some of my AOW was on the knees. Different shops, different instructors. Peak buoyancy was one of my AOW modules, and even then the instructor had me over weight. I’m still working on buoyancy, but have improved a lot by adjusting where my weights are by trial and error. My next task is to work on eliminating as much excess weight as possible. Again, I wish there were more instructors that started with neutral buoyancy and comfort Please keep up the great videos!
My instructors were wonderful! I learned on my knees in a pool and later on wooden platforms in a lake. That said I was constantly told that I should never touch anything in the natural environment and i took that to heart during the course of the open water dives. From the first class they instilled in me the goal to always be horizontal in the water and encouraged trying the skills neutral even if I could only pass them on my knees.
Reminds me of things i like to do when i was younger, like take a heavy rock and walk underwater with it, so fun to do. I used to trim in the swimming pool, the the point you're just perfectly trimmed, and just compressing and expanding the lungs makes you rise and sink, i remind we can do this just compressing are a little bit, the equilibrium is tight.
I was taught all the skills on my knees and struggled with buoyancy initially, but it’s so much more natural to be horizontal. Hilarious watching you guys watch this 😂
If I was to learn to scuba dive , to be honest day has passed, I would’ve hoped that I’d have you guys as instructors, you two have so much passion for the craft of scuba diving, it’s a pity I’ll probably never have the opportunity to try it even once , but you two show the enthusiasm and enjoyment that is needed well done guys 🎉
If it's particular health issues for you, then I am sorry you might not have the opportunity to enjoy diving. However if it's just about age (or even certain manageable health issues) you may still be able to dive. I finally went and got certified at the age of 56 and my instructor (who said he started in his mid-40s) is in his upper-70s and a diabetic. I've been on dives with a few folks in their 80s. I believe I read that SSIs oldest student that they certified was a 96 year-old woman, even. The great thing about diving is that most of the strenuous activities potentially happen before and after you are in the water (and there are some ways to alleviate those if you needed help there as well), whereas being in the water... let's just say I never notice my bum knee or plantar fasciitis wile diving, it's very relaxing, really. If you really might like to dive I'd recommend checking with your doctor, or have them send you to one that specializes in scuba health, to see if you might have ways to control for any issues you might have. You never know, you may be able to enjoy the sport after all and I certainly wish you luck that you might have the opportunity!
I enjoy watching your videos, I'm not even a swimmer I've never learned to swim. I know I'll never be a diver or even get close to water. But I must say that I've learned a bunch about diving. Thanks for the education on diving.
Kenny puts out great content. He's taking off this year. I've never seen a new diver perfectly buoyant within 10 mins in the shallow end. I'm sure some people are just naturals.
I would definitely disagree with Gus (although admittedly he said most instructors don't seem to know how to be truly neutral in flat trim rather than "all") in that I'm not so sure it's just the instructors that have the problem. The instructors I've had for SSI Discover Scuba (not Try Scuba, I didn't do that as I knew I wanted to get certified and they require us to do Discover first), Open Water, and Perfect Buoyancy classes (I won't include Nitrox since there is no in water skills for that class), so around 6 instructors total, not to mention helpers along for checkout dives, almost all were good at trim and buoyancy control. My primary instructor in particular, as a very experienced cave diver, was downright beautiful in the water with that perfect cave diver flat trim, 90 degree bend to the knees, 90 degree bend at the fins and probably the best modified frog kick I've ever seen. And yet he puts people on their knees for skills checks. I've discussed this some with the LDS and even with SSI as part of my course feedback noting your points asking why they weren't teaching neutral buoyancy with flat trim and it sounds a lot like SSI's position is, actually let me quote this from their response to me, "SSI's In-Water Training Philosophy (found in SSI Scuba Standards | Scuba General Training Standards | Conducting SSI Programs) does indeed indicate to our Professionals that skills are usually introduced in the kneeling / negatively buoyant position, so the students can focus on the skill, and as they gain comfort, and skills are repeated, they should be moved to the Diving Position. The direction in the standard is that this should be accomplished based on the student's comfort level and ability." Considering they probably learned to teach that way from earlier requirements by SSI and considering a dive shop's desire to limit liability I can absolutely see where it's easier to say "All students underwater generally look the same so accomplishing the checks by knowing which are comfortable in the diving position will be too difficult to ascertain so it's just easier to stick to the kneeling position." And as a matter of liability if SSI is saying that skills should be introduced in the kneeling, negatively buoyant position, then the best way to avoid any potential liability would be to just stick to that standard. So it seems to me the agencies themselves share blame in this because of their very standards, rather than suggesting it must be the instructors.
This takes me back to my open water course - my first instructor broke more rules in teaching us that my second one who I've been with since, had me do a refresh of basic open water. Looking back, I'm so thankful I didn't go further with the first guy. I wouldn't have continued to fall in love.
This was a great video to get you thinking! I found this really helpful and spot on, I recently became aware that I was over weighted, exaggerated actions was exactly what was happening.
I just completed my open water. I did it in my knees and woody nailed that I felt like my instructor was just desperately trying to bang out the padi checklist. I feel pretty comfortable underwater but if I'd have had a problem I'd have been totally overwhelmed. I felt like we were rushing to get done. I now feel like I don't have very good buoyancy skills and I'm working hard on it.
During "Discover Scuba" in Cozumel the first few minutes I was all over the place. Our instructors just kept an eye on us, but had weighted us properly. After about 5-10 minutes, it just clicked and we could "fly" and move up and down while using lung capacity. That was the EXACT moment, when I decided I would get certified. I would like to hear more on weighting from Woody. I was taught the classic way of eye level at the surface with a held breath. I've heard Woody reference it in several videos. This is the one thing I am trying to get sorted.
Thanks guys I love your channel. I'm not a diver and would love to try, but I am a diabetic and not sure I'd even be allowed. (Not to mention cost with one kid in college and another starting soon.) Anyway, I DID just go snorkeling for the first time in the FL Keys at BSA Seabase with my son. Our troop trained a few times at home in a pool ahead of time so that we would be ready. I just LOVED it. Seeing reef fish "for real" as opposed to in an aquarium was the best. Keep up the great work!! And would you ever consider reviewing any of the videos put out by Scary Interesting? I would love to watch you do it. Thanks again!!
Not cussing or defending on what you guys said or what they said on the video. It was an interesting video and didn't realize a lot of people were walking away from class not getting enough practice on buoyancy and trim control. I'm a divemaster shading instructors and helping out whenever I can until I go for my instructor and I assumed they had the students on their knees in the beginning because it is distracting to the students because they are working on their buoyancy and trim and not paying attention to the instructor. That is were I'm happy with the instructors I'm following because at the end when we give them the pool to play and practice we continue to keep swimming around helping to make sure they don't start bad habits.
Wow! Woody and Gus!!! what a great topic and video. You hit a hold button for me. I have been teaching for 37+ (SSI and 34 SDI/TDI) years. In my Open water classes we were taught to do skills kneeing; but that was the way in the early 1980's. I became an instructor in 1985, and were taught to teach kneeing. And when I developed my teaching style and experience in the early 1990's I started teaching in the neutral position (mostly horizontal ) like real diving. It was a game changer for me and my students. (it is a sad state that we need to have a perfect buoyancy class at all for the beginners - to fine tune a diver after they have 20-50 dives yes.... make them better. ( I will spend extra time with my students in the pool to help them with getting their skills and buoyancy better. ) I will also say that a good number of instructors have no idea how to properly weight someone. Teach students how to dive properly and do skills as if they are in the ocean with several hundred feet before they hit the bottom to heal and do the skill.
I learned on my knees too but once I my instructor taught me how to keep neutral and I managed to control my buoyancy I don’t remember doing that again. I also think it’s easier to skip the “be on your knees” part. Cheers guys! Love your content 🫧🐠🩵
The heck with what they say woody I love your reactions. I enjoy the way you both run this show. I was scared of open water to the point it gave me extreme anxiety. Watching you guys and the fun you have is great so much so I started a beginners diving course in Tacoma wa. Last week. I may never make it to a cave but who knows I never thought I'd be in an open body of water. EVER!! Guess what I'm going soon and I for sure can't wait. Love ya both and thank you P. S. I promise I won't kneel on the bottom lol
This was my first course though and it was in Sweden. So it was very cold in the water and no life on the bottom really. They showed us to do these mask on/off on the bottom. It also taught us how much silt you can get by being at the bottom so I thought that was useful. I do think you have a very strong point about teaching the students to never be on the bottom. We had bad visibility here though so maybe that was the reason they sat everyone down. I retook the license again in Mexico and then we did not sit on the water. Are you saying one should never sit on the bottom? I had a few cases where you waited for others and then we would sit on the sand bottom after checking it was clear, but that is maybe not correct? We had to wait for 15 minutes once.
Totally agree regarding the "Peak performance" course. I did it to improve my weight, gear configuration, buoyancy and having an expert give advice was totally WOW! I learnt so much. Jan Havlye reconfigured my cold water rig here in Denmark. So many super smart tips given as a bonus...fantastic. I restarted diving 3 years ago and dived as a teenager so not exactly new to the sport, just wanted to improve. Great show as ever
I was someone who said I would never dive because I thought it was super dangerous. I started watching you guys 3 months ago and now I’m taking an open water class next weekend. Thank you for inspiring me to try a new hobby
👌 Always good to see somebody come out of their comfort zone and face their fears ✌️ Welcome to the world of divers you won't regret it, the experiences and sights and feelings you will get being under water are out of this world ✌️👌
wow goodluck!
Congrats on making the decision. It's a great hobby and you get to see parts of the world, that you haven't ever seen before.
@@jjhayahow'd you do that emoji fam
@@jjhayaoh I have the membership don't u
Woody: "im gonna let the video play". (4 seconds later) "okokok... hold on" hahahahahha
Lost a lot of weight Gus, I will let your progress inspire me to do the same!
just don't eat carbs
Everything in moderation I say 👌🏼 you can eat carbs, just don’t over do them same as anything else.
Gus just to back that up you look great bud ❤
Carbs aren’t the enemy. Just monitor calorie intake, exercise and weigh yourself 2 a week.
@@MrSidReal calories, carbs dont make you gain weight, you could eat only chicken and still gain if youre in a caloric surplus
one more thing id like to add, there are a lot of non scuba divers who watch your videos and that speaks volumes about your channel. It's amazing content that it attracts everyone. Again very informative and entertaining. keep up the great work
Very true. I have never even used a snorkel to breath under water 😂 but I’ve been binge watching Dive Talk since discovering their channel like a week ago lol. they’re both their own character in every way but it just goes together perfectly which makes the content hilariously good but also serious when needed. I hate to see the comments about Woody wanting to pause to speak like it’s not a reaction video, that’s what they’re suppose to do. Like stfu & skeet if you don’t like it. I be in tears sometimes with them but I’m actually learning at the same time. You have a fairly new and a more experienced instructor reacting, so you get both point of views. Plus all the amazing guest they give us the pleasure in learning and hearing from also. They’ve made learning about diving and everything that goes into it so interesting which in fact makes them Influencers so yes Woody and Gus you are indeed influencers & are doing an amazing job bros . Keep at it 🤿💪🏼 continue to be who you are as people & wish you guys more success!
Same! I don't even want to dive like ever but this guys are so entertaining and very good communicators over all.
Problem is though, all of us non divers are getting entirely one sided and biased opinions of two guys that agree with eachother as they trained together and one instructed the other. So we don't know when they say something correct, or something wrong. And naturally like anyone, they are going to have flaws and make errors.
Undoubtedly they've taught us some things that are incorrect, or not the best method.
Overall though, I would like to think that they are extremely good and accurate the majority of the time
You two make me want to learn to scuba dive.
You should. I start my open water classes tomorrow :)
@@Quebolas Oooh! So lucky!
Do it. Like planting trees, the best time to learn scuba is 20 years ago, the second best time is right now. It took me 10 years from my first try scuba, which I loved, to my OW, the only regret I have is the 10 year wait. I could be so much better by now, but such is life.
Do it! I wish I’d learned when I first got interested rather than waiting years to do the OWD.
They make me want to learn from scratch again!
WOW GUS!! I've been traveling south America for 9 months with no phone or internet just to find this healthy looking skinny guy! Congrats my man. Water resistance activities help so much. All the best!
Man is looking CRISP!
Seriously, they need to do a show on this, very inspiring
I'm a divemaster and almost all the instructors I work with teach the skills on their knees - it drives me nuts. So many times I see students swimming along, and then they need to clear their masks, and they immediately sea-horse - knees bent, legs down, and they start to sink while they clear. It's because they learned to clear their mask from that position, instead of at true neutral buoyancy in a horizontal position.
Piss poor practices add to compounding trouble... "It's no big deal" might be true until you get a Linnea Mills situation, and that was just the result of one little step after another "normalizing complacency".
It is a lot like Woody pointed out. "If you treat it like it matters, then THEY will treat it like it matters."
Frankly, I'd be more proud of the 20 students that I did train showing themselves to be serious in every aspect than I could possibly be about the 2000 students I trained flailing around, silting everything up, and generally making a mess and getting into trouble. ;o)
sounds like a PADI instructor to me. SDI instructors never did this though with me. All PADI ones i worked with did this. Then again, PADI doesn't believe in solo diving and teaches it like its common law, even though the World Recreational Scuba Training Council doesn't have a standard on it.
@@RandoWisLuLThough commonly on this channel woody and Gus heavily recommend you not dive alone. I don’t think they differentiate this opinion between cave diving and open water either.
I’m no diver, but I sorta see the point behind always diving with at least 1 other person
@@mastersanada I see the point. But its not an official ruling. That is why other agencies that are just a reputable( IE: SDI) DO offer solo diving courses that are much more in depth. My point is PADI does push their own narrative quite a bit. I experienced this myself being part of both programs. Even with PADI and its narrative, PADI THEMSELVES started to offer a " self reliant" diving course, although SDI has a longer history with it and has longer courses. Cave diving and open water are two completely different bears and id never go into a cave or a wreck alone. never.
shouldn't u be at neutral buoyancy anyway with how ur weighted before the dive when u pause or no? I understand there may be current or etc at play that may move u around but. I always thought if ur sinking to quickly while diving ur over weighted or intentionally want that for diving extremely deep. So not sure why the person would be sinking from just clearing a mask.
As a person who almost died from drowning and scared of water! you two definitely make me want to try if I had instructors like you two to make me feel safe.
perfect timing again. my lunch is ready and i got notification that new video is online :D perfect start for weekend :)
Same!😊
I discovered this channel recently and ended up binging a ton of videos in just a few days.
It's just unreal how much healthier Gus looks now compared to even one year ago.
Keep up the amazing work guys !
Benching?
@@audreymai2773 Binging, this person most likely got hit with autocorrect.
@@peggedyourdad9560yeah 😅 didn't even realize it got changed...
@@happymuffin2673 I feel that lol. Gotta love autocorrect.
Coming from the Marines, we train like we fight. You want to train with good trim good buoyancy so when you aren’t in training you dive with good trim and buoyancy because it’s what you know. Keeping calm and think and prepare for what your next moves will be (adding air to dry suit as decending for example) and ALWAYS planning in case of emergency. Complacency kills. Always check your gear over, go over your checklist every dive. I’m only a DM however I LOVE diving and i do take it serious as small mistakes may not matter on their own but smalls mistakes can add up to catastrophe. Training and knowledge can’t be substituted.
Think, Act , DO NOT REACT, because it will kill you, is what we were taught.
Thank you for your service!!! 🇺🇲
Yeah I was in the Navy and we trained like the real thing every time. It helps I'm sure.
Here are my 2 cents.
There are a lot of skills we have to teach students and students have a lot to take in.
We expect them to and require them to demonstrate these skills so they can prove to us that they are ready to safely go out and scuba dive. Some of the skills they will probably never use. And if they dont dive frequently, they will forget most things (as proven on every fun dive, and every scuba refresher i do).
That being said, it seems to me, that scuba certification in general is to prepare students, to go out and actually dive... amd take that diving as seriously as they choose to.
When I go diving, i train at least three skills deliberately every time. I have done that since the day after i was first certified.
Because i want to be a better diver. Still do.
If a student turns into a certified diver, they are likely going to do a number of things poorly right out the gate.
1. Buoyancy
2. Trim / streamline
3. Air consumption
4. Finning (oof)
5. Arm swimming
6. Awareness
7. Descent and ascent...
8... the list goes on.
Its easy to look at a video like this and have superior opinions about buoyancy.
But the question becomes... which of the fundamentals are most important right out the gate?
The fact is, it takes time and multiple deliberate dives for divers to connect dots, and understand "ooooh, when i breathe too much lime this, i go up and down and use a lot of air, and when i fin like this, it clouds up everyones vis behind me, and .akes me breathe heavier. And when i dont trust my compass i end up in tazmania..." etc.
Buoyancy is by far, one of the coolest parts about diving.
But its not the moat important thing right out the gate.
I start off my scuba classes like they are try scuba. Like woody's try scuba.
I also encourage people to fin tip in the water in the pool.
But i also break up my open water dives 2 per day (padi is 4 dives in ow for cert), with a 3rd excursion dive each day.
Those excursion dives are the IDEAL time to have them focus on buoyancy, trim, breathing, finning, awareness and other skills while having a "diving" experience.
I think that the skills should be learned in a manner in which the student is the least stressed. If thats fin tips, knees, or hovering... so be it.
Those excursion dives are critical though. (Bringing to a total of maximum 3 training dives a day).
But most instructors want to get the students in, and out for the day as fast as possible... and THAT... that... is the REAL issue here. Its not knees or no knees... its intention. And when the instructor's intention is about what time they can go home... all is lost.
Instructor from Israel here. I was actually taught on my knees and was taught to do the same with my students during instructor training. There's only one thing I don't agree with you guys. I think the only reason instructors keep teaching on the knees is not because they themselves don't have proper buoyancy, but rather that they don't know anything else. It has become the norm, and no one really puts the time to lay out the arguments against doing so so masterfully like you guys. So thanks for that, and I'll keep that in mind for the next course
I’ve taught adults for 15 years. Totally different context, but the principles are the same. Research into learning science says people learn better and retain their skills longer if they learn in context. Get them using necessary skills immediately. If they struggle at first, that’s fine-effortful learning, as it’s called, results in better skill retention. There’s absolutely no reason to do something super awkward and unnatural at first, like getting them in their knees, and THEN teach them how they’ll actually do it later.
I think I was lucky with my instructors. Bouyancy was one of the first things we learned. So in a pool, in the shallow end, with a load of weights. Then removing weights till we felt neutral bouyancy. Then most of us ended up doing the buddha thing, or just discoved we could sit cross-legged and bob up & down a little with our breathing. And it looked funny, was fun, and we learned. When I progressed to open water, we had a little more weight and tended to take a knee, but that was mainly to get us used to being moved by tides and currents, then we moved on to neutral.
Edit: Also forgot Gus's comment.. If you drill students to take a knee to clear their mask, what happens when they're far from the bottom? That was something my instructors told us, ie we'd need to know how to do this in a neutral/stable trim.
Buoyancy is the most important thing in diving. No good buoyancy = trouble all way long for the diver, the divemaster or instructor and then whole group. I remember diving with indians, Chinese or Arabs. That was like hell. A whole family, all certified but none could dive at all. Some countries should stop certifying people just because they paid for the course. Paying the course means you are a customer and meeting all the skills requirements, knowledge about the marine environment and act respectfully means you are certified
This channels has helped me out too, after 23 years haven't dived, now my son is at classes (kids) and I'm starting again, you guys have had a big part in it-thank you
In my class (OW) we started on our knees and it was awful because yes you can at times enter the water and be "neutral" but if you haven't been practicing that form from the start and don't know how to control your breathing you won't be able to MAINTAIN that position. Like woody said everyone can be neutral but it's about MAINTAINING it and controlling your buoyancy. If you can maintain your trim then that's an issue.
😂
I also started learning OW on my knees. It took me alot of dives to figure out proper trim and was able to shed weights little by little, now realizing i was much overweighted and did not need that extra weights.
That's because your technique got better,including importantly your breathing.I'd argue you did need those extra weights initially,depends how much though.@@XtremeDrake
I started back in 2002 in Puerto Rico I was set on my knees with 26 pounds of led and dive like that for a lot of years! My new instructor who is Cave diver teach me how to dive correctly, neutrally buoyant with no weights on fresh water and only 4 pounds on salt using a backplate and wing and a steel 100. He also teaches me the beauty of the long hose wish I love with all my heart!! Today I am in the assistant instructor class and I am really proud of my self, and super grateful with my instructor!!
Good share. What is a long hose? Am new to scuba. And the pounds of salt?
Thanks
@@SilentRio I've never scuba dived but I believe they meant salt water. You're more buoyant in salt water than fresh water. Not sure about the long hose though.
I love Dive talk ! This is my new guilty pleasure, when I’m in the pool
I act like I’m diving in the 4ft side 😅
Y’all two compliment each other so well I can’t think of a better duo!
Hi Dive Talk, I want to say thank you for the work you do here on TH-cam. I’ve been a fan for a while, and finally had the opportunity last week to get my open water certification on Santa Catalina. I don’t think I ever would’ve even considered getting certified if it wasn’t for this channel exposing me to diving. Every second spent underwater was absolutely magical and I will surely take my diving further, and maybe even become a cave diver like you guys one day. A lot of the things I learned watching your videos were wonderful assistance in the certification process. I used to be afraid of the thought of breathing underwater from a regulator, but by watching this channel my fear was erased and I was never once afraid while I was underwater (not to say I don’t respect the dangers posed by being submerged however). This is a pretty long comment so I’ll cut it off here. Thank you so much Gus and Woody!
My open water class, years ago, not a single one of us had ever taken a breath underwater. Our very first pool session, the instructor had us in the shallow end and just had us sit and breathe underwater for a few minutes. It allowed us to get over the mental hurdle of actually breathing underwater. After that, we regrouped and the skills were introduced and that was that the only time we're instructed to be or permitted to be on the bottom. Not knowing what to expect, that initial introduction to just breathing underwater did help me. Just my opinion and experience
💯
As s dedicated fan of the channel since the pandemic, I HAD TO CLICK ‼️ I KNEW Gus was going to lose his SCHITT 😮😂 I can barely snorkel and I knew the #DiveTalk guys would rip this foolishness to shreds. Thanks for my early AM laugh. 😂😂❤
I'm thinking of marketing scuba shoes. They are basically lead filled shoes that you strap on instead of fins so you can just stand on the bottom and do your skills. Also I'm going to add some security tabs that allow you to lock or zip tie them on your students' feet so they can't fall off if they panic. Students are already comfortable walking so now they will be more comfortable doing skills. I think they will perform just fine on silty bottoms but will work even better if you use them on a reef where the ground is firmer.
Holy cow, I hope that's sarcasm! 😮
@@SM-McKraken Actually I'm now going to add weighted knee pads and gloves for cave diving. Then you can just crawl through the holes.
Lmao
I think handcuffs would prevent them from reaching down to take the shoes off as well. Might be best to handcuff behind the back.
@@aestheticaudio6037 That's a great idea! Break them of the habit of using their arms.
Props to you two, I could tell you were holding back a little considering how brutal that video was to react too. Those two guys are total tools especially the backwards cap instructor. Love DIVETALK!
As someone who never scuba dives and has no desire to, I have learned so much about diving watching this channel. Gus and Woody are both informative and entertaining. Great work from both of them. I'm absolutely team Dive Talk
I've been bingeing only Dive Talk videos for the past week and a half now, and I'm seriously considering going to get an OW certification someday. Never thought I'd be interested in scuba, but now I have you guys to thank when I become obsessed with diving!
Don't wait. You'll wonder why you didn't start earlier. 😉
It's a lot of fun, it's very relaxing. You'll love it.
I don't know anything about scuba diving, but you guys explain everything in a way that is so easy to understand and makes sense. I love your videos!
You guys inspired me to finally make the choice to get open water certified. I start tomorrow morning in south FL :) just completed my e-learning. Hoping they teach me proper buoyancy. Much love!
on ya
Good luck and have fun! Diving is amazing.
@@eliz_scubavn Thank you :)
Enjoy!! South FL has some incredible diving. You'll love it!
@prycenewberg3976 thank you 😊
Gus you’re looking AMAZING wow!
I’m a few months behind on Dive Talk, was speechless by the transformation!!
i love how much you guys truly focus on safety. potentially saving lives
I was overweighted and my weight was an issue during my OW course. My instructor kept overweighting me to the point where when we got into the water I was sinking faster than the instructor. But also as soon as they removed some of the weight because they were compensating by inflating my BCD I shot up fast almost to the surface. I could see the top and the waves. Luckily I was able to control my ascent and down kick somewhat we my instructor flew up and grabbed my hand.
Y’all’s interaction with each other is fantastic. Makes your vids exciting and easy to see you are comfortable trusting one another with your lives. I had a wonderful “flying Buddy” back in my flying days. Same, same. Your Buddy helps you survive. Best diving vids on the Net. Thanks
you two are really impressive and inspiring. i´m actually scared of deep water, but because of you guys, i just did a 2 days lesson of scuba diving at the university nerby, to get a glance of diving. it was so beautiful and i´m gonna do my diving license now. i wouldn´t do that without you two, because your videos help me a lot to get the right mindset. thanks and greetings from germany
Ooooooohhh I am so happy you posted again! I missed you guys because you're like a family to me and I am learning so many things about diving .
I was fortunate to have Woody as my dive buddy in Cozumel. His trim and buoyancy is absolutely top notch. I felt like a brand new open water diver next to him. I certified in ‘09’ learning and practicing all the skills kneeling in both the confined and open water checkout dives. Looking back, I wish my instructor had taught me more than just the basics for proper trim and buoyancy. If he had spent the extra 10 minutes it would have taken to show horizontal trim, back arched, feet up and frog kicking - I wouldn’t have spent the last couple years trying to perfect it. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Woody and Gus are right, trim and buoyancy are fundamental diving skills that should be part of Open Water training. If your taking or thinking about becoming a diver, ask your instructor to give you as many pointers as possible on proper weighting, trim and buoyancy. If you’re a brand new OW diver and want the additional training, take a buoyancy class. You’ll get instruction on proper weighting; for you specifically as well as how to achieve that flat and level hovering Woody and Gus are always encouraging.
I have never scuba dived in my life, not interested ever in cave diving myself but I love your videos. For whatever reason, I find them fascinating. Keep it up please!
Thanks guys for the video. Just a week ago my 14 yr old son and 12 yr old daughter and myself were "try scuba" students. We loved it!! Woody explained it perfectly. They give us about 5 minutes of skills in the water at about waist deep. Then we went under and took our first breath under water on our knees and came back up. Once the class had all took that first breath they took us out a little deeper and within a few minutes everyone though not perfectly were diving horizontal and we had a great time. My kids loved it.
Thanks to Woody and Gus for explaining this. I really enjoy your videos and they inspire me to try scuba diving.
Wow, excellent family bonding experience!
Breathing out of our eyeballs 😂
Gus you are hilarious.
Btw I like when you pause a video and add your input, even thou I'm a non diver I enjoy always learning something new from you guys.
I stumbled on this channel and I can’t get out 😂😂😂 you guys ate great 😊
Diving has honestly helped me get over fears of deep water. I can't imagine how things would have turned out if I didn't have the well experienced instructor that I did when I completed my open water course. We learned mostly on our knees, but he gave us many opportunities to "free swim" around the pool and test our skills.
I found you guys last week from your Chernobyl videos! I cannot get enough of your channel, 70% of all the TH-cam im watching since then has been all you guys, I have a special interest in the ocean and massive ocean creatures, and I had a huge fear of being in open water, but you guys are making me feel like I have to learn to dive before I die :)
I love you guys.
Gus you're super straightforward and logical. I appreciate how you say things straight up and step-by-step, just dismantle nonsensical things.
Woody you are clearly of the same mind, but I see you being your usual sweet self, not wanting to really be that brutal.
Anyway, more than just learning about diving, I come here to enjoy the videos because you guys have such a great dynamic.
I'm currently doing the Open Water Driver course and we started in shallow water on our knees doing the first excersises. Now on our final dives we are experimenting with the concept that you talked about adjusting your bouyancy with your inhale and exhale. I don't feel it was any drawback starting on your knees, because there are people that are a little anxious in the begining that need that feeling of safety that standing on your knees on the bottom gave.
I always learn so much from y’all. Your discussions are so helpful to those of us considering diving. We don’t know what we don’t know. Thank you both. 💪👍
What Woody said about proper weighting is super on-point for me. While I did learn to try to be neutral from the word go (except the initial head under water moment) it would have been away easier if I had better weighting. I think I should have been pushed to really try with less weight and that would have accelerated my experience by months.
I think a student that says "I can't get down" is just a really good opportunity to teach them about body awareness and relaxation. Students will chest breathe and not even really know it. This means they will hold lung volume that makes it hard to get down. Just say "let's just try something - I want you to forget you have gear on for a minute. Really loosen up and relax and breath out and just wait to see yourself slowly sink down. If you can get down a few feet then you can start just breathing normal and you won't pop to the surface. I'll hold your inflator up to help you get all the air out while we try this thing."
That would have been pure gold for me.
Very new to the channel. Less than 24 hours. Seeing this guys weight loss thru the videos is very cool. For what he does, it has to literally open soo many possibilities for him. Excellent stuff
Diving is so amazing. It’s flying through a thicker medium than air but still flying to me. I wish I could do it. Thank you for showing me places I’ll never be able to go.
You guys have inspired me to start diving and eventually work my way to cave certification. I can’t wait to start.
Gus looks so good man. I started watching a year and 4 months ago and the change is immaculate ❤
I must confess that I was taught on my knees. During training and many dives after I struggled hard to determine the proper weight, but nowadays I dive with 2 to 4 kg less than I used to when I got my OWD. In hindsight, now I know that I should have spent more time in the pool with a relaxed breathing and not just keep pushing through the course tasks. BTW, sometimes I don't feel confortable in neutral because of the neck extension and have to tilt slightly my position, don't be hard on me if I'm not in perfect trim 😢
A slight head-up attitude is fine. You need your neck to be comfortable! I have an old neck/back injury and I find it hard to get flatter than about 15 degrees, and it's fine (th-cam.com/video/iYTg4gHF7E8/w-d-xo.html)
My ow was on my knees, instructor supposedly didn't like it but was compelled by his employer at the time. Every bit of training since my "pool sessions" have been in the less surgy part of a cove,
There's a difference between trim and buoyancy, there is no reason why you cant be neutrally buoyant and have a slight head up trim
Thanks for talking about that topic. Getting tought on my knees got me quite confused about how much weight I really need. Practicing being neutral, safety stops at 3 m and nice and slow ascents probably took, and still takes, me me probably more time than necessary because I tend to carry to much weight, which causes all the problems you just described. I found out practising all of that in a pool from 0 to 3 m maximum is a great way to improve myself just like you mentioned. I like starting my pool practice using a halfway empty tank, if I can get my hands on one, so I can factor in the effect of an almost empty tank while practicing safety stops. The last thing I want to happen to me is to shoot to the surface too early while doing a real safety stop out there after an otherwise wonderful dive.
Safety stop is 3 minutes at 5 metres 😉
@@lidewijvos Thanks for your hint. The way I understand it is that inexperienced divers may find it more difficult to stay neutral at three m than at 5. Myself included. Especially if there is not too much gas left in your tank and you carry one of those (dreadful) aluminum 12 l ones and you don’t like to carry (like me) extra weight the whole time just to have the perfect safety stop. That’s why PADI and maybe others recommend that recreational divers perform their safety stop at 5 m. However, N2 removal is supposed to be more effective at three m. That’s why tec divers choose three m. They must master three m. Should I ever choose to do tec diving i.e. become certified to dive deeper than 40 m, I must master those stops at 3 m. That‘s what I was talking about.
I started watching your channel a few weeks ago and the way you explain everything so methodically made me want to see if I could do it, so I did a try dive with the Solihull Sun Aqua Club (UK BSAC), loved the underwater calmness, and now have joined the club and will start my Ocean Diver qualification in 2 weeks!! I couldn’t have imagined it, thanks Gus and Woody for opening up this new adventure for me!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Just want to tell you guys that I found about you just 2 weeks back and have been binge watching your videos.
Just for context, I am a guy from Nepal which you may realise is a landlocked country and I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to get hands on any of the equipments/ training you talk about.
But still man, you guys are awesome.
I love your chemistry and I love your content.
You make me wanna learn cave diving and diving in general, and if I get a chance even if it's after a decade I would love to train and dive all while following the 5 rules.
I was taught on the bottom and recently getting back into it, and I have defaulted to anchoring myself before solving a problem but my buddy helped me weight properly and had problems staying on the bottom. Your videos are pushing me to be a better diver.
I started watching your vids some months now so its old ones coming forward watching this new one today am very impressed with Gus weight loss keep it up sir. Fan from Trinidad.
What a vibe this long discussion was hahah. Great post guys thanks so much 🏊🏼♀️
It would be awesome if you could do a video explaining how to properly weight yourself for us non divers. You always talk about how important it is and it would be sweet to see how it's done. Love the content guys
Gus u look Fantastic, my friend! Almost as slender as Woody....but I dont mean to focus on that, just something iv noticed cause i watch u guys as much as I have time for...i dont dive or even swim well At All- but i love learning about it for some reason and i find both of u guys very entertaining! Thanks!
Keep up the great work guys!! Safe diving out there🙂
Great video guys, I took up diving in 1990. I love reading the comments and seeing all of the none divers you have inspired to take up diving.
I recently found the channel. Super interesting, also I’ve binged a lot of the videos and Gus’ weight loss is awesome. Keep it up fellas.
i totally agree. i used to clean tanks at an aquarium and i only learned proper buoyancy and trim there since the windows were so tall i had to be perfectly neutral to clean them all. i was taught on my knees and it didn’t help
I used to be a PADI instructor 15 years ago. I agree with the what you are saying, buoyancy is one of the top skills for a diver. on the other hand I also see the point of knee exercises as it reduce the stress of someone who have never been diving, and already stressed. you are speaking from a diver prospective not a new diver who is still trying to comprehend the idea of breathing underwater. And definitely new divers need a little bit extra weights, until they have few dives under their belt, and realize the weight difference between the beginning and the end, and whatever new gear they buy. It took me at least 10 dives to prefect my bouncy
Love your channel! Been binge watching for about a week now. I’m not a diver but I’ve always been fascinated by it. I just think anxiety & impatience means I should stick to snorkeling 😂
Give it a go sometime. You won't regret it 🤘
This is a great video and discussion. I'm a PADI rescue dive and I've always been an advocate for protecting the ocean. The first most important thing there is the ocean, second the students and then the instructor. I totally agree with Woody, if you can't give the time then don't teach because a shortcut could be a matter of life and death if the students can't get it right.
"Does that make sense?" Not even a little bit but i like listening to you guys c:
Thanks, Gus and Woody.
I am from Malaysia and have been viewing your video when researching prior to taking my ow in March this year.
Your video are knowledgeable and informative for me to know the ways to dive properly and safe.
I had finished Aow last month and still diving and practicing my trim and bouyance.
YAY! I love your videos so much. THANKS for the upload
Hi you both!
I really appreciate your work on these videos. It's great to have discussions about topics like this because it's the right way to learn and evolve as divers, as a community and as a person as well.
I am a DM and participated in classes during my DM training. So beyond critical judgments, we can get some facts behind both videos:
- Learning diving skills while maintaining neutral position and good trim is ideal but being on your knees is another valid way to learn in pools.
- Instructors must consciously train themselves in their own neutral position and trim in order to transfer quality knowledge to students. With that in mind, you can teach students how to properly transition from kneeling to a neutral position (not vertical, not seahorse).
- Overweight students or DSD participants is not okay under any circumstances.
- As a diver you should avoid contact with the floor of the natural environment.
Finally, I want to mention that the industry is doing a lot of things wrong when it comes to training new divers. In some places new divers are trained as fast as a McDonald's hamburger is cooked. I have seen it with my own eyes in Spain, the place where I currently live.
It would be interesting if you could make a video about the current state of the recreational diving industry.
"Maniacal Trim", EXACTLY!!!
My new favorite Gus quote 🤣
I’m 49 and my daughter is 16. We both dive a BP/W setup and when we dive the boat DMs always come around and ask us how much weight we need. Our response is…”none.” The look of shock on their face is always hilarious…and then they watch us dive. And back on the boat they always come around and compliment us on our buoyancy control. Makes me proud of my daughter as proper trim and buoyancy is hard to come by these days. Proper training in shallow water is key…I taught her how to be horizontal the second she completed her open water course.
Awesome!
I absolutely love this video! I am a new instructor and after 20 try dives finally finished my first open water class today and experimented with teaching neutrally buoyant. The location I work it is standard to teach on the knees but I decided differently I did first confined water on knees and the rest on ‘fin tips’ by the open water sessions we did everything neutrally buoyant no contact with the bottom. By our last open water dive my student was by default performing the skills neutrally buoyant without even being reminded! When I asked them they actually said from doing our first skills on our knees to neutrally buoyant that performing skills neutrally buoyant was so much easier! Sure it took a little longer but by the end of the course they where constantly in trim and only went vertical a couple of times. Teaching this way was so rewarding and I just hope I can replicate it when I have 4 students 🤣
I wish more shops and instructors would teach with your philosophy. My OW class was on the knees, my refresh was on the knees, and even some of my AOW was on the knees. Different shops, different instructors. Peak buoyancy was one of my AOW modules, and even then the instructor had me over weight. I’m still working on buoyancy, but have improved a lot by adjusting where my weights are by trial and error. My next task is to work on eliminating as much excess weight as possible. Again, I wish there were more instructors that started with neutral buoyancy and comfort
Please keep up the great videos!
My instructors were wonderful! I learned on my knees in a pool and later on wooden platforms in a lake. That said I was constantly told that I should never touch anything in the natural environment and i took that to heart during the course of the open water dives. From the first class they instilled in me the goal to always be horizontal in the water and encouraged trying the skills neutral even if I could only pass them on my knees.
WOW you have lost some weight gus! Amazing work man! I can't wait until I can afford to learn how to dive! you guys are inspiring!
I watch all of your videos even though i never want to learn how to scuba because i have a phobia of water. I live vicariously through you guys.
Reminds me of things i like to do when i was younger, like take a heavy rock and walk underwater with it, so fun to do.
I used to trim in the swimming pool, the the point you're just perfectly trimmed, and just compressing and expanding the lungs makes you rise and sink, i remind we can do this just compressing are a little bit, the equilibrium is tight.
I was taught all the skills on my knees and struggled with buoyancy initially, but it’s so much more natural to be horizontal. Hilarious watching you guys watch this 😂
When did u learn your fish man karate
If I was to learn to scuba dive , to be honest day has passed, I would’ve hoped that I’d have you guys as instructors, you two have so much passion for the craft of scuba diving, it’s a pity I’ll probably never have the opportunity to try it even once , but you two show the enthusiasm and enjoyment that is needed well done guys 🎉
If it's particular health issues for you, then I am sorry you might not have the opportunity to enjoy diving. However if it's just about age (or even certain manageable health issues) you may still be able to dive. I finally went and got certified at the age of 56 and my instructor (who said he started in his mid-40s) is in his upper-70s and a diabetic. I've been on dives with a few folks in their 80s. I believe I read that SSIs oldest student that they certified was a 96 year-old woman, even. The great thing about diving is that most of the strenuous activities potentially happen before and after you are in the water (and there are some ways to alleviate those if you needed help there as well), whereas being in the water... let's just say I never notice my bum knee or plantar fasciitis wile diving, it's very relaxing, really. If you really might like to dive I'd recommend checking with your doctor, or have them send you to one that specializes in scuba health, to see if you might have ways to control for any issues you might have. You never know, you may be able to enjoy the sport after all and I certainly wish you luck that you might have the opportunity!
I enjoy watching your videos, I'm not even a swimmer I've never learned to swim. I know I'll never be a diver or even get close to water. But I must say that I've learned a bunch about diving. Thanks for the education on diving.
Kenny puts out great content. He's taking off this year. I've never seen a new diver perfectly buoyant within 10 mins in the shallow end. I'm sure some people are just naturals.
I would definitely disagree with Gus (although admittedly he said most instructors don't seem to know how to be truly neutral in flat trim rather than "all") in that I'm not so sure it's just the instructors that have the problem. The instructors I've had for SSI Discover Scuba (not Try Scuba, I didn't do that as I knew I wanted to get certified and they require us to do Discover first), Open Water, and Perfect Buoyancy classes (I won't include Nitrox since there is no in water skills for that class), so around 6 instructors total, not to mention helpers along for checkout dives, almost all were good at trim and buoyancy control. My primary instructor in particular, as a very experienced cave diver, was downright beautiful in the water with that perfect cave diver flat trim, 90 degree bend to the knees, 90 degree bend at the fins and probably the best modified frog kick I've ever seen. And yet he puts people on their knees for skills checks.
I've discussed this some with the LDS and even with SSI as part of my course feedback noting your points asking why they weren't teaching neutral buoyancy with flat trim and it sounds a lot like SSI's position is, actually let me quote this from their response to me, "SSI's In-Water Training Philosophy (found in SSI Scuba Standards | Scuba General Training Standards | Conducting SSI Programs) does indeed indicate to our Professionals that skills are usually introduced in the kneeling / negatively buoyant position, so the students can focus on the skill, and as they gain comfort, and skills are repeated, they should be moved to the Diving Position. The direction in the standard is that this should be accomplished based on the student's comfort level and ability."
Considering they probably learned to teach that way from earlier requirements by SSI and considering a dive shop's desire to limit liability I can absolutely see where it's easier to say "All students underwater generally look the same so accomplishing the checks by knowing which are comfortable in the diving position will be too difficult to ascertain so it's just easier to stick to the kneeling position." And as a matter of liability if SSI is saying that skills should be introduced in the kneeling, negatively buoyant position, then the best way to avoid any potential liability would be to just stick to that standard. So it seems to me the agencies themselves share blame in this because of their very standards, rather than suggesting it must be the instructors.
This takes me back to my open water course - my first instructor broke more rules in teaching us that my second one who I've been with since, had me do a refresh of basic open water.
Looking back, I'm so thankful I didn't go further with the first guy. I wouldn't have continued to fall in love.
This was a great video to get you thinking! I found this really helpful and spot on, I recently became aware that I was over weighted, exaggerated actions was exactly what was happening.
Great advice! My OW/Nitrox class is tomorrow at 10am!! Super stoked.
I just completed my open water. I did it in my knees and woody nailed that I felt like my instructor was just desperately trying to bang out the padi checklist. I feel pretty comfortable underwater but if I'd have had a problem I'd have been totally overwhelmed. I felt like we were rushing to get done. I now feel like I don't have very good buoyancy skills and I'm working hard on it.
Sorry to hear that, it is so hard to find good instructors sometimes, but we are working on a solution to that challenge
23:09 Gus' reaction to the instructor's trim is priceless
During "Discover Scuba" in Cozumel the first few minutes I was all over the place. Our instructors just kept an eye on us, but had weighted us properly. After about 5-10 minutes, it just clicked and we could "fly" and move up and down while using lung capacity. That was the EXACT moment, when I decided I would get certified.
I would like to hear more on weighting from Woody. I was taught the classic way of eye level at the surface with a held breath. I've heard Woody reference it in several videos. This is the one thing I am trying to get sorted.
You two REALLY need to play Dave the diver. I swear Dave looks just like Gus and Cobra is like a more tanned Woodie.
So agreed!!!
Thanks guys I love your channel. I'm not a diver and would love to try, but I am a diabetic and not sure I'd even be allowed. (Not to mention cost with one kid in college and another starting soon.) Anyway, I DID just go snorkeling for the first time in the FL Keys at BSA Seabase with my son. Our troop trained a few times at home in a pool ahead of time so that we would be ready. I just LOVED it. Seeing reef fish "for real" as opposed to in an aquarium was the best. Keep up the great work!! And would you ever consider reviewing any of the videos put out by Scary Interesting? I would love to watch you do it. Thanks again!!
Not cussing or defending on what you guys said or what they said on the video. It was an interesting video and didn't realize a lot of people were walking away from class not getting enough practice on buoyancy and trim control. I'm a divemaster shading instructors and helping out whenever I can until I go for my instructor and I assumed they had the students on their knees in the beginning because it is distracting to the students because they are working on their buoyancy and trim and not paying attention to the instructor. That is were I'm happy with the instructors I'm following because at the end when we give them the pool to play and practice we continue to keep swimming around helping to make sure they don't start bad habits.
Great job on pointing out the safety risks and why you guys train people the way you do! Amazing great reaction vid.
Wow! Woody and Gus!!! what a great topic and video. You hit a hold button for me. I have been teaching for 37+ (SSI and 34 SDI/TDI) years. In my Open water classes we were taught to do skills kneeing; but that was the way in the early 1980's. I became an instructor in 1985, and were taught to teach kneeing. And when I developed my teaching style and experience in the early 1990's I started teaching in the neutral position (mostly horizontal ) like real diving. It was a game changer for me and my students. (it is a sad state that we need to have a perfect buoyancy class at all for the beginners - to fine tune a diver after they have 20-50 dives yes.... make them better. ( I will spend extra time with my students in the pool to help them with getting their skills and buoyancy better. ) I will also say that a good number of instructors have no idea how to properly weight someone. Teach students how to dive properly and do skills as if they are in the ocean with several hundred feet before they hit the bottom to heal and do the skill.
this has become one of my favorite channels,rad 🤙
I learned on my knees too but once I my instructor taught me how to keep neutral and I managed to control my buoyancy I don’t remember doing that again. I also think it’s easier to skip the “be on your knees” part.
Cheers guys! Love your content 🫧🐠🩵
Watch y’all everyday much love from Los Angeles California
I'm not a diver I have clausterfobia issues but I found your channel and I'm binge watching love it guys 👍
The heck with what they say woody I love your reactions. I enjoy the way you both run this show. I was scared of open water to the point it gave me extreme anxiety. Watching you guys and the fun you have is great so much so I started a beginners diving course in Tacoma wa. Last week. I may never make it to a cave but who knows I never thought I'd be in an open body of water. EVER!! Guess what I'm going soon and I for sure can't wait. Love ya both and thank you P. S. I promise I won't kneel on the bottom lol
Peak bouy was our favorite class. I think it deserves a special course. I had some training on my knees and did not think it was a bad idea
This was my first course though and it was in Sweden. So it was very cold in the water and no life on the bottom really. They showed us to do these mask on/off on the bottom. It also taught us how much silt you can get by being at the bottom so I thought that was useful. I do think you have a very strong point about teaching the students to never be on the bottom. We had bad visibility here though so maybe that was the reason they sat everyone down. I retook the license again in Mexico and then we did not sit on the water. Are you saying one should never sit on the bottom? I had a few cases where you waited for others and then we would sit on the sand bottom after checking it was clear, but that is maybe not correct? We had to wait for 15 minutes once.
At 12:47, when Woody said, "That looks good" twice and I looked up and saw two beautiful ladies...just priceless!
Totally agree regarding the "Peak performance" course. I did it to improve my weight, gear configuration, buoyancy and having an expert give advice was totally WOW! I learnt so much. Jan Havlye reconfigured my cold water rig here in Denmark. So many super smart tips given as a bonus...fantastic. I restarted diving 3 years ago and dived as a teenager so not exactly new to the sport, just wanted to improve. Great show as ever