Hello! I was wondering if you could help me

[RA0 0]

Hi folks,

My name’s Rao, I live in Perth, Western Australia. I did my first tandem skydive in August 2012, and after that I made up my mind to do the AFF course, and be able to jump by myself. It took me a long time to enrol myself, but I finally got around doing it in December 2013. On 28th December 2013 I did my Stage 1 AFF jump. Everything went well but as I came down to land I took my eyes off the paddles and stared at the ground instead. By the time I looked at the paddles, the Landing Assistant had already signalled for a full flare. And by the time I had flared, I had hit the ground. The wind had died down when I came in for landing, and I did come a bit too fast. And of course being 94kilos doesn’t help with slowing down either. Here’s a link to a video taken by a fellow AFF student. I guess you’ll get a very good idea as to what exactly happened.

http://s833.photobucket.com/user/ssr1984/media/Accident_zps42a26ed9.mp4.html

Anyway, as a result of the crash landing, I broke my tibia, fibula, dislocated my ankle, tore my ligaments around my left ankle and had a severely swollen right ankle(luckily not broken). Guess I was lucky to get away with just that much damage.
The next few weeks were pretty depressing, but, I got over the grief, and focused more on recovering. All I could think of while I was bed ridden was about getting back to the drop zone and getting the landing right. And I did so 77 days later on March 16th 2014. I got the landing right this time. Although I could stand on my feet upon doing the full flare, I just decided to land on my butt because I was a bit too terrified with my previous experience. I was just happy I didn’t break anything.

http://s833.photobucket.com/user/ssr1984/media/Landing-Segment100_00_38553-00_01_05832_zps8986fd17.mp4.html


I breezed through Stage 2 and 3, and am now on stage 4. Unfortunately, I am trapped on Stage 4 as I am unable to stop myself from spinning during freefall. I have failed the stage four times now. I have received feedback from two of the instructors who’ve jumped with me so far.
1) I was told I bring my hand close to my face to check the altimeter while the other hand is in its original position. Didn’t do it after the first time.
2) I was told to relax, and I sure I’m pretty relaxed. Unlike the first few times, i don’t feel nervous before the jump anymore.
3) I was told that I bring my legs way too in which makes me move backwards, and I have been making an effort to not repeat that.

The first time I did stage 4 I had line twists as a result of the spinning. When I spun out of the twist, the ripcord in my hand hit my upper lip cutting it which resulted in me getting a few stitches. So, it’s been quite a challenge.



I came across this thread while googling “how to avoid spinning during freefall’.


http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Safety_and_Training_F2/Spinning_in_freefall_P62415


I’ll try the toe tapping method in order to ensure my legs are symmetrical to each other. I have uploaded a video of the four jumps. I hope you folks are able to give me more pointers.

http://s833.photobucket.com/user/ssr1984/media/FAILS_zps2dccba5d.mp4.html

I certainly hope I succeed in getting through this stage in the next go and the remaining five stages.

Thanks for reading and I look forward for any pointers that might help me.

[AlanS 1]

Can you find a wind tunnel like iFly near you? I see one at this link in Australia but that might be a bit far. Maybe one is closer to you.

http://downunder.iflyworld.com/

I would spend a few weekends there to make sure you are stable and not spinning. Once you have that down in the tunnel go back and try for stage 4.

The tunnel is a good supplement if you keep in mind it's limitations, like (a) it doesn't enforce "altitude awareness" and (b) later you will need to learn to track and that cannot be done in a tunnel.

If you do go to a tunnel, I would say limit your session to 60 seconds at a time, pretend to check our altitude every few seconds and end the session by doing your pull sequence. You want to trains your muscle memory to do that.

Alan

[Trafficdiver 8]

I went to the tunnel to fix my spinning problem. The tunnel helped me to fly like a dishrag. Totally relaxed.

If you can't get to a tunnel keep practicing. The less you fight the wind the less you spin.

That being said I'm not an instructor just some dude on the interweb.

Have fun with your journey!

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[RA0 0]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was advised to go have a few sessions at the tunnel. However, we don't have any here in Western Australia. I'll have to travel to the east. It's pretty far, but I'll have to make the trip if this trend continues. I've booked myself in for a jump next week. Hopefully I'll get through This time around.

My confidence has taken a major hit after the past few jumps as one can imagine. I never felt this low on confidence even after crash landing. But, I guess its a part and parcel of the learning process. I've just got to keep trying.

[skydivecat 3]

Ask your instructor if you guys can do a "relaxation" jump. No tasks, no anything. Jump, get stable, stay altitude aware and just BREATHE, relax, feel the air, enjoy the sky. Don't think about it, don't try, just jump, box man and drink it in.

The more you think about it and try to force it the harder it becomes. I had a friend who did over 10 level 4s because he was so stressed about it he was literally clenching every muscle in his body, he was like a 2x4 (and he'd spin even more). Getting to the tunnel was an option for him and that helped tremendously. He nailed the rest of his AFF in a day after that.

Talk to the DZO/head instructor and see if they would be willing to make your next jump just a "fun" jump with the instructor. Taking all the stress out of the "tasks" and having to pass the level may be enough to let you relax and feel it. If you can't do tunnel, that is the best suggestion I have. Good luck, remember, this is FUN, quit thinking about it so much and just let your body fly. The more you tense up, the worse it is.

[FB1609 0]

Just go do some more jumps, with as much FF time as you can get. You'll soon be flying exactly how you want. It's all about time in the air. Tunnel would be good but only if it's convenient.

FF is more fun anyways. Enjoy, relax, try to not complicate your mind too much and fly more by instinct. As humans...we actually know how to do it somehow, strange that.

As is the case with most things, relaxed is how to get comfortable.


edit...oh yeah, keep a good arch and a bit of wind on your feet, you'll be fine!

[ianyapxw 0]

Hey, I really admire your persistence!
Today you might see them as really good, but only they know the journey they took and how many bumps they had!

About relaxing, the thing I noticed is that a lot of people say 'relax' like it's some kind of magical word, but they don't tell people HOW to relax, or how to know that they are relaxed, or what a good body position is (if they're reviewing video). My biggest tip would not be to focus on relaxing, or even arching, my biggest tip would be to focus on pulling your arms upwards above your head, do the same with your legs. This way you will find yourself in a nice arch. Basically do this using both arms and legs a few times on the ground, and then focus on doing it in the sky.

There could be many reasons why you spin, including but not limited to dropping an arm, dropping a leg, having one arm further forward or twisting the hips. However, without video it's very difficult to see what's actually wrong. While tunnel is the best (much cheaper, much more effective due to multiple cameras, instructor walking around you, walls for reference), getting into a good arch is simply the next best option.

Hope it all works out for you!
Blue skies!

[EChen22 0]

skydivecat

Ask your instructor if you guys can do a "relaxation" jump. No tasks, no anything. Jump, get stable, stay altitude aware and just BREATHE, relax, feel the air, enjoy the sky. Don't think about it, don't try, just jump, box man and drink it in.

I second everything Skydivecat said. I was having leg issues during AFF, so my instructor took me out for a fun jump - held my hands and let me kick my feet around to get used to feeling the wind on them. Helped tremendously! (As did the goofy faces he made at me to help me relax, haha)

You'll get it. And just remember, you're not "failing" the levels, you're learning a LOT each and every jump you make. Keep us posted!

You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them to fly in formation.

[CaptnCrunch 0]

look UP UP UP... i had spinning issues and finally we figured out i was looking to much "down" ..
head tilt backwords did the trick for me

[havoc996 0]

Might just be me and I AM NOT an instructor but it looks like you are keeping your left arm in a bit so you can see your altimeter. Check altitude and make sure you go back to symmetrical. Everything said so far is good advice. I find that when I am having trouble with something new that talking to myself helps me. relaaaaax and don't beat yourself up.

Trail mix? Oh, you mean M&M's with obstacles.

[RA0 0]

Hi folks,

It's been ages since I last posted. Well, here's some good news at last. I PASSED Stage 4!!!!!!!!!! Yesssssssssss
I am now able to maintain constant heading in a desired direction without spinning like I used to. It took me 9 jumps in Stage 4 to get through, but its a huge relief. :)
Just passed Stage 4 yesterday and attempted Stage 5 today. Did the 360 turn, but didn't dock with the instructor, so I'll have to repeat that stage. However, I am pretty confident that I will succeed soon in getting through all nine stages. Thanks a lot for all your advice. I did actually go to the tunnel where I was made aware of how the slightest bit of movement can impact in a spin. It took me five go's after that to pass. I know, I am pretty dumb and slow in learning, but I'm just happy I did it.

I'll keep you folks updated as I go. Thanks again for all your advice and pep talk!!!

[Tela 0]

Dumb would be blaming someone else for your problems/mistakes. You sound persistent and willing to work at learning to me. I did not pass my first try at level 4 last Tuesday and am going back tomorrow to try again. You've only failed if you've quit and the time it takes you to learn is not listed on any dive flow I've seen. Every "failure" is still a skydive, as long as you're having fun and staying safe this noob says KEEP JUMPING.

I admire the work you're putting in more than the friends who passed every level the first time. Thanks for reminding the rest of us it's not the number of times it takes but the determination and persistance to succeed.

"The lizards were a race of people practically extinct from doing things smart people don't do."

[rjblake 1]

Good to hear that you haven't given up. I was fortunate to have spent 30min in the wind tunnel before ever doing any freefall. One thing I did notice is that your smile is definitely connected to your ability to relax. Some mentioned instructors goofy faces - absolutely. In the tunnel, every time the instructor signalled for me to smile, my flying got a whole lot better. Remember, its meant to be fun - so smile, relax and stay safe

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Yeah, I'm starting to think that about 80% of skydiving is learning how to relax. I noticed I was always tense in the tunnel, trying to pay attention to my instructor. So once I was comfortable flying on my own in there, I did a 10 minute session where I told the instructor I had no objectives other than to just fly around and have fun. It made a massive difference in my flying -- I felt all the tension leave my body the second I hit the air, and I flew like a boss in there.

It's kind of the same thing with driving. I remember being very tense when I was just starting out -- didn't know how the car worked, my eyes didn't know where to look to collect vital information about the car, and I was moving a ton of steel going several times faster than I'd ever gone before. Once I started to relax, everything became so much smoother. I'm guessing a lot of things are like that.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[RA0 0]

Hello folks!!!

Been ages since the last update, so here's some great news at last. On Sunday 22 February 2015, I passed my AFF course. 14 months and 38 jumps it took me to get here, but I'm glad I didn't give up. The joy of finishing the course outweighs the sorrow caused by the many set backs I experienced along the way. My landings have gotten heaps better and am doing stand up landings, and have been able to get a few of them accurately inside the landing circle. Feels great to be able to tell that I have finished the course successfully. It's been one hell of a long and interesting journey to get to the destination.

[dthames 0]

I can appreciate overcoming setbacks. Maybe not as much as you with that injury that you had. Anyway, Way to go! Good to stick with it and finish it.

So, what is your next step?

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[RA0 0]

I'll do a couple of fun jumps and practice more tracking. But, I'm planning on starting B-Rels soon. Had been to the DZ today but couldn't jump because of the windy conditions. Will be heading again over the weekend.