Visualizing

Posted Saturday, September 28, 2002

By Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld

Visualization is the ability to create clear, detailed and accurate images in your mind, of events that you want to create as physical reality. We cannot possibly stress enough the importance of positive visualization. Every sports psychology book or peak performance book contains extensive chapters of the benefits and value of visualizing. This holds true in all areas of life far beyond sports.

Visualization for skydiving is essential. In nearly all other sports and activities, you can practice in realistic rehearsals for hours. The most intensive team training we have ever done was 1200 jumps in one year. That is less than 20 actual skydiving hours. That is roughly 25 minutes of each block in an entire year. If you wanted to learn to play golf, you could play for 40 hours in a week, not 20 in a year. Time in a wind tunnel can help a great deal with particular skills and moves, but it’s not a completely accurate playing field where you can practice the entire game. You must learn to visualize.

Learning to visualize is a skill like any other. It takes time and practice. When you are riding to altitude, visualizing the jump you are about to do. Is the image clear, detailed an accurate? For most people, the answer is “Kind a”, “Sort a”, “I can see my grips”… Learning the skill of visualizing will take more time than only the ride to altitude provides. Along with the jumps and physical training, it is in the Airspeed training plan to visualize at least 30 minutes a day.

Regardless of your skill level, I guarantee you this. If you can easily create a clear, detailed and accurate image in your mind, of you and your team performing your best, it will often become reality. As you visualize this on the way to altitude, your confidence will soar. There it is right in front of you. As if you just performed it perfectly 100 times. Quality visualization is the same in your consciousness as actual experience. So is poor visualization. Learn to see it right, and you will do it right.

It is important to learn to visualize from two different angles. With both these angles, start your visualization from the beginning. See the door open, see the entire climb out, see the exit count, see the exit and see the first point. Continue all the way through break off.

Take the first angle and see if from the camera flyer’s perspective. Watch the whole team working together as four parts of one machine. Watch yourself within the team. To help us create an accurate image from this angle, we spend a lot of time watching video of our jumps. We produce a special tape of only our best. This “Best Of” tape provides an opportunity for us to watch ourselves only during our peak performance, which is, by the way, a very big confidence booster. There is no point in visualizing all the mistakes. Fix them by recreating your best over and over again.

Take the second angle from your own eyes. Take the time to see everything, just as you practiced on the creepers. Cross-reference, everyone stopped in position, taking good grips, seeing the key. Visualize at a speed that allows you time to see it all. The true speed always feels slower when you visualize. Take this a step further than only the visual. Feel the power in your moves, the strong controlled stops, the calm mind, see the sharp eyes of your teammates as you communicate during the jump, feel how much fun it is when you and your team are at your best, see your teammates’ thoughts as you all track away, charged up from the best jump you ever had…

Dan’s Non-Jumping Visualization Training

I try to schedule 30 minutes of visualization training every day. The 30 minutes are not always done at once. It can be 3 sessions of 10 minutes each. During most of my visualizing time, I will find a quiet place where I can be alone. In this quiet place I find it is easier to create the most detailed images. I slow down, I calm my mind, and I enter an almost meditative state.

There are a total of 24 block moves, 4-way or 8-way[1]. If you draw out the entire dive pool there are 12 jumps. I do one third of these each day: 8 blocks and 4 of the 12 jumps. The blocks I do one at a time: just that single transition in all its detail. Do it perfectly, again and again. I work the exit move of that block as well as the freefall move. I also see it from my slot and my piece partner’s slot.

When I visualize the complete jump, I eliminate the technical details of each move. I see those details but without giving them any thought. This time is best used for practicing anticipation, thinking one point ahead. I do this by locking the image of what each formation looks like just before it is complete. For example, no matter what formation you are coming from, a compressed accordian looks the same right before it is built. It is at that moment, prior to when the formation is complete, that I think of what the next point is going to be. This technique was very effective in minimizing brain locks. It also took a lot of practice, at home when I was not jumping.

I also find it very useful to visualize spontaneously. While in the middle of doing something completely unrelated to jumping, I will suddenly decide to go through a jump. Instantly I force myself to create the correct pictures and feeling. This is much more difficult than the quiet places where I usually like to visualize. But it serves the purpose of teaching you to instantly call on this skill anytime, anywhere, even while being completely distracted by something else. If you can visualize under these conditions, you can do it anytime. CAUTION! At times, practicing this method can result in making quite a spectacle of you. When you suddenly start dirt diving as you walk down the street or in line at the supermarket, innocent bystanders “may call the authorities”…

Jack’s Jump By Jump Visualization Plan

Visualization is a very important element of skydiving training. The time we have in freefall to practice our sport is so short, that we are left with visualization as the only practical option for repetitive training. Repetitive training is necessary to make your skills and knowledge of a sequence automatic. To perform at the high end of your ability, you must be able to let go of conscious thought and allow your performance to come automatically. The amount of readiness to perform at this level can come only from strong visualization skills and the trust-in-self brings.

Having a system of what, how, and when you visualize is very important. Each of the members of Airspeed has their own system. Your system should be unique and specific to you. Spend time thinking about what you do and how well it works. Talk with your friends and coach about what they do. Gather as much information as possible and then begin to experiment. From this information create a visualization plan of your own. Write it down. After working your plan for a while, you may choose to adjust it, but you will have a process of visualization you can apply to all of your skydiving. To help you begin to put together a plan of your own, we will look at some of the key elements you might find in an Airspeed member’s process.

Repetition – Repeat the same sequence in your mind over and over again. The number of repetitions required to make a skydive automatic is endless. Visualizing should begin directly after the dirt dive and continue at regular intervals until the actual skydive. Working the next days’ skydives at home, puts you ahead of the game. Working the next weeks’ skydives throughout the week, even further. The constancy of this work will set you apart as an accomplished skydiver.

Relaxation – Frequent periods of relaxation between sessions. Relaxing between moments of visualization helps avoid anxiety. At times when a sequence is difficult to capture, all that is necessary is to allow your mind to relax. When your mind is at ease, you think better than when you are uptight and anxious about something. Visualization that is done in a relaxed state is more vivid and powerful, making this time much more productive to your training.

Calm – Produce a calm mind and the proper arousal level. Calmness is key to skydiving well. The proper arousal level is critical to peak performance. Use your visualization time to practice this optimum state of mind.

Multiple points of view – View the entire skydive from your perspective, from the camera flyer’s one, and even from a teammate’s view. The more we know about what is supposed to be happening on a skydive, the better we will perform. Being able to see the entire jump, understand everyone’s job, and perceive the overall flow of the dive, is critical. This ability, requiring much training and familiarity, will enable you to react to changes as they happen and remember difficult non-repeating sequences with ease.

Slow motion – Seeing the entire skydive in slow motion while analysing all the details. This gives you the time to look closely at the specifics of the jump without feeling rushed. Look at the details in slow motion during this session and then let it go, because there is far too much happening far too quickly to hold this type of speed and detail in the front of your mind while skydiving. This session must not be done close to the actual jump due to the lack of realism.

Fast forward – Viewing the skydive at twice the speed it will actually occur, will broaden your anticipation abilities and increase your confidence. Anticipation, like muscle’s flexibility, will grow if stretched. Pushing your abilities by pushing the pace in your visualization will help you develop greater anticipation. Viewing the skydive in fast forward can also build confidence. If you can remember the sequence at this pace, the skydive is going to be easy. Like slow motion visualization, fast forward visualization is not realistic and should not be practiced too close to the jump.

Real time – Repetitions at actual real time speed make the sequence, timing, and details completely automatic. Your mind should be working just as you would like to in freefall. It is here that you practice the correct arousal level, anticipation, distraction control, and all the mental disciplines of a great performance. Thos should be the bulk of your visualization where the real work gets done.

Positive – Always see the jump working the way you planned. Our mind has the uncanny ability to create precisely what it sees. We must be careful not to visualize our fears. Visualize only what you want to happen.

Process – Execute a process for every jump regardless if you are fun jumping, training or competing. Having the same process for each jump is very powerful. It ensures you have prepared thoroughly every time. It also gives you a well-developed routine, which will build your confidence as well as your skydiving skills.

Be intentional with your preparation. Develop a system that works for you and work it every time you jump. Constantly improve your visualization skills. These skills will play a major part in your improvement as a skydiver.

Airspeed Formation Skydiving Advanced Skills Camp Work Book

Visualizing

Dan’s Non-Jumping Visualization Training

Jack’s Jump By Jump Visualization Plan

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