Imagine the situation: You're diving along a vibrant wall teeming with life—corals, schools of fish swimming all around you—a diver's dream! The wall drops down to 60 meters deep. You're an experienced diver, with well over 30 dives under your belt, and you know you should keep your depth to a maximum of 18 meters. You're in control, feeling good, your guide is nearby, and your buddy is highly experienced too! But during your dive, you notice your BCD is ill-fitting—tight on one side, way too loose on the other. The surface waves rushed the boat crew to get everyone in the water quickly; you lost time chatting about your new dive computer and didn't want to cut the conversation short to fiddle with gear you were sure was already set! And it was—air pressure was right, all equipment adjusted—except this BCD that's a bit off-kilter! You figured it wouldn't bother you on this dive, but after 15 minutes, you realize you need to do something; that drag is irritating! You can't take it anymore—time to adjust! You signal to your buddy that you're going to kneel on the bottom to readjust your BCD. How?? Your buddy seems to say with wide-eyed shock. Looking irritated, he shows you the dive computer—16 meters—and points downward, followed by a firm "no" sign. He even taps his head as if asking if you're crazy! Oh man, you think, he's right! But in my course, I only learned to do this on my knees! Can it be done while hovering? Today’s the perfect day to test it??
 
This situation is more common than you might think, and many divers have similar stories! However, if divers were trained from the start to solve all their problems in neutral buoyancy, this scenario wouldn't cause any stress at all! And that's our topic today: how to get your student off their knees from the ground right from the beginning!
 
Like many instructors around the world, I was taught from the start to have my students kneel on the bottom. It's easier, they told me. It's better for controlling the students, they insisted. And so I followed that for years, training students, Dive Masters, various levels of divers with knees on the bottom, as instructed, following the procedure, wanting to be part of the "right" team. But I always felt something was off. And the internet, my friend, is a huge ally in eliminating mediocrity—it didn't take long searching on YouTube to find instructors who, on the first dive, the very first contact with the water, already had their students hovering neutrally! It wasn't perfect, of course, but you could see the student gained way more skill throughout the course by doing it all the time, rather than just in two exercises like the "fin pivot" and "hover"! Who hasn't been there?
 
That left me frustrated. How do these guys manage it and I don't? Why don't they follow the standard?? We're the ones who are right! We're the ones who follow everything to the letter! That guy's putting divers at risk! But is he really? Who's actually putting the diver at risk? Mine might not be in immediate danger with me in the water, but did I really teach them how to use the equipment? Will there always be a bottom for them to kneel on? My mind wouldn't stop contradicting what I'd learned! My procedure was defying logic! There was no way out, no escape... I was wrong.
 
Still trying to convince myself, I recalled my instructor course! Ah! There, they required all of us to be in neutral buoyancy! So why, when we simulated students, did we kneel? If neutral buoyancy is good for me, why not for my student? Ah, now I remember! We wanted them kneeling so if the student bolted to the surface, I could grab them faster and not fail the exam! Of course! But wait... in my course, was I learning to teach diving or just to pass the test? Is it the same thing? The answer echoing in my mind was clear: No!
 
I needed more foundation! So I decided to dig into the standards books! Surely it's all there! I flipped through, reviewed, searched—nothing. There were mentions of alternative techniques, but no final answer! Well, it was time to take action! In my next course, the first exercise as soon as we descend will be buoyancy!
 
The day arrives! It's today! I call my Dive Master and explain my plan. He hesitates. This is going to be a lot of work! There are only two students—it'll be fine! I don't know, he doubts.
 
We start the course like any other: gear assembly, swim test, entry, some breathing checks. I begin the briefing on what we'll do down there. The DM looks at me confused. The students, with no prior experience, don't even blink—they head straight to the bottom with surprising calm. I demonstrate buoyancy. I ask them to repeat. They wobble, mess up, spin, flail arms. Damn, this isn't going to work. But I persist. 15 minutes have passed. How long are we staying here? I'm almost giving up. The DM shoots me a disapproving look. I'm still on the first student! But out of the corner of my eye, I see that despite instructing the second diver to only try when I'm watching, my well-trained DM has already started training him. That eases my tension. Calm down, can't quit on the first try. Calm. Then, like magic, the student seems to get it. He starts controlling his breathing and even hovers motionless for moments. Success! And the high-five! Such pride! Now for the other one! I look over—he's hovering mid-water, looking at me proudly! Since I hadn't followed from the start, I ask him to do it again. And he nails it! He ascended once or twice, but recovered with little or no help! Oh man! And there's still the rest of the entire course left!
 
We surface, I congratulate my students, tell them about the next exercises. I warn them that from this moment on, all exercises will be in neutral buoyancy! I braced for nervous, anxious looks from the students. Instead, I got looks of confidence and calm. They don't know any other reality! They've learned from the first dive that they should stay neutral—why would they protest? The students descend and adjust their buoyancies—it's not perfect, but it's really good! They do all the exercises while hovering! Remove regulator, recover it; remove mask, clear it; so many other things in nearly 100% neutral buoyancy the whole time! When we get to the official buoyancy exercise, for them it's like they don't have to do anything! They've been like that for hours—what's another 3 minutes?
 
And the results in open water? Sensational! Of course, the water density is different; they need to adjust, it's colder, saltier, more turbulent—but it's a short adaptation period. By about halfway through the first open-water dive, they were all neutral! Did an ascent or two happen? Of course! But they were better controlled; they returned with little or no help. They owned the situation!
 
That was many years ago now; my career has taken me to a position where I proudly train everyone from beginners to dive instructors, but they all know the house rule: neutral buoyancy!
 
And why is it important for you, as a diving professional, to also strive to teach your students neutral buoyancy from the start? Well, because the certified diver won't always have a bottom to kneel on! When you certify a new diver, you might fool yourself into thinking you've trained them, but they still need practice—and they'll dive with you to get it! When you certify a new diver, you're training them for the world! No one will ever ask them again if they know how to clear a mask, unless they return for pro courses! You don't train a diver just to hang out with you! I had a student who struggled a lot to learn to dive, wanted to quit, needed extra days in the course, private help— one of our specialties, by the way, it's in the name! But the truth is, after some panics and minor setbacks, I certified her proudly! And where was her next dive? Diving with hammerhead sharks on the other side of the world! She sent me a video thanking me!
 
Now imagine if that scared girl I met had been treated without that kind of respect, if I'd rushed her through exercises like just another student to move on to the next? Would she be safe on that dive? Buoyancy as a top priority in the Open Water course is essential—not just so the student looks good in photos! But for their safety, their confidence. Knowing how to operate their gear in various situations appropriate for their training level!
 
That's why I make this appeal to you, diving professional: Don't settle for the minimum, the easiest, the least effort. Train great divers! Teach this essential technique to your students, yes, from the very first course! May your student return for their buoyancy specialty because they want to learn even more techniques, not because you didn't teach it right the first time! If you need help, we're here for you! And remember: Knees off the bottom!
While I'm at it, let me give a shoutout to SDI, the certifying agency I've chosen to work with for so many years now, and one of the things that won me over was exactly this demand for buoyancy from the first dive, even with one of their slogans being "We kneel to no one!" Discovering that was like finding my home in diving! If you're facing the same challenges I did, come check us out! Who knows... this might be your home too?
 
Happy diving!