I almost panicked when I did my diving course. Exactly in the same situation when I tried to clean my mask but instead I let water get in through my nose, and then the salty water burns in between my nose and my windpipe. I got into stress and hardly took breathes. I felt inside that I want to go up but I immidiately controled myself. No one noticed I had a problem, but I clearly understand this girl.
@@Byreka Hi, something about me: I did my OWD only a short time ago (10 dives so far) and was scared the same way after I didn't make it once and got water in my nose. Also I just can't open my eyes underwater (I'm practicing this right now). Tips that have helped me: - Let the teacher guide you when swimming without a mask. (if you cant open your eyes like me) - Flood the mask slowly and then take it off. If you are not swimming, tilt your head slightly to the side so that the bubbles do not come to your nose - Next time you are in the bath: Dive under without a mask and breathe through your snorkel / When you are in the pool: Do the same with your regulator instead of the snorkel. When you feel safe go a little deeper. It is all a matter of practice. Do not drive yourself crazy. Stay calm and take all the time you need
Don't know if you ever heard about it I have not before I started diving. There is a natural human instinct called "the water nose or diving reflex". When our brain gets the information that the head and especially the nose is underwater like seen in the video it is really really hard to breath. You can train on that and the excercise in the video is pretty common to train it. It is one of the essential diving skills you have to lean to become a good diver. Even better put the mask down completely, take some controlled breath, put it back on and push the water out. But you have to start slowy like in the video. You can train or try the reflex in a secure manner by snorkeling without a mask. Sounds weird at looks weird but it helped me a lot in the beginning. :D
Excellent composure of the instructor. First calming her down then diverting her fears away from the complications by having others do the mask clearing. I’m sure they weren’t in deep water being that they are doing fundamental things
I don’t think it was good teaching. He kept her calm but his method was weird. She should have known how to do this before, in the pool, and there is no reason to lean back and no reason to tilt your mask open with your hands. Just blow through your nose and the air wil displace the water instantly. No wonder she is panicked. His instructions are weird
Great instructor. Kept the student calm, I applaud him. Great job on the students end too. She worked through her problem and turned out okay. That’s what makes a strong diver!
I’ve been trying to describe to my bf the difference between the instructor at our current facility and the ones I trained with. This video perfectly illustrates it so I’m glad I found it. That little bit of compassion, and having an anxious diver hold onto you for a second assuring them is so incredibly important. Our current instructor is a great diver. But is a cold robotic instructor that has no empathy for anyone feeling uneasy when asked to do a new skill or go to a new location. The instructor should always be checking in with students and making sure that if they have a moment of panic they are there to reassure. A simple reassuring hand on the arm can make someone go from panic to being in control. Not everyone is a pro and when you think about it diving is asking a human to fight a ton of natural instincts.
@@shoelessdaishi2754 Yah you’re probably right. Wanting people to experience the wonder of exploring a beautiful new underwater world and the sense of accomplishment a new diver feels after challenging themselves to do something new is stupid.
@@eatbeers1stgen140 first time of the mask removal was hard for me aswell , but my instructor thought it was one of the most essential skills and put us through it a bunch of times , and since I did consecutive dives it became second nature , although after a couple months at land I'm not sure how I will perform.
jeezes, why do people feel they need a mask like they need air. you re not gonna die removing your mask under water, and you can open your eyes and see under water. if you can t put your head under without a mask, then you re too dumb to scuba dive.
Satan's Son could not disagree more. He's a terrible instructor. He rushed all the hand signals and didn't watch for early panic signs. He could have easily prevented this.
He is a former US Army Special Forces Diver named John Shimkoski who teaches at Scuba World in Orlando Florida. He did everything he was supposed to do. They were in 15 feet of water in a lake training mask clearing. She started to panic. Training new divers to learn to control their panic is extremely important. You're ignorant.
d4rk0v3 I have over 5,000 dives, in every single ocean on earth. This instructor is a shitty instructor. His technique is poor and his ability to control the situation was very poor. "Special forces" doesn't mean shit underwater. In fact some of the worst divers I know were Military/Navy trained. They make for terrible instructors because they don't have the proper mentality for it.
5000 dives.. ROFL you're full of shit. If you had ANY experience you'd know that the instructor did just what he should do. He controlled the situation perfectly as the studetn calmed down. Teaching self-control is huge in scuba and that's what he did.
I understand her fully. I freaked out by a flooded mask a few times, to the point where I had to surface. Felt like shit afterwards, not just for myself but to the people I was endangering in my panic. Sometimes it still freaks me out. Diving is as much about mastering your mind as it is your skills.
If I'm seeing this right. It looks like shallow water basic mask clearing for open water. She is struggling to clear her mask and begins panicking even though she can breath just fine. The instructor did exactly what I would have done. Teach her to override that automated panic mechanism and learn to work the problem. Training, training, training.
Great instructor indeed. If you still have air and a problem: Solve the problem. Doing a panic ascend will lead to more problems or even death depending on the depth and how fast you try to go up.
At first, this girl unconsciously inhaled some water from the mask, starting to panic. Ahat actually saved her is the instructor who calmed her down and also herself, who lock her nose using fingers and breathe rightly from the regulator.
Yueze Lou she was trying to incorrectly clear her mask..It involves just a slightly outward tilt of the mask and a slightly upward tilt of your noggin..Its a basic confined water skill that require a puff of air from the nostrils...Its usually done gradually...half mask..full mask...mask removal...New divers will take some time with this skill...
During my Open Water cert I did this. I panicked. My instructor was fantastic. So was this one. Dean wouldn't let me shoot to the surface either. I think having panicked, worked through it, and realizing all is well as long as my reg works has made me a better diver. Good instructor!
Most important rule: Stop, Breath, Think, Act. Do it some other way n your life is in insane danger. I did my OWD in 1 Holiday week n did other certifications in the second week...result was they took me to 45m in my 11th dive cuz they knew I stay calm whatever happens n im very deep into the stuff...so just remember that rule under water...everything else should have been planned before the dive
@@mattdavidson8547 haha had that moment when we dived from the beach away, n stayed at 10m meanwhile the ground went from 10 to 40m...was so scary cuz i werent able to see the ground until we dived straight down to the ground haha
The first time I've ever dived, I was on holiday in Egypt. Watching this video felt like I was watch myself tbh. I didn't get a chance to adjust to breathing and whatnot when I first got into the water, and we started descending. I panicked, started to hyperventilate, couldn't clear my mask, and tried to breath through my nose lol. I asked to ascend, and my diver tried to calm me down but we ended up ascending. I got my bearings up there, then went down and it went very smoothly. Kept calm, breathed slowly, cleared my mask, etc. When you're not panicking it's a fantastic experience
My heart goes out to her. When the head takes over, it's really hard to overcome the panic. You know what you need to do, but once true panic sets in, it's incredibly scary. Kudos to the DM for being so calm.
I struggled with this in pool sessions, I've realized two things help: 1) I was blowing out all my breath hard and fast after getting a bit flighty and wanting to clear my mask ASAP, leaving me with no reserve breath. Then I quickly try to breath in because my lungs are totally empty, and if the mask isn't fully cleared, I might inhale a bit of water by accident and choke. Better to exhale partially, calmly, evaluate and slowly and carefully breathe the next breath, and clear mask again if needed. 2) I'd tilt my head back whilst clearing, then try to take the next breath with my head still tilted back, making it very easy for water to get up my nose. Need to remember to bring head forward and even look down slightly for the next breath. If you are like me and don't have very good soft palate control, these tips might help.
@@borfenglin6150 Yes, remember that you don't have to completely clear the mask in one step. You can clear it a little, take a few breaths, clear some more, take a few breaths, etc. That's where the "breathing without a mask on" drill comes in handy; you learn that the mask is only needed to see better, not to breath.
Awesome instructor. Hope she gifted him with a box of Cubans the next time she saw him haha. I thought he did exactly the right thing by calmly keeping her there and helping her sought through her issue. That would’ve helped her confidence profoundly for next time. If he let her go back up the 5 meters to the surface she’d have an unresolved issue that’d take more work to overcome for next time. 10 out of 10 for his calm approach to helping her become a better diver.
I’m not wrong my friend. The pool doesn’t iron out all potential issues like “panic & fear” before going in the open ocean you know. The ocean is nothing like the pool. Swim in deeper ocean water, and maybe 20m under the surface & you’ll see. Your comment was scored a 2/10 by the scuba gods. Sorry matey, I don’t make the rules.
@Anthony Marks What happened to you in the past? You’re damaged. You’re so, how do I put it, lacking people skills. I got my scuba licence 11yrs ago & have been scuba diving nearly 30 times. Even done it in Lake Mackenzie on Fraser Is which not too many people could claim they’ve done. You sound more like a cranky truck driver who thinks their job is the toughest & most stressful around and hates the world because of it.
@Anthony Marks Seriously, what’s wrong with your personality? You started this & I’m finishing it because I don’t leave things unresolved. It’ll end on my terms, sonny. See my question at the top my dear, dear old friend. You’ve never been under the surface of the ocean for more than 5 or 6 seconds have you? And answer honestly because you’ll only further hurt yourself if you keep lying.
@Anthony Marks You’re a single dimensional one trick pony and dodging questions is what people who either know nothing of the subject, or are guilty do. I wasn’t born yesterday & I don’t care about your lack of scuba knowledge. It’s no big deal as it’s not for everyone. Are you a single 50 something who still lives with mum? I’m completely bored with you & I’m not just saying that because I really don’t have time for people like you, but I’ll end this, not you. I’m a stronger person than you are. My comment will be the last if this goes on for 2yrs. Try me...
I just finished my diving course and I found this exercise difficult, I then figured out that it can help if after you take off / fill your mask you close your eyes and take a moment to relax and breathe, then continue with it.
I had difficulty with this exercise as well, instructor ascended to 15 feet from the boat, he asked me to do it again, I had no problems taking off mask because I was close to the surface and didn’t feel like I had no way out. We then descended and he asked me to do it again, I had no problems taking off my whole mask and putting it back on. Good instructors know how to make you feel secure in a strange environment.
Ik this feeling. I went through my open water class in spring, and as soon as I flooded my mask with 48° water I felt my body wanting to go into panic mode. Honestly, you really just have to make yourself breath slow and steady. It really helped me even when my mask skirt was curled up due to my hood and wouldn't clear. This guy is A1
When I was learning how to clear my mask during closed water training, I couldn't fully clear it, tried several times, but I stayed calm because I knew that even though my vision was impared I could still breathe. My instructor told me that was one of the points of the exercise, not to panic. So he gave it to me.
Hahaha. You can spot a rookie from a mile away with the flailing arms. That dive master was a champ. The women was three seconds away from a full blown panic attack, and the dive master shut it down. That's EXTREMEMLY hard.
Instructor did a great job of keeping his cool and working with the diver. The diver also did a great job. Panic is a hard thing to get a hold on and they managed to take a few breaths and calm back down- that takes some nerve.
To be fare even the most experienced diver's can go into a rapid panic attack...it can not be helped, the brain can just trigger tread..This instructor was spot on in everything he did..and even encouraged her to ride it through..that it is just panic and you will survive it.
During my advanced training my DM had me take all my gear off, sit next to it at 60 feet, then had me practise goggle full off and regulator retrieve, then regear myself at 60 feet. Better to handle all scenarios during training.
I have to disagree. Taking your gear off at 60' is not a part of any standard training program that I have evert heard of. Too dangerous. There are better ways to teach people how to deal with problems. Your"DM"made a mistake having you do that.
@@alib1155 I get that it was fun and I am sure you handled it well, my point was DM should ot teach people to break standards. Gear removal replace is taught in certain cave diving scenarios as I understand it, but not in anything else. Anyway cool vid.
Nice work, reassuring the diver as much as posible and trying to preventing her for doing something really dangerous... Pretty good instructor indeed. Is very common that relatively easy drills as this of venting the dive mask can become a nightmare for some new divers. Actually I'm a very new diver, with just about 40 dives under my weight belt, but luckily (for I´m not boasting, I think it was just luck) those drills never were a big deal to me, and right now I use to vent my mask or even remove it and swim some time whitout if before put it again or change to the spare one I always carry with me, as well as to breath alternatively from both regulators, or share the air with my buddy a couple of times in each dive, obviously when is safe to do that or at the safety stop, just to practice the manouvers; and of course trying to not interfere with other people's diving plans. Practice and more practice, and learning from more experienced people: the only way.
Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and go to your happy place to get through a tough situation. I was in confined space training once. A pipe with my arms and legs stretched out. So tight I had to take small breaths because I couldn’t inflate my lungs all the way to let out a anxiety clearing sigh. Closed my eyes, went 8nto the zone, and just worked through it. Overcoming a fear is so rewarding.
That was awesome how calm & cool that instructor was! He was freaking amazing! He held those hands so that weren't flailing all over the place, and completely relaxed them. I can't say much about it because I wouldn't even try something like that because I WOULD panic at the slightest anything. I understand what they were doing with the goggles, but did they get too much water in them? Is that why they freaked out? I know I would've! I'm actually an excellent excellent swimmer, but my fear of underwater keeps me out of any water other than a swimming pool, or a little stream. Between a crazy dream when I was a kid, and an incident at the ocean when I was a few years older has kept me from going back in. And to think I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid. That's why when my kid got hurt on her bike and started to act scared of it I made her get back on & ride & she still loves it now, but had I not she would've probably developed a deep-seated fear of them and I didn't want that for her like it happened to me. You gotta get back on the proverbial horse as they say, or you'll never get back on again.
I remember the feeling of not getting enough air , the sight was poor , the waves kicked me around and the current was trying to drag me off the line. So i went back up , focused, tried again and once i reached the bottom by controlling my breath i was fine
I got my scuba license in Korea. My tutor could not communicate with me, because of the language barrier, so when it came to the bit where he turned around and suddenly attacked me, ripping off my mask, I had no idea why he was doing that. Apparently it's to train you not to panic at depth, because if you do, you rush to the surface and get the bends, which can kill you. You have to deal with everything at depth. I'm seriously impressed with myself that I did not panic at this unprovoked attack, and retrieved my mask and put it back on. I'm quite comfortable in water, from a kid.
Just got certified and going on my first dive in about 4 weeks, Costa Rica. Really hope I'm with some good, calm people and have a great dive master like that
Same thing happened to me with the rental mask I had that was putting pressure under my nose, was not sealing and was constantly filling then water started going up nose. Visibility was only about an arms length. Started to panic and breathing got all out of control but instructor got me to calm down. Have always felt comfortable in the water so this was a very foreign and absolutely horrible feeling. Can totally relate to what this poor girl was feeling. Needless to say I tried on a dozen masks that afternoon and purchased my own that actually fit properly and never had an issue since.
Back on Aug 6 2023 I passed my PADI OW Class. Never Panicked. Even during the Pool Session back in May 2023. Where I hooked my LPI Hose under the skirt of the mask.
the first time I tried scuba diving, it was off the coast of Zanzibar. The instructor went through this procedure with us in waste deep water. I was a little tricky at first. That salt water really seems to burn your eyes when it is agitated doing that. Far more than just swimming with your eyes open.
I did have that diver panic in this autumn in Portugal. The water was too cold and even the bubbles from the other divers made me frozen. I was too scared that I could not breathe with my nose. And when my instructor just gave me sign to start learning the navigation 🧭 course, I was exactly like that situation. Why I could not trust the oxygen tank... 😿
Easiest thing I ever done, I only had troubles with buoyancy in my 1st 3 dives. Now I am chilling at 30m depths with no issue, can even swim without the mask for the lulz
@@shmexygamer wow that's amazing. I thought diving was RELAXING but no it's an extreme sport I think I'll just leave to The guys while I snorkel above & tan
Ahaha I just finished my open water diver course with padi, I panicked on the surface on my first dive becoz of the waves and current but never underwater, thank goddd
I’m not an experienced diver and have only trained for short periods in a pool. But if it counts for anything the instructor showed great calm and training also the slight panicked diver also showed very good nerves.
The point is u only breathe using the regulator in your mouth underwater, so a certain control (in calm situation where the student is comfortable with) with the nose not doing any inhaling is required. This exercise serves as a reminder that the regulator is always more important than your visibility, which is true in most of the cases when diving
Venting your mask is one of the first lessons taught before you even get close to water, so she should have known how to deal with a flooded mask...but I understand her reactions completely...I've come close to a panic attack myself underwater; had a really bad bout of vertigo once which caused me to vomit whilst on a dive. When you start to feel anxious on a dive, its easy for rational thinking to go out the window. Kudos to the instructor for managing to ease her anxiety; this could have gone so much worse.
@@hugomendes2578 a great way of learning it is to take a mask with you the next time you go to a swimming pool. Dive under and keep flooding your mask on purpose so you get used to the correct way of venting it. Could even try it at home in the bath 👍🏼
I totally get the freak out ... that's why I tell all divers the #1 skill you MUST have is to stay calm. Without that, you could injure yourself and others.
First, the instructor is awesome. Second, on my first open water dive I took my mask off completely as I thought that’s what was required. Had a little bit of water in my nose, but I didn’t panic. You can imagine my indignation when I heard that they were just having everybody lift their masks off their face.
It's an important skill. I practice something every dive. These days, one of the things I make sure to practice (several times per dive) is to just take my mask off completely and try to lay still, while breathing for a bit, before I start putting the mask back on. It's not something that happens all the time, but it's absolutely a possibility that you lose your mask during a dive. (Which is one reason why it's good to have a backup mask with you. But even with a backup mask in your pocket, you still need to get it out and put it on - all while laying still and not taking the elevator either up or down.) So don't be mad. If anything, you should do it more often. Same with a buoy. If you haven't sent up one in a while, then maybe you should send it up a few times. Practice your skills so when you actually need them, you will know exactly what to do.
