Ready to start your PADI IDC?
So you’re thinking about becoming a PADI Instructor? Before you start your PADI IDC, it’s good to know there’s more involved than many new instructors expect. The IDC isn’t just about learning standards or passing an exam. It’s about developing real teaching skills, and the confidence to use them.
Buoyancy may seem simple, but understanding how to teach it clearly can make you a better instructor. It can make your future courses smoother, and a lot more enjoyable. And more importantly, it can make your students better and safer divers.
Put the effort in
Teaching new divers good buoyancy control and proper finning style takes a lot of effort from the instructor. It’s not always easy to give Open Water students the attention that they need, especially if you have a big group.
In 20+ years as a diving instructor, I have taught many Open Water, Advanced and Peak Performance Buoyancy courses. Sometimes I was able to teach my student buoyancy control successfully, sometimes not. I’m not claiming to be a perfect dive instructor, but I think I can give starting dive instructors a few useful tips.
Recognize it
You can kinda guess wich divers need extra attention, even before you go down. Just watch what they do on the surface. Let your students swim a round through the pool, on their backs. The ones who constantly push their knees above the water are probably the ones that will be bicycle-kicking underwater as well.
Watch what your students are doing when they are on the surface in deep water with fully inflated BCD. Are they constantly kicking? Even if they have plenty of air in their vest to float? A sign that they may have difficulties learning to hover.
Proper weighting
Divers with proper buoyancy control and finning style, stretch their legs and move from their hips. ‘Bicycle riding style’ swimming under water will push your lower body up. This gives divers the feeling that they are to light and they will ask for extra weights – that we will not give to them off course.
Divers with too many weights will constantly move their legs to compensate for sinking. Even if they stay at the same place. It’s easy to damage coral this way and it can become dangerous too. Imagine what can happen if this guy descends to 30 meter deep and finds out he forgot to attach his LPI hose!
Fin pivot and hover
Fin pivot and hovering are great exercises to teach buoyancy control. Students learn to use their BCD in combination with using their breathing, to control their buoyancy. Breath control is important. Some students just get lucky. They manage to ‘gently rise and fall’ without showing ANY control over their breathing. Often, students breath very shallow, meaning they breath out before they properly start rising.
Same thing with hovering. Like many instructors I like to give students not too many weights. Some students just get lucky and manage to float in mid-water for 30 seconds without showing any control over their breathing. I like to see some basic understanding of buoyancy control. Thumbs up – breath in – no bubbles. Thumbs down – breath out – bubbles!
Small tip: I like to tell my students to sink back on their knees after the hovering skill, and only then ask them to empty their BCD. This enforces buoyancy control by breathing, and not by BCD only.
Doing skills neutrally buoyant
Some instructors pride themselves on doing ALL skills neutrally buoyant.
I can understand the reasoning behind this. Teaching buoyancy control takes time and you can not start too early with it. But for many who are taking their first breaths under water, it is difficult enough to learn mask clearing. I don’t want to make it more difficult for them by asking them to do it neutrally buoyant.
Yes, I know… Experienced divers don’t need to sit on their knees to clear their mask. But you teach step by step. After my students have done fin pivot and hover, then maybe they can do some skills neutrally buoyant. Like ‘no mask swim’.
What will you learn on Asia Scuba Instructors PADI IDC?
During our PADI IDC’s we like to do more than getting you through the Instructor Exam. It’s something many IDC’s claim, but what does it actually mean?
During our IDC you will get plenty of practice, tips, support, and feedback. Not only on how to achieve a passing score, but also how to work with real students in real-life teaching situations. Having a course director with 20+ years experience as an instructor certainly helps.
Aspiring dive instructors that join our program want more than just a certificate. We’re here to help you to become a confident instructor, ready to teach your first courses. Because becoming a PADI Instructor should feel like the beginning of something exciting. Not the end of a checklist.
If you want to know more about my IDC’s check out our IDC information page.
