stability

[jerryapeur 0]

Hi, I am a newbie for sure. Help please.... Just started the aff and got to 4 which was not too good but instructor took me to 5... Disaster... spun out of control..... Need any advice, tips how to get into the stable position and stay there relaxed. Yes the back hurts, and the lower vertebra are fused, but that is normal in anyone my age..66. Still fit and still kiteboarding.

[yarpos 4]

had the same problem when I started, for me it was just trying to hard for the perfect "relaxed" position...and in the end I was as relaxed as a sheet of plywood. People will say relax a lot, but its hard at the start to put that advice into practice while the environment is new and you are chock full of adrenalin. On the first jump I got it right (after some coaching) I consciously relaxed my arms and legs and let them blow back (or up, depending on your perspective)....it felt very different and much more in tune with the air than what I had been doing before. I found it helpful to look out at the horizon or a distant landmark (to avoid ground fixation and tenseness). From there on simply falling on heading was like riding a bike, you just do it without thinking how. Above all keep going as the loop you are going through is a very common one and is usually easily surmountable. Congrats on your AFF progession.

regards, Steve
the older I get...the better I was

[Mann 0]

There is a thread with a whole bunch of opinions about getting stable in freefall, including my own ;). Check out: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=62415;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

To me, smiling worked.

[rwieder 0]

Arch. Arch fixes everything. Arch, then when stable with your arch go into the box man position. Then go about your rat killing.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[jerryapeur 0]

thanks very much, after posting i found that thread and yes it helped a lot...just knowing others had the same problem was reassuring... Relax, relax is all very well.. what i was hoping for were some tips to get into the arch, like perhaps limbo dancing position.. well must try again tomorrow.. Thanks to everyone who took the time to help... what is the box position??

[jerryapeur 0]

hey thanks but what is te box man position and rat killing?????

[dynamicedge 0]

Box Man - A neutral, face to earth body position in which the arms form right angles at shoulder and elbow, and the legs are spread at about 45 degrees from the long axis and bent 45 degrees at the knees. Generally considered the ideal position for Formation Skydiving. --- taken right out of the Skydive Glossary

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Welcome to our world!

I am 52 and moderately stiff too.

1. This stretch was a big help: lie on floor face down. Put hands on floor palm down as if preparing to do a "push up". leave legs and pelvis on the floor as you push your torso up away from the floor. HOLD this and RELAX your belly. Note what a good arch feels like. While in this position squeeze your butt cheeks together... that will help your arch too.

2. I found the term "arch hard" to be unhelpful. To me that implied a "hard" or STIFF body position. I changed the verbiage to "Arch Deeply" and found that helpful. I relax, arch, relax, and ooze into a deeper arch. Smile, breathe, relax, ooze.

3. Keep working at it. Success IS possible.

Have fun, stay safe.

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

[jerryapeur 0]

great, just what i needed, will work on it...Thanks a lot

[DanG 1]

Keep your chin up and your dick down.

Smiling helps, too.

- Dan G

[pevvers 0]

I had exactly the same problem at level 5. Retook it 5 times, and was close to giving up.... Until a certain Spanish man called Hispano at Lillo came over to me after watching one of my debriefs and said "my friend, just think stick your cock out" and from then on, with a bit of relaxing as well I sailed through 5, 6 and 7.

Told the same thing to a friend of mine when she was doing AFF and having trouble arching, and although she didn't have the necessary bodily parts, it made her laugh when she thought about it in freefall which both relaxed her and made her arch!