Random Work

By Jack Jefferies

Random sequences offer us an opportunity to make great gains in our scores. It seems that the speed and efficiency that we can move through randoms, has no bounds. Efficiency seems to be the subject that needs the most attention. Most of us have no problem moving fast, but it is the efficient moves that score the points. The concept that movement is time, and time is points, must be understood.

Conservation of motion is the most important concept with random work. Be sure to engineer your dive so that everyone has the smallest possible move; if at all possible, sit still. Whatever your move is, always make centered turns and have your center point move in straight lines. Do only the necessary move and remember that, whatever you start, you must stop it. It is best if each formation is still, with all movement momentarily stopped.

Synchronicity within the team will create a sense of confidence and ease that will quiet your mind and allow you to perform at your best. Arriving at each point together, picking up and dropping grips simultaneously, keeps everything looking clear to you and to the judges. The feeling of confidence and ease that goes with a team moving together will push you beyond anything you have imagined.

Most formations have a definite center-flaker construction. The centers are most responsible for the precision and feel of the skydive. The center must be precise with the center point and heading. A small mistake with either of these and the flakers will be flying all over the place. The centers must move deliberately and with confidence. The feel of the entire skydive radiates from the center. When the centers are crisp and confident, the skydive is crisp and confident. When you are working the center, you will seldom want to correct for the outside’s mistakes. Any correction toward one flaker will commonly “hurt” the other. Make your move, stop, fall straight down, and do it with confidence.

When working the outside of these formations, anticipate the position of the next formation and immediately begin moving there, trusting your team. Keep your eye on the centers, watching for any mistakes. A flaker must be quick to correct for mistakes, because the centers should rarely come to them. You need to help the center in his job of sitting still by being delicate when picking up grips.

Seeing the “whole picture”, what the team is doing, is critical. Having this information allows you to keep levels, recognize when you are in the correct slot, and know when mistakes occur, enabling you to compensate. To ensure that we see the “whole picture”, we must keep our focal point through the center point of the formation and see all the way to the opposite side. This is called “cross referencing” and with our peripheral vision open we can see everything. When you brief a dive, recognize what your teammate’s jobs are. As you visualize the dive, be sure to “see” the entire team moving through the sequence.

When moving from one formation to another, there are three basic references that we use to determine where we want to be. The first two are done with anticipation, meaning before the break of the original formation. Visualization, see the next formation superimposed on the one you are in. The move is as simple as filling the picture. Kinesthetic memory, understand how the move will feel before you make it, then recreate the feeling as you move. The third reference, ad-libbing, or correcting as you go, is done during the transition. As you set out to make your move, recognize mistakes as they happen. To do this, you must be able to see the mistake, cross reference, and know what the team is supposed to be doing. After seeing the mistake, you must make a judgment on the correct response (the ability to do this well, comes mostly with experience). Then simply take action to correct. When teams are good with this, it never appears that there was a mistake.

Having good levels throughout the skydive, is imperative. If our levels are off, we have to move on the vertical plane as well as on the horizontal one, taking twice as much time as necessary. Bad levels will also cause the completed formations to move about creating tension and momentum’s that must be stopped. Good levels come from constant, subconscious correction. With good cross-referencing and awareness of the situation, we will see a level difference when it is quite small. Automatically make a tiny correction and the skydive appears to have perfect levels. The level difference must be recognized when it is small, the subsequent correction must be half the difference, and the correction must come immediately. Having good levels is a simple matter of having good awareness.

Good key discipline and anticipation, are the hallmarks of consistently fast and clean teams. We must build each point before it is keyed. We want to key instantaneously and we need to break simultaneously. Know whether or not it is your key, if it is anyone’s assume that it is yours. When it is your key, understand what grips must happen for you to key. See the grips as they happen bringing your focus to the place where the last one will occur. The instant that last grip happens key the formation. Have the presence of mind to know whether or not your teammates are ready to move on. When it is not your key, know who’s key it is. Understand what they are looking for and do your best to anticipate their key, while strictly focusing on and waiting for them.

Airspeed 4-Way Training Work Book
©1998 - Jack Jefferies, Airspeed - All Rights Reserved

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