JD>Working as a Divemaster for PADI I can compare my NASDS
JD>open-water course.  I think the NASDS course was superior
JD>and many of the things I did I had to do over in PADI
JD>Advanced.
I learned to dive through a YMCA class almost 30 years ago,
back when the instructors were still ripping off your masks
and turning off your air during their "stress tests".  I'm
not sure that it made me a better diver, but it did teach me
to relax and think my way through a problem while underwater.
JD>I have to admit that I'm glad I started out as NASDS
JD>because I was not a swimmer.  When I started I could
JD>only dog-paddle and the swimming part would have killed
JD>me.  It was with a lot of reluctance that I had to learn
JD>to swim to become a Divemaster, it was also my last
JD>requirement to be finished.
In my case it was the rescue exercise that took the longest
to complete, because my shoulder had been dislocated a few
months before during a real-life rescue with an overly-active,
panicking diver.  I kept reliving that scene while I was towing
in the instructor, and I had a tough time relaxing and completing
the rescue scenario.
--- Surf's Up!
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