Cave diving is not considered the pinnacle of technical diving for nothing. The risks are high, as are the demands on training, equipment and mentality. This makes the question all the more crucial: who actually trains divers and under what conditions?

In this article, we take a differentiated look at the cave diving instructor scene. Many of them work part-time. But is this enough to offer sound, safe and modern training at a consistently high level?

Narrow passages, zero visibility scenarios, complex navigation, psychological pressure and all this far away from any direct possibility of ascent. Training in cave diving is not a standardized weekend course, but an intensive, methodical learning process that goes far beyond mere diving.

Good training imparted:

Technisches Können: 

Gasmanagement, Team-Kommunikation, Leinenführung, Notfallstrategien. Diese Abläufe müssen sitzen. Automatisiert. Im Schlaf.

Theoretisches Verständnis: 

Decompression theory, gas physics, hypoxia, hypercapnia. Anyone who dives in enclosed spaces needs to understand what happens in the body.

Didaktik & Pädagogik: 

An instructor is not a performer, but a mentor. Clear, structured, individual and psychologically meaningful - that is the requirement.

Good training is not a product. It is a process with a clear goal. To produce independent-minded, safety-oriented and resilient cave divers who remain calm even when things get really serious.

A large part of the scene consists of part-time cave diving instructors, often highly motivated people with a real passion for diving. There is no doubt about that.

But passion alone is not always enough. After all, anyone who trains alongside their main job inevitably encounters systemic challenges:

Zeitliche Begrenzung: 

If you can only train at the weekend, you have less scope for repetitions, adjustments or spontaneous additional training.

Routineverlust: 

Fewer dives mean less presence in the system. This can lead to methodological and didactic skills becoming rusty.

Begrenzte Ressourcen: 

Logistics, location selection, many things have to be organized "on the side". This has an impact on the depth of training.

This does not mean that all part-time instructors perform less across the board. But: the probability of inconsistent quality increases the less capacity is available.

Those who dedicate themselves entirely to teaching naturally have other prerequisites:

Tägliche Praxis: 

Regular work with students creates a deep routine both in terms of diving and teaching.

Systematik & Struktur: 

From the first theory block to the final meeting, full-time providers usually have clearly defined, tried and tested procedures.

Laufende Weiterbildung: 

Those who live in the system develop it further. Workshops, international networking, exchange with other professionals - "state of the art" is not an empty promise here.

Room for development: 

Full-time instructors have the luxury of responding to each student individually with time for mistakes, feedback and retraining.

Kurz: 

Hauptberufliche Anbieter leben vom Ruf, den sie sich aufbauen  und vom Vertrauen, das sie täglich bestätigen müssen. Qualität ist hier kein Ziel, sondern Grundvoraussetzung.

Die wichtigste Entscheidung bei der Höhlentauchausbildung ist nicht, welcher Verband auf dem Zertifikat steht. 

But rather: Who will take you there?

Ask yourself the following questions when making your choice:

• Wie viele Kurse unterrichtet der Instruktor pro Jahr ?

• Wie regelmäßig bildet er oder sie in Höhlen aus ?

• Gibt es strukturierte Kursunterlagen, klare Lernziele und Feedbackprozesse?

• Wird auf dein persönliches Tempo eingegangen oder läuft alles nach Schema F?

• Welche Rolle spielen Reflexion, Nachbesprechungen, Fehleranalyse?

Denn eines ist klar. 

Eine mangelhafte Ausbildung kann in der Höhle den Unterschied zwischen einem souveränen Exit und einer kritischen Lage machen. 

Cave diving training is not a leisure activity. It is a matter of trust. And often a life insurance policy.

If you want to train well, you need more than passion: time. Experience. System. Reflection. Responsibility.

It's not about the question: "Full-time or part-time?"

But about:

How professional is the training?

How seriously is your learning process taken?

And does the quality correspond to what really counts in the cave?