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There are more skills that are considered to be basic diving skills; buddy checks and compass navigation to name a few, but let's look at these four for the moment.
Mask clearing is a skill you need, when water leaks into your mask because you move your facial muscles, you need to clear the water out of your mask.
The regulator recovery is a skill you might need when you lose your regulator from your mouth, often caused by a fin-kick from your buddy. There are two ways to recover the regulator, the "sweep-method" and the "reach-method."
Out-of-air drills are normally only needed when you forget to monitor your air supply, and breath your tank empty. You then need to secure the octopus of your buddy for breathing.
And buoyancy control is a basic skill, because without good buoyancy control, you need to use your strength and stamina to control your depth, and this depletes the reserves you might need during an emergency.
These four skills have in common that they have to be practiced until they become second nature. You cannot practice them once or twice and then think that it is enough.
When you need the skills they have to be trained reflexes, and that means that they have to be trained regularly, over and over again.
Most holiday-divers, and even some divers who dive almost every week, hardly practice the basic diving skills. This is downright naive. If you study martial arts, how often do you practice a certain kick? One, two, or hundreds of times?
When you play tennis, how often do you repeat your backhand drills, before you are satisfied with the results? Five times, ten times, or hundreds of times?
Every year several divers die because they have a regulator or mask problem, and they do not have the necessary routine to solve the problem, and then panic. They thought that practicing a couple of times would be enough, and they where proven wrong. Do not end like one of these statistics. It does not take much time to practice the basic drills, and it will build your skill and confidence.
A good way to practice your basic diving skills is to take a couple of minutes during every dive, after the safety stop, to work on improving your skills. Mask clearing, mask removal and replacement, regulator recoveries (both ways) and an out-of air drill, all while remaining neutrally buoyant, to practice your buoyancy control at the same time.
If you make this "skill drills" part of your diving routine you will become a more confident and capable diver. The more skilled you are the better you will feel underwater.
You will be better equipped to cope with emergencies. You will feel more relaxed and have more fun while diving.
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