Young Post: How did you become a diving instructor? Fung: I watched the movie The Deep when I was a teenager. It is a thriller about deep sea adventurers. I was fascinated by the underwater scenes in the movie and dreamed about having such an experience in the deep ocean. Although I would sometimes go snorkelling, I never had a chance to try diving until about three years ago. Compared with other sports, it is pretty complicated to start diving. It requires quite a lot of equipment. You ought to really learn the skills seriously, because there is risk in doing it. If something happens under the water, it can be fatal. Then, three years ago, I finally made up my mind to learn diving at the Hong Kong Institute of Scuba Training. More than a year ago, I began teaching people. YP: What qualification does a diving instructor need? F: An instructor has to obtain the instructor certificate. To take the instructor course, which covers diving techniques and teaching skills, you need to be over 18 and certified as a dive master. This means you must have at least six months of experience and 60 documented dives. YP: How do you feel about being a diving instructor? F: It's really great to teach people when they know nothing about diving at all at the very beginning. I get so much satisfaction from being an instructor. There are loads of students who feel scared about diving at the very beginning. But after I teach them how to do it, we can enjoy and have fun in the deep sea together. YP: What is the difference between being a diving instructor and solicitor? F: Being a diving instructor is a happier job than being a solicitor. You will not be bothered by phone calls or anybody else since you can't talk under water. YP: Why don't you work as a full-time diving instructor? F: We usually organise classes during weekends since very few people learn on weekdays. There are only a few months in summer that are suitable for diving in Hong Kong. The winter is too cold for diving. As most people here consider diving a recreational sport rather than a commercial activity, no-one dives in winter. Therefore, you can't really earn a living by being a full-time diving instructor in Hong Kong, except for those who own a diving equipment shop or the few working for big diving clubs. There are freelance diving instructors in Hong Kong, but they don't have enough support to do things such as pool training for the students. YP: What does it take to be a good diving instructor? F: You must be really into the sport. You need to be a role model to your students. Safety is the first and foremost thing we emphasise. So we need to be very strict about the safety procedures. To be an outstanding instructor, you need to really take care of your students, examining their diving skills and sharing your experiences with them. YP: Any advice for people who are interested in the field? F: Don't think that you can get back what you have invested. It really takes a long time to pay off. Name: Johnnie Fung Hon-cheong | Occupation: Solicitor and diving instructor | Age: 40
