Kicking legs on exit (yes it's short!! ;)

[skyflower_bloom 0]

I am making an effort to make these posts short and to the point. You're welcome

With the prerequisite of- I will, and have, talked with my AFFIs- i'd like to hear some tips from others here and if anyone has had/seen this issue, and what has helped.

My recent vids show me kicking upon exit for several seconds, struggling before getting stable.

My question I guess is twofold--
One, as stated, any tips, tricks, quotes, exercises, or experiences with this problem and its solution? Just a need for more relaxation and/or leg awareness?

And two-- at one point does one go from just being expected to re-stabilize themselves when they go unstable, be stable at pull time, altitude aware, etc. (AFF basics) to actually leaving and REMAINING stable?

I know everyone progresses differently and that this is also primarily between me and my instructors, who say I am right where I need to be to be on an AFF level 8. I am a perfectionist and want to improve- but I can also accept that and trust them immensely.

I am just wondering when (ballpark) I can expect that, potentially, and any tricks to help me attain it over time. Thanks and blue skies!!
robyn

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[ecnuob 0]

Stop looking at/for the ground, and try to ignore your inner ear. Also relax and trust that youra good arch will always bring you belly to earth. Least that's what i was told and it worked.

That being said, I'm a little over 50 jumps and still find it easier to just front flip out the door and be stable after the first rotation rather then deal with the relative wind from the prop and airspeed of the plane. It wasn't until about 30 jumps that I was able to consistently launch belly to wind and remain totally stable until belly to earth, now i can exit facing the front of the plane and go directly into a jumpline track (when exiting last of course).

Going unstable is a part of learning, you will constantly be trying new things as you learn and finding what does and does not work. The important thing is being able to GET STABLE quickly from any orientation and remain stable while not manuvering.

Remember perfection only comes with time and practice, no one is perfect the first time they do something.

[airtwardo 6]

You gotta relax the instinct to fight for control the way your body had become accustom to reacting on the ground or in water...and ingrain the sensory inputs regarding body position and relative wind.

The more at ease you are in the air the quicker it will come.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[theonlyski 3]

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I am making an effort to make these posts short and to the point. You're welcome

With the prerequisite of- I will, and have, talked with my AFFIs- i'd like to hear some tips from others here and if anyone has had/seen this issue, and what has helped.

My recent vids show me kicking upon exit for several seconds, struggling before getting stable.

Ya aint gonna catch up to the plane, just let it go!

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My question I guess is twofold--
One, as stated, any tips, tricks, quotes, exercises, or experiences with this problem and its solution? Just a need for more relaxation and/or leg awareness?

Relax, watch the plane fly away, its a pretty cool sight!

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And two-- at one point does one go from just being expected to re-stabilize themselves when they go unstable, be stable at pull time, altitude aware, etc. (AFF basics) to actually leaving and REMAINING stable?

You'll see soon, just relax, your first couple jumps probably felt so fast that you dont even know what happend, jump more, and you will see you relax more and you notice you have way more time to do other things if you're not rushing and freaking out.

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I know everyone progresses differently and that this is also primarily between me and my instructors, who say I am right where I need to be to be on an AFF level 8.

I am just wondering when (ballpark) I can expect that, potentially, and any tricks to help me attain it over time. Thanks and blue skies!!
robyn

When you learn to relax and have fun, it all comes together.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[theonlyski 3]

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You gotta relax the instinct to fight for control the way your body had become accustom to reacting on the ground or in water...and ingrain the sensory inputs regarding body position and relative wind.

The more at ease you are in the air the quicker it will come.

Its rare that someone who was there from the evolution coming out of the water, then walking on land, then flying in the air is around to give advice!

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[airtwardo 6]

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You gotta relax the instinct to fight for control the way your body had become accustom to reacting on the ground or in water...and ingrain the sensory inputs regarding body position and relative wind.

The more at ease you are in the air the quicker it will come.

Its rare that someone who was there from the evolution coming out of the water, then walking on land, then flying in the air is around to give advice!

First there was this huge explosion, the earth cooled & then the fish grew feet...on some, the flippers became feathers.

Some organisms couldn't adapt & evolve, they remained at the bottom feeding off the decaying carcasses of the dead...we called them lawyers.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[BIGUN 1,053]

This is primarily between you and your instructors.
Sounds like they think you're right where you need to be on an AFF level 8


Look, everyone has something at the beginning... it just takes time.
Dear God, woman... you've got ~10 minutes of experience.
Have you mastered any other sport in your life in 10 minutes?
Your Instructors will get you there - in time.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[peregrinerose 0]

Relax, grasshopper... and spend a LOT more time at your home DZ than asking questions on the internet. You'll find that you'll end up far more confused as a student with all the questions here. At this point in your skydiving career, you need to put a lot more faith in the instructors that know you and are working with you than a bunch of random strangers online.

As an instructor, I've found that early on (pre-license) the students that read the most on here have a much harder time keeping things straight on their AFF/coaching dives as they have too many viewpoints and suggestions rattling in their brains, too much overload.

Later (post-license), this is a great place to read to get bits of information or open doors to possibilities that you then question your former instructors about, it will foster learning.

For now, relax! This, by the way, will also solve your kicking issue. One notorious swimmer student I had several years ago kept swimming for his first 50 or so jumps. He's now working his way toward an AFF I rating himself.

All of us started where you are now, don't be so hard on yourself, spend lots of time at the DZ watching and learning, even if you are grounded from jumping for a while. You'll learn more on the ground at the DZ watching other students get trained, sitting in on first jump courses, maybe learn how to pack in your down time. There are many things you can be doing. Surfing the internet for answers right now.. it's not really the best time for that yet.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[skyflower_bloom 0]

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Relax, grasshopper... and spend a LOT more time at your home DZ than asking questions on the internet. You'll find that you'll end up far more confused as a student with all the questions here. At this point in your skydiving career, you need to put a lot more faith in the instructors that know you and are working with you than a bunch of random strangers online.

As an instructor, I've found that early on (pre-license) the students that read the most on here have a much harder time keeping things straight on their AFF/coaching dives as they have too many viewpoints and suggestions rattling in their brains, too much overload.

Later (post-license), this is a great place to read to get bits of information or open doors to possibilities that you then question your former instructors about, it will foster learning.

For now, relax! This, by the way, will also solve your kicking issue. One notorious swimmer student I had several years ago kept swimming for his first 50 or so jumps. He's now working his way toward an AFF I rating himself.

All of us started where you are now, don't be so hard on yourself, spend lots of time at the DZ watching and learning, even if you are grounded from jumping for a while. You'll learn more on the ground at the DZ watching other students get trained, sitting in on first jump courses, maybe learn how to pack in your down time. There are many things you can be doing. Surfing the internet for answers right now.. it's not really the best time for that yet.

still have not figured out multi-quote.. but here goes.. you are surely right, in that if my instructors say i am where i need to be for aff-8, i trust that, and i am. i am just a control freak (i admit it- when it comes to certain things at least) and hate my legs doing shit i don't want them doing LOL.

i have been out hanging at the dz often this week despite grounding/injury. was out from about 11:45 am to 9:45 pm yesterday, and went out for the annual fourth of july party today for about 4 hours. Wed. i go out to have a packing lesson, and then watch/help out some more, so that should be good. it can just be tough with a young toddler and the drive being two hours each way for me. there are days i feel like getting on here or reading parachutist or practicing arch or whatever are really better than nothing at all, since with childcare, gas money, and time, i simply cannot drive four hours on a daily basis..

sitting in on another FJC is a great idea- 'specially since i never did the one at the dz i jump at now. thanks for the idea!

i know there are pros and cons to getting feedback from internet strangers, and definitely give more weight to that which comes from those who have seen my jumps of vid debriefs, talked with me, etc. But i guess when i can't be at the dz/with my aff-is i like to feel that i am sharing in and drawing from the collective pool of wisdom of the skydiving community- and as you say, that too has its pros and cons!!

Honestly though I am not that worried.. just a perfectionist and need to get over it already.. and vaguely pissed that I am not in the air due to my own stupidity in bashing my teeth.. so spending time figuring out random things on dz.com, spending my days at the dz observing the packings and landings and driving the golf cart, and reading old parachutist mags etc. makes me feel like i am doing at least *someting.*

But yeah, for someone with a brain like mine (overanalysis central), it could easily overload me too.. just gotta get my sky fix somehow lol.

Nice to have an idea of the difference between regaining stability, versus staying entirely stable, and some sort of vague range of time frames out of simple curiousity if nothing else-- and honestly now that i think about it, it;s probably more beneficial as a student to lose and regain arch/stability, play around with the air and learn from it an such-- i imagine needing to stay 100% stable from door on out comes in mostly further down the line when working with others. So that makes sense.

Thanks for the replies, and I like the point about the fact that, having only 12 jumps, that is really equal to a bit over ten minutes to "practice" the sport- surely not enough time to get a perfect performance or anywhere close (mock-ups, etc. training time aside, but that is different of course)

I guess am learning to trust in the program, and it is very rewarding to see progress and learn to do things that at one point seemed impossible!
Happy 4th everyone, blue skies!

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[Andy9o8 0]

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yes it's short!!

is not

[tkhayes 126]

you kick your legs because it is a natural reaction for your feet to go looking for something to put themselves on. All your life you spend with your feet on the ground.

When you exit, your feet try to find something solid.

Most students build that awareness of their feet in a few jumps and it stops. If it is a problem, try taking your socks off on the next skydive. You will feel the wind around your ankles and you can better feel where your feet are and what they are doing. It worked for me when I had 15 or so jumps.

[erdnarob 1]

Hello Skyflower. The problem (kicking the legs at exit) you mention is quite common. It happened to me when I was beginner. Lets see what is going on.

I understand you kick your legs at the beginning of the free fall but not after few seconds. Basically, there is nothing really wrong or abnormal. At the exit, the surface of the body is not always perfectly opposed to the relative wind. Therefore, your fall is affected. Then, people tend to correct that by making seemingly awkward moves in order to get stable and kicking the legs is one way to do so. Try to get some tips to have a better presentation of your body with respect to the relative wind at exit. This is different for every airplane and exit speed. Then you will learn to exit for a specific airplane.
Example: exit from a Twin Otter (door on the left) : If you dive out, make sure to launch at the door from the left foot keeping the right shoulder slightly higher than the left one. That will put you flat on an imaginary geometrical plane which is at 45 degrees or so with respect to the left wing. This plane represents the relative wind at exit and being on or parallel to that plane guarantees you a stable exit. Now for the legs : as several people told you, just let you fly and relax (easier to say than to do) keeping your arms up and apart. Please don't use the mantis position of your arms at exit but only later. To really get rid of your problem just keep on jumping and after a while you will wonder why you were kicking your legs before. I would like you to come back on this forum when your problem will be solved and make your comments for the benefits of all.

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

[skyflower_bloom 0]

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yes it's short!!

is not

ok well then, this post is...

...meanie

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[kallend 1,623]

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yes it's short!!

is not

ok well then, this post is...

...meanie

It's expected, he's a lawyer

...

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

[skyflower_bloom 0]

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Its rare that someone who was there from the evolution coming out of the water, then walking on land, then flying in the air is around to give advice!

First there was this huge explosion, the earth cooled & then the fish grew feet...on some, the flippers became feathers.

Some organisms couldn't adapt & evolve, they remained at the bottom feeding off the decaying carcasses of the dead...we called them lawyers.

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yes it's short!!

is not

ok well then, this post is...

...meanie

It's expected, he's a lawyer

LOL someone's in trouble today!! I didn't know that he was one of THEM till now.. now I know to watch out

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[theonlyski 3]

Oh, one more word of advice:

Watch out for the step on a Cessna...

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[skyflower_bloom 0]

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Oh, one more word of advice:

Watch out for the step on a Cessna...

LMAO.. thank you, oh sage master, for the eternal words of wisdom.

And yes for what it is worth I feel pretty f'ing stupid in retrospect. But I figured the whole relative wind thing.. and just did what I always did before (minus the whole 2 jumpmasters expertly hurtling me -away- from the dreaded cessna step- personal responsibility in full force!).. bah. LOL.

But yes, lesson being that the goal is to AVOID eating metal.
And I imagine that particular goal takes precedence over the goal of avoiding leg kicks in the first few seconds after exit! Much easier to resolve inadvertent kicking of the legs than it is to miraculously heal oral wounds and bring dying roots of teeth back to life.. but if anyone knows how, do tell! But yeah, with kicking, I think that over time between increased relaxation and leg awareness, and just time itself, it will be less of an issue it sounds like..

My AFFI just looked at me like i was a dumbass for trying to analyze the mechanics of that whole situation and said, it's not that hard, you just go AWAY from the PLANE and aim for the OPEN space. Lol, fair enough-- I think that does about sum it up.. the whole point of skydiving is indeed to get away from and fully detached from the plane, eh?

She's the one who pointed out the kicking in the debrief, but didn't seem to think it was a huge problem other than that it would tumble or destabilize exits potentially if it didn;t eventually improve.. i'll ask her more what if anything i should be thinking/doing about it..

But-- now watch me KICK the step of the cessna while exiting next time.. jk...

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[theonlyski 3]

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Oh, one more word of advice:

Watch out for the step on a Cessna...

LMAO.. thank you, oh sage master, for the eternal words of wisdom.

And yes for what it is worth I feel pretty f'ing stupid in retrospect. But I figured the whole relative wind thing.. and just did what I always did before (minus the whole 2 jumpmasters expertly hurtling me -away- from the dreaded cessna step- personal responsibility in full force!).. bah. LOL.

But yes, lesson being that the goal is to AVOID eating metal. And I imagine that goal takes precedence over the goal of avoiding leg kicks in the first few seconds after exit!

My AFFI just looked at me like i was a dumbass for trying to analyze the mechanics of that whole situation and said, it's not that hard, you just go AWAY from the PLANE and aim for the OPEN space. Lol, fair enough-- I think that does about sum it up.. the whole point of skydiving is indeed to get away from and fully detached from the plane, eh?

But-- now watch me KICK the step of the cessna while exiting next time.. jk...

I remember my first cessna jump, let go of the strut, look at the step thats now a couple inches from my face and thought... hmm, guess this plane has a slower speed than that king air... better be careful.

Luckily, dont worry about jumping them too much, only have mabye half a dozen cessna jumps. (excluding caravans)

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[Mike_Simonson 0]

Deep breathe, smile, look up at the plane, relax. Stop mind fucking it...it's just an exit. =)

[erdnarob 1]

Recently at my Cessna DZ, a girl from France who is settling down in my region had twice her own Cessna 182 exit adventure.
Even if she had already 270 jumps she was used on exit exclusively from a Pilatus Porter, a small turbine airplane with a huge right hand sliding door and no step protruding like a Cessna 182. At the first jump she made, just outside the door of the C182, she presented her body the wrong way and fell from the step. Since she wants to get her Canadian licenses, I made an evaluation jump with her involving few manoeuvers in free fall. She started climbing outside of the C182, same thing, she was gone like a leaf in the Fall. For a second, I didn't know what to do then I proceeded to take my position in the door and jump while getting my foot caught in the thick floor mattress. Anyway, when I managed to dive out she was maybe 4-5 seconds away. I did my nicest max dive down and was in front of her within 1500' according to her. Anyway we did all scheduled manoeuvers in free fall and finally, the dive was a success. This just to illustrate that a Cessna 182 exit is probably one of the hardest ones to do. In order to maintain altitude, the pilot not always slows down enough. If you succeed to exit a Cessna 182, most of the other airplanes will be a piece of cake to exit from.
So far I have jumped from 43 different types of airplanes. Each one has its own requirements.
Just to mention few ones, I have jumped from a tail dragger Tripacer, a Boeing 727, a DC-9 airliner, a Hercules (the best) and many choppers as well. I tried once a Firefly Hot air balloon. But always when not being used to an aircraft, better to get few tricks from knowledgeable people.

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

[thrillstalker 0]

Being able to have a stable exit is paramount for every skydiver. Better to practice at 14000 feet, so when you have an emergency bailout at 1800 you can get out of the plane and deploy safely. I would practice this exit until you can do it with out thinking.

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

[dninness 4]

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My AFFI just looked at me like i was a dumbass for trying to analyze the mechanics of that whole situation and said, it's not that hard, you just go AWAY from the PLANE and aim for the OPEN space. Lol, fair enough-- I think that does about sum it up.. the whole point of skydiving is indeed to get away from and fully detached from the plane, eh?

She's the one who pointed out the kicking in the debrief, but didn't seem to think it was a huge problem other than that it would tumble or destabilize exits potentially if it didn;t eventually improve.. i'll ask her more what if anything i should be thinking/doing about it..

I see this fairly often, especially on early category students. It really isn't as big of a deal as you think it is. You want it to stop, yes, but its not like you can tell your legs "OK, look, cut that shit out.."

Someone once explained that the kicking was usually due to the brain telling the body "Ok, I'm not 'upright' anymore, move feet until equilibrium is regained.." Like I tell my students: "You've spent the last X years walking around and learning how _not_ to fall over. Now you leap from a plane at odd angles and with tons of weird sensory inputs. Your inner ear is telling your brain 'I'm falling to this side' or 'I'm falling backwards' and your brain compensates by moving your feet to 'regain your balance'. Unfortunately, moving your feet in this instance does not quite have the desired effect."

Now, that being said, I notice that the students who relax in freefall most quickly are the ones who also stop kicking. YMMV, but thats been my short experience with it so far.

NIN
D-19617, AFF-I '19

[theonlyski 3]

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Being able to have a stable exit is paramount for every skydiver. Better to practice at 14000 feet, so when you have an emergency bailout at 1800 you can get out of the plane and deploy safely. I would practice this exit until you can do it with out thinking.

You got a 182 that will get to 14k??

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[skyflower_bloom 0]

To begin: the shortened version for those among us with short attention spans LOL:
I tried to reply to a lot of people here. Just scroll to find my reply to you personally (either by your msg quoted, or your username bolded) if you don't wanna read it the whole damn thing, or just don't read it at all lol and for what it is worth, thanks for contributing if you did indeed contribute :)

Basically exits have a few weak points for me right now, and I am working on it, will be relaxing more and being more patient once i am back up in the air. Oh and after Monkey's and my discussion about releasing pent up energy last night, I fear he may have had the opposite of his intended effect, since I can never write a short message again now.. because then everyone will know I am masturbating simultaneously!!! LOL.. don't even ask. blue skies..

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Being able to have a stable exit is paramount for every skydiver. Better to practice at 14000 feet, so when you have an emergency bailout at 1800 you can get out of the plane and deploy safely. I would practice this exit until you can do it with out thinking.

You got a 182 that will get to 14k??

idk about the PP's dz or aircraft here, but that said, when the incident happened with the step, switching from the past 6 PAC exits, to the smaller poised Cessna one, I asked my AFF-I what altitude would be doing? He responded we'd be going to 12k this time likely. However, I noticed my alti kept climbing and had hit around or slightly over 13.5k when pilot gave the light and door, so while I am a newb and know nothing about aircraft, terminology, etc. and altitude capacity, I too was a bit surprised at how close the Cessna's climb (though taking longer, of course) matched that of the PAC's alti that I had started getting used to..

and yeah, thrillstalker, that is a very good point in that learning to get stable (and to exit and STAY stable) is good (essential) to learn higher up and early on to build good habits for a potential aircraft emergency.

That said, then, what do you think about the hop and pops? I realize being unstable is no reason not to pull if you are at pull altitude (at least in my program, I assume that is standard across most maybe with perhaps some margin, but obviously i stick to what i am taught for priorities at my dz and will pull, stable or not)-- that said, when I had a release dive (2nd of 3) and kept losing and regaining stability the entire time, I eventually knew I had to deploy despite it- now in that case I managed to flip onto belly/arch just as i threw the pilot chute out and got away with only some line twists- but i realize worse mals can be caused by position.

In two levels will be my first hop n pop, from 5k.. is this going to be a concern, or is it more of simply knowing that you can accurately respond under simulated pressure and get under a functioning canopy even with a low altitude exit? I guess perhaps I was just a bit concerned about not having this kick thing fixed by then..

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I see this fairly often, especially on early category students. It really isn't as big of a deal as you think it is. You want it to stop, yes, but its not like you can tell your legs "OK, look, cut that shit out.."

Someone once explained that the kicking was usually due to the brain telling the body "Ok, I'm not 'upright' anymore, move feet until equilibrium is regained.." Like I tell my students: "You've spent the last X years walking around and learning how _not_ to fall over. Now you leap from a plane at odd angles and with tons of weird sensory inputs. Your inner ear is telling your brain 'I'm falling to this side' or 'I'm falling backwards' and your brain compensates by moving your feet to 'regain your balance'. Unfortunately, moving your feet in this instance does not quite have the desired effect."

Now, that being said, I notice that the students who relax in freefall most quickly are the ones who also stop kicking. YMMV, but thats been my short experience with it so far.

Thanks for the reply and perspective. Yes, our brains are wired that way, and after 23 years of the goal being to find something solid for my feet, I guess i realistically cannot expect that instinct to disappear immediately.

I am glad it is not a big of deal as maybe I made it out to be, and I think my instructor was simply calling my attention to be aware, not because she felt it was a huge problem at this point, just an awareness thing.. I think that relaxing (easier said than done though!) is key to so many aspects of this sport, afaik so far- such as getting myself to the point where i could arch properly and be released in freefall- had to come through consciously choosing to relax and arch, almost like a mantra (yeah that sounds like a paradox.. but breathing, smiling, visualizing, positivity, choosing NOT to overthink/choosing TO relax.. etc.) does help.

It is useful that you point this is out because honestly when I think it through I believe that exiting is the most "high pressure" or high intensity moment, when I am least relaxed. More *relaxation* on exit could be a better goal for me than specific tasks or "do/don't do this" thinking.. On my injury, I was thinking- DON'T jump up, and DON'T kick your legs, get them into relaxed arch the second they leave- and look how well that worked, right..

I have noticed the two times I have done something pretty seriously wrong resulting in injury (focusing too much on not kicking-- among other things-- on the exit where I mashed my teeth, as stated, and focusing too much on stand-up vs. plf landing on the sprain in my ankle incident) these have been contributing factors both times and need to be addressed for me to progress and stay safe and continue to improve.

I do think I need to just let some of that go, work on it but not overthink it, and I like what a PP said also about being in the moment-unless that was another thread, I think that was the thread about my poor poised c182 exit with the injury- but either way, thanks for those words of wisdom as well. The idea being, on exit, be fully present, aware, and relaxed, prepared to exit, etc. and skydive this way- present to the moment within and surrounding. That is what this is all about right? I think that advice applies to many facets of the sport and my approach, thanks for summing it up like that.

I realize that I put too much pressure on myself sometimes that may not be needed. Just need to relax and go with it, I have seen that the progression does work and I trust my instructors, my equipment, my self.. While I don't usually get a huge fear attack, I find least comfortable and relaxing time for me is between door opening and the first 1-3 sec of exit. This is possibly something that I just need to learn to accept and relax into, and the legs will follow.

Thanks too for your feedback erdnarob- it's good to know I didn't fuck up the easiest exit of all time or something with that cessna one (though that said, with the kicking thing, i have done it on the pac just as much, since i have worked my way to one JM and solo exits) but yeah..I just want to be able to feel relaxed and enjoy exit, especially since you can't really make a skydive without one (an exit that is, of some sort) lol, and would like to make sure that I am able to exit different planes successfully, and not be limited by fear or not being "able" or willing to jump certain aircraft type. i agree that it is a valuable skill to learn the safe way to exit multiple craft. and BTW-- 43!!? That is wild!!
I eventually want to do "small way" (haha is that a word?) RW (like 2 and 4 ways) and eventually some solo freeflying, those are my goals right now.. so I know that especially with RW, and- as mentioned- being ready for hop/pops for the A, emergency situations with aircraft (simulated, knock on wood, but i am all for preparedes), and/or canopy control/canopy work jumps, that I do need to be consistently stable on exit- but yes, I realize that over-analyzing it will do the *opposite* of relaxing me for the jump.

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Deep breathe, smile, look up at the plane, relax. Stop mind fucking it...it's just an exit. =)

Ok Mike-- I do promise to stop mind-fucking it, just for you No, actually, just for me. (I still
i guess recently when I had some overanalytical worries about going unstable and such (third, and successful, release dive L3 i think), my instructor just said something like, look, all you have to do is RELAX and ARCH, you are making this harder than it needs. I was too, this is a true statement.

I know in my head somewhere, that yes, it really is not that hard and I know I have been making it hard. It's just a matter of retraining some of those aspects of the way I approach things I suppose. Stop as you say, mid fucking when the mind does not need any more fucking!! Good call.

Until I have my dental work done (the 21st), I have plenty of time to think this over, but hopefully not too much thinking either I have been going to the dz for packing stuff (lesson tomorrow morning!), socializing, and helping with driving the golf cart, etc. so I think just getting more comfortable in the environment at my new dz and having a few weeks off of jumping will hopefully allow me to integrate a more relaxed mindset, get more comfortable with the layout and instructors at the newer dz, and focus on relaxing and being in the moment, as well as enjoying the kiddo, he love sit out there too :)

I am also starting up yoga again; I have a naturally fast and sometimes hyperactive mind and that has been something which helps keeps me mentally and physically flexible and relaxed.

I think perhaps just as another poster said in the other thread ref'ed, being in each moment of the skydive with a relaxed awareness is where I need to take this, maybe not so much analyzing every individual aspect of my body position, problem areas, what I did wrong, etc. (don't get me wrong, there is something awesome to be said, especially on these forums, for figuring it out when you get something REALLY wrong, and also if for no other reason that to get others thinking and talking and hope others learn too- but when it comes to things that maybe I don't need to have down perfect yet, I can accept that and let it build with time and more general awareness an relaxation.

I will keep you all posted once I am back to jumping late July, but for now will just be focusing on school and family and friends, the dz in a non-jumping, non-analytical context , and try to accept that some things in the sky that will just come with time and acceptance of the process as long as i have the basic mindset and EPs down.

**Interesting metaphorically how the kicking of the legs- the brain's instinctive attempt to regain control and stability when it is impossible to do- actually contributes to the lack of it! Food for thought.. says a lot about me actually lol..

and this:

Quote

This is primarily between you and your instructors.
Sounds like they think you're right where you need to be on an AFF level 8


Look, everyone has something at the beginning... it just takes time.
Dear God, woman... you've got ~10 minutes of experience.
Have you mastered any other sport in your life in 10 minutes?
Your Instructors will get you there - in time.

Fair. Definitely fair. Sometimes I need a good swift kick in the booty when I have unreasonable expectations or overanalyze little things. I can deal with that

Thanks again for the perspectives; some disagree, but I personally enjoy hearing multiple perspectives in the sport though I completely understand that not everyone knows me or my needs, and that the final instructions come from, well, my instructor. Still, good things to think about, and hopefully a good resource for other newer jumpers who might be searching for a thread on that same issue or question.. just my .02

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

[burtonjm 0]

Anyone care to post a summary?

This shit, right here, is OK