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I too, have never posted anything on this list. I have been lurking around for a few months and finally felt compelled to put my 2c in. Your video is pretty funny, actually I thought it was staged, but good. The people flailing around on the hang line look pretty bad, maybe they had to pee or something, I don't know. In terms of who I would want to be my instructor if I was new to diving? I can't really answer that because when I was knew to diving I didn't have enough of a clue to determine who would be the best instructor, or certifying agency. So, the exercise is kind of moot. For me it was a crap shoot. I went to my local dive shop and unwittingly trusted them literally with my life. THey were PADI instructors and for what they wanted to do, ie: get people to sign up for their trips to the Caribbean , they were alright. I wanted to dive locally in New Jersey though, and had to find another group to dive with that would help me achieve those goals. The people I dive with have a smorgassbord of certs. as I do. Some PADI, some IANTD, some TDI. I try to learn from everyone, even the DIR crowd. I think diving skills are individually attained though, and like all things in life some people progress faster and others maybe should get another hobby. If DIR and GUI techniques are what really floats your boat, then great stick with it. But, don't fall into the cultist belief that if one PADI trained diver is a loser, then naturally all PADI trained divers are losers. That is ignorant. THis cult attitude is what turns me and my dive buddies off to DIR and GUI and Irvine and all of that crap. I don't do religion in any form. That attitude and all of the noise associated with it buries the real message behind DIR, and in my opinion cripples it immensely. John Butler -----Original Message----- From: David Evans [mailto:David@di*.co*] Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 12:08 AM To: John P. Butler Cc: techdiver@aquanaut.com Subject: Re: NEW DIR VIDEO John, I have held off on introducing myself to the list, as I wanted to observe a bit first. Let me introduce myself to you. I am the brainwashed DIR cult member that shot the video in question. Nice to meet you too. My wife and I have been diving for 15 months. In that fifteen months, we've learned a lot about diving, and we've learned that we have a (whole) lot more to learn. One lesson I learned is that as far as divers go, in fifteen months time I can kick the crap out of a PADI Master Instructor in my buoyancy skills. I don't attribute this to some innate ability that I have - I attribute it to superior training. We are not technical divers, and we aren't cavers, although we both have some interest in developing our skills in this direction, I don't have any agenda except to improve as a diver and improve as a photographer, to do both safely, and to have big time fun. For me there is no competition between philosophies - I'm going to do whatever works best for me to accomplish my goals. I have been very pleased with the RESULTS of my DIR training, which are evident directly from this video, and indirectly from my photography (not bad for a guy with only a year's experience, don't you think?) So - answer me this: If you were a new diver choosing an instructor - do you want the dude hanging on the rope teaching you how to dive, or do you want the people who taught the guy holding the video camera? We had just come up from the HMCS Columbia - it looks to me like we were the ones who belonged there and the PADI Master Instructor was a bit out of his league - wouldn't you agree? I don't know George Irvine at all - never met him. But I have learned from the techniques that he, apparently, helped to define and refine. That does not make me a cult member - it makes me an educated consumer. If you have questions about our diving, please email me. I would be happy to discuss with you why we dive, how we dive, and what diving means to us. Thank you very much for you kind understanding. -David Evans www.diveseen.com Northwest Underwater Photography and Videography On Tuesday, August 13, 2002, at 06:18 PM, John P. Butler wrote: > Yah, This video spoke to me, too. > It told me that the participants were brainwashed DIR cult members who > have > nothing better to do underwater than make a friggin propaganda video. > > Tell me what quarry were you diving in? ;O} > > John -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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