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PERFORMANCE DEEP ON AIR -   THE TRUTH AND THE FALACY

        Teaching skills deep on air is pointless for a couple of
reasons. One,
it is clear that experienced divers will be more likely to be able to
perform routine tasks under more conditions, including impairment, much
like an exprienced driver can drive drunk. It is not possible to teach
people, experienced or otherwise , to do anything properly while
impaired, and certainly if you are trying to teach something to
somebody, you want them clear.  They do not teach drunk driving to
anyone. I can just see the class now, with the instructor saying, " now,
everybody hold one hand over one eye". How may white lines do you see?"

                   THE FALLACY

        One standard excuse for teaching this stuff is the old line,
"what if they have to go to air deep". My question: "Where did the air
come from? This is tech diving, and at the tech level, if instructors
have to be teaching students basic skills, they should not be taking the
class, now should they? Divers need to get some dives and time under
their belt before rushing through tech classes and paying to learn what
they should be practicing. This would be like the Miami Dolphins lifting
weights before a game .

         At tech '96, Dr. Bill Hamilton intervened in an argument
between me and Hal Watts over this subject, and Hamilton told Watts,
"Hal, this is as tech diving seminar. The reason we have tech diving is
so that we do not have to dive deep on air."

          Deep air diving has been around as long as diving, and it
still does not work. Couteau pointed it out well, the agencies figured
it out, the Navy figured it out, and so did everyone else - A LONG TIME
AGO.  - G

         Let's start teching imporoktant things and the real tricks of
tech diving, not this air silliness - it's not tech, it's not right, and
by now we should all know it.
--
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