04SEP2004

"How does skill become "spiritual," and how does sovereign control of technique

turn into master swordplay? Only, so we are informed, by the pupil’s becoming

purposeless and egoless. He must be taught to be detached

not only from his opponent but from himself. He must pass through the stage

he is still at and leave it behind him for good, even at the risk of irretrievable failure…"

- Eugen Herrigel

Hey, Great News! Passed the second knowledge review and test, I dread testing but it wasn’t too bad; among other things chapter 2 dealt with equipment, heat loss, magnification, and breathing (dead air spaces). Also think I did ok on the practical skills. Being in the water is feeling more natural and we did some drills today, mask removal (underwater, duh.) and replacement, switching between snorkel and regulator while swimming around the pool, communications. I think things went a whole lot better than the first confined water dive and just in the few times I was in the water here I feel more comfortable and at ease when "under".

Its tough getting these neoprene socks on and off. The gloves are tough to get off, when they're wet they want to stick to your hands.

We didn't just play around, we worked on 5 point ascents and 5 point descents and did some work on neutral buoyancy.

AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!