A few weeks ago, a student asked me how best to prepare for his next level of TDI courses in Gozo. I realised that I’m in the very fortunate position to have easy access to a choice of dive sites, but that wasn’t always the case, and it’s definitely not possible for most people getting ready to take technical diving courses to dive several times a week. So what can you do? Carpet skills are one of the options.
What Are Carpet Skills?
Google it, and the search engine will tell you about traditional carpet weaving in Kazakhstan. Well, it did for me. But that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is practicing diving skills in the comfort of your own home – on the carpet.
I first came across carpet skills when I was going through my Divemaster training with Deep Blue Scuba in Edinburgh. As me and my fellow DM candidates were getting closer towards our completion dates, we knew we had to perform a demonstration-quality skills circuit in the pool.
Even though we had had a very thorough course with plenty of opportunities to practice our skills and assist various instructors, pool time was limited to the hours that the dive centre had access to it. Carpet skills became the next best thing, giving you a chance to practice in between dives at home.
This was a few years ago, and recording yourself with your action cam wasn’t a thing yet. Instead, I practiced in front of a mirror and then with friends. The result? I passed my DM course and – six months later – quit my job to work in diving full time.
How Can You Use Them For Your Tech Diving?
Enough about me; how can you use carpet skills for yourself and your tech diving?
Like land drills, carpet skills are another way to practice the sequence of movements you’re expected to perform without needing access to water. Granted, you won’t be able to hover weightlessly and motionlessly, but you can practice hand movements, clip and unclip boltsnaps from D-rings, stretch your light hand forward and attempt single-handed regulator switches and much more.
Is it perfect? No, but it’s a whole lot better than not practicing movement sequences, especially if you can’t get in the water for weeks or even months. After all, if you have to give a presentation in front of a corporate audience, you might well consider practicing in front of friends or family. The concept of carpet skills for tech diving course preparation is similar.
Where Can You Get Inspiration From?
Practicing is good, but practicing well is far superior. For example, if you were to repeat the same skill with the same flaw a hundred times, you’d develop some serious muscle memory. The problem is that you’ll now have to spend at least that time but most likely more to unlearn those movements and relearn a better version.
To practice your carpet skills successfully, start with high-quality demonstrations. During my DM training, I had the benefit of watching instructors perform those skills. One of my DM candidate predecessors had also gone to the trouble of typing up the individual steps of each open water course skill. For some reason, there weren’t many video options that I recall.
Today, you have plenty of choice. Just hit YouTube or any other social media channel and look for highly respected instructors sharing their craft.
Obviously, none of this replaces practice sessions with your instructors and fellow candidates. It’s not meant to. It’s meant to help you make use of the time in between dives or pool sessions.
How Can You Check Your Progress?
Record yourself! Video is cruel, much more so than still images, but it’s also an incredibly effective tool for spotting issues and fixing them.
Ask a friend or a mentor to watch you and make suggestions. Allow them to interrupt you when you’re repeating mistakes to avoid you committing them to memory. Remember that practicing is a process. It’s not about criticising but more about critiquing and understanding that your performance differs from day to day. As you practice regularly, you’ll have ups and downs, but you’ll notice overall progress.
A Final Thought
Preparing for technical diving training is a great idea, don’t get me wrong. But please remember that you’re joining a training course because you expect to learn new skills. If you already knew how to perform them, there’d be no need for the course. So prepare by all means, but allow yourself to learn, too. I know I do when I join a training course. And most importantly of all, have fun!