Potato Chipping

[MiamiJumper 0]

I am currently on my AFF level 5 and was wondering if anyone had advice for me...I seem to keep potato chipping after release, it is pretty mild and I can still complete my dive flow objectives. My instructor gave me about 3 or 4 "relax" hand signals during the free fall. I attempted to respond to the signal by taking a deep breath and trying to relax.....I am wondering, is it because I am holding my arms and legs to stiff?....What would help me correct this problem?......

....Any and all advice would be helpful THANKS!

[eightate8at8 0]

Try not to focus so much on that arch itself, and being a static figure. Of course, arch hard! but at the same time let yourself feel the air hitting you.

When you sit down in a lazyboy, do you try to hold a perfect posture? Hell no! Get comfortable and let the chair hold you

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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Of course, arch hard!

As a student, I found the term "arch hard" to be UNhelpful. The term implies arching rigidly...which can result in potato chipping. I much preferred the term "ARCH DEEPLY"

I found it helpful to think of oozing down into an arch. Imagine a chocolate bar melting on a hot day and slowly sagging down.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[kallend 1,623]

Quote

I am currently on my AFF level 5 and was wondering if anyone had advice for me...I seem to keep potato chipping after release, it is pretty mild and I can still complete my dive flow objectives. My instructor gave me about 3 or 4 "relax" hand signals during the free fall. I attempted to respond to the signal by taking a deep breath and trying to relax.....I am wondering, is it because I am holding my arms and legs to stiff?....What would help me correct this problem?......

....Any and all advice would be helpful THANKS!

R-E-L-A-X

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Andy9o8 0]

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is it because I am holding my arms and legs to stiff?...

Probably. That was my problem when I was a student - back then, they taught us the hard "X" arch, which mimics the effect of an airplane propeller pretty well. And I always thought being told to "relax" was an idiotic thing to tell me when I was new student, since my fear/adrenaline factor wasn't very conducive to relaxing.

What did it for me was a friend telling me to not stretch my arms and legs out, but just extend them back at my shoulders and hips, and try to let my lower arms and legs just "float" on the wind cushion. That was the beginning of the end to my early stability problems.

[caldwellbuilder 0]

I teach my students to breathe in quick but out
very slowly--about one-third normal speed. Keeping one's mouth like a whistle also helps with the slower exhale. Practice doing this during your dirt dives.
Hope this helpsl

Later,

Will

[davelepka 4]

It's like this, you need to be 'solid' but relaxed.

Picture yourself riding a bike down a bumpy road. So as not to get the seat installed in your ass, you stand up on the pedals. Your legs are slightly bent at the knees, and you allow that bend to increase/decrease in order to absorb the bumps in the road.

Your arms and legs in freefall need to be liek your knees on the bike. Yes you want them in a certain position, but you need to allow them to 'float' a little to absorb the force of the air on your limbs.

No 'float' and the force blowing your limbs around is transfered directly to your body, which potato chips around as it gets pushed every which way.

Even how you hold your arch can help to smooth things out. Use just enough push from your hips to hold your pelvis down. Not so much that you are forcing it forward, but just enough to hold it in place.

Don't be afraid to bring this up with your instructor. You can request a jump with no frefall manuvers, just you and your instructor hanging out and enjoying the ride. With an entire jump dedicated to just relaxing and enjoying yourself, you get rid of the potato chipping, and really excel on the remainder of your student jumps.

Remember that the learning progression that your instructors are putting you through is what the school wants you to learn, but of equal importance is what you want to learn. Your instructor may tell you passed a certain level, but if you didn't feel like your performance was satisfactory, you have the right to refuse the advancement and repeat the level.

Likewise, if you need a jump to get your head together and relax in freefall, all you have to do is ask. The learning process is a two way street, don't forget that your opinion is important.

[MiamiJumper 0]

Thanks a lot for all of the advice it really helps. I see now what it is that I am doing wrong. As far as taking a jump to just relax and enjoy free fall, I think its a great idea and am going to give it a try. Still new and trying to learn everyday, i'm sure with more jumps I will be able to fix my instability.


..Thanks again for the advice and suggestions (feel free to post more )

, David

[JohnMitchell 14]

Sometimes potato chipping is caused by flying with your hands pushed down forward of your face, as if lying on the floor and pushing yourself up. This causes the head, chest, and torso angle to be too high, as if you're trying to hold your head up or sit up in freefall. Relax your shoulders some, let your hands relax up behind your head, behind your field of vision, and let your body lie down into the proper freefall position.

Also make sure your thighs are not too far apart, not too wide of a stance. If your legs are too far apart, you can't arch them back from the hip joint properly. Get some video if you can.

[MiamiJumper 0]

Ya the video seems like it would also help me a bunch, ill see if I can scrap the money together for this weekend.

Also the hands being out of my field of vision is something I will think about next time.

Thanks!!

[artard 0]

I'd suggest some tunnel time if there's one near you. 10 minutes in a tunnel made a huge difference for my belly flying technique.

http://www.mixcloud.com/prajna
http://vimeo.com/avidya

[MiamiJumper 0]

Hmm...I think they have one in orlando a couple of hours north of me.

[rehmwa 2]

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I found it helpful to think of oozing down into an arch. Imagine a chocolate bar melting on a hot day and slowly sagging down.

ooohhh yeah, that's perfect - I can just see the comfort and calm exhalation with this single statement

nicely described

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[erdnarob 1]

Don't worry, you are not an exception. Telling you to relax is one thing but you need to monitor that.
One trick which can work is the : Hummmmm, hummmmm, hummmmmm like a Boudhist monk. Humming it (with throat and mouth) makes you remind to relax. Also try to think about your extremities like fingers...at ears level and toes and bend them to remind you where they are in the space, that can help you to be symetrical.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[Will_Evo 0]

Smiling during freefall helped me to relax.

-Evo

Zoo Crew

[MiamiJumper 0]

Thanks again for all the advice!!!

This is very helpful!!
David

[mellow 0]

i have just barely begun to understand how to be stable, and for me it was all about relaxing.

on my last jump, a level 4 repeat, just after exiting, i took a deep breath, and then let out a big aaaahhhhhhhhhh as i exhaled while falling, and sunk into a nice, stable arch. the wind felt completely different, like it was cradling me, instead of how it felt before, like i was trying to balance on it.

Jennifer

don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. and then go do that, because what the world needs is people that come alive.

[pilot-one 0]

I had the same problem but "relaxing" for me was still too rigid. I had to think about turning myself into a noodle but still keep leg pressure to keep from back sliding. I also had to refrain from fighting and just let go of the air and go with the flow. It worked.

[fred 0]

A little geek never hurt anybody:

Quote

Obi-Wan: "Remember, a [skydiver] can feel the [wind] flowing through him."
Luke: "You mean it controls your actions?"
Obi-Wan: "Partially. But it also obeys your commands."

The wind will do what it wants to, and what it wants to do is find the quickest way past you. You want to hold an arch so that the "quickest way" around you is even on both sides. But you don't necessarily want to fight it, as that's the path to the dark side.

What you want to do is let the force/wind flow around you and through you, and influence it to make it do what you want. This involves a balance between relaxing and controlling.

Symmetrical is good. Asymmetrical is bad.

[TommyM 3]

Try this: take a car on a fast highway/freeway with your buddy driving...say 75 or 80 MPH, stick your arm out the window with the palm forward, simulating the relative airflow that would be hitting your arm in FF. Experiment with a completely relaxed state and a stiffer controlling attitude, think about what your muscles are doing and not doing. Arch your palm and fingers, let the air blow your arm into a natural shape and balance...everyone is going to have a different position because everyone has different flexability. In freefall, let the air blow your body into the shape that it wants. It's a cheap and fun way to get nearly unlimited air time for your arm....an important controll surface to be sure.

[thrillstalker 0]

i just finished aff so my advice works for me but it might not for you. the best people to talk to are instructors at your dz. see if you can get a few different instructors to do some ground work with you. five minutes with three or four people will do a lot of good. all of them will get you into a good arch but it might be easier to "understand" a different approach to the same arch.

my first few jumps i felt like the wind was beating me. as soon as i was able to relax it felt more like the wind was just rolling over me. this is the best way i can describe how a relaxed freefall feels.

hope it helps and good luck.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[nsh 0]

When I had a potato chipping, my AFF instructor said that in many cases it could be caused by holding the breath. Take a deep breath - and this will relax you as well. That works for me, hope it will help you.

[awagnon 0]

I always potato chipped severly when I was on a coached jump, but not when solo, because I would tense up with the coach there. I started practicing each coach level by myself, solo, until I was relaxed with it, then ask a coach to come along. The only down side to this, is I could be learning the level wrong before the coach jump. So far, it hasn't been a problem and I'm much more relaxed after a little practice. It's going to take me more than 25 jumps to get my A license, but who cares if I'm having fun in the process.

Alton

"Luck favors the prepared."

[sundevil777 93]

Potato chipping is not from asymmetry, that would simply cause a movement or rotation in a particular direction. Chipping is from repeated input - over correction. Settle down, stop trying to respond to the desire to make quick arm/hand/leg corrections, and you'll settle down. Relaxing is a good way to do this. Concentrating on smiling is a good way of doing this. Concentrating on letting the (wind) be with you/to be the wind is a good way to do this. The good news is that once you stop chipping, you'll likely never do it again.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[blondeskydiver 0]

I had both your issues in AFF as most of us do.

For the Potato Chip, I practiced in a pool. Us lucky ones in Florida have pools everywhere. Have someone hold you up just below the water (so you're not too heavy) and arch baby arch. It really helped me!

Also, smile!! It really DOES relax you - and I don't "relax" easily. In fact, smile when your scared the most - eventually the smile will turn into a giggle cause you'll realize one day you're not scared (then the plane ride just gets boring).

See ya in Miami :-)