It is a long held philosophy that cave diving is 60% mental and 40% physical. While you do have to be able to carry all the gear, walk up and down steps with all that gear and swim around with that gear against sometimes very high flow that is only 40% of the game. The other 60% is you being able to "think" about NOW and think about 1, 2 and 15 minutes ahead of now, and further. Being able to anticipate is critical, but you must know what variables exist that you use in your mind to properly anticipate what is next. You will learn how to do this type "critical thinking" in my cave classes. You will build a foundational mindset to carry with you forward to help you perform critical thinking and anticipation of real world cave diving issues.
From where I sit the thinking issues described above and a proper attitude toward the activity are every bit as important as having the right equipment. The remainder of the things you will learn are academics and motor skills that are best mastered through repetition which we will do in the class.
In this day of political correctness people are afraid to speak their mind. In the cave diver world it is imperative that we speak our mind about things cave diver related. We need to be honest with our students and team mates. Constructive criticism and analysis plays a key role in team building. If a diver makes a mistake during a dive, or if a procedure could have been done better it must be discussed. We do not need to beat each other up, but we must discuss it. It makes us better divers.
Self Honesty is another key factor and is part of a healthy attitude. We must be completely honest with ourselves and our cave diving team mates.
