KrisS 0 #1 Posted January 7, 2022 Hi, I have a lack of mobility, shoulders, hips, lower back. Im probably the flattest thing in the sky. I love jumping and I’m wondering what advice I can get on switching to free fly. Im Athletic but just big and stiff especially lower back. Is it worth the investment if I’ll likely be very stiff? Any advice on switching to free fly would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckakers 369 #2 January 7, 2022 33 minutes ago, KrisS said: Hi, I have a lack of mobility, shoulders, hips, lower back. Im probably the flattest thing in the sky. I love jumping and I’m wondering what advice I can get on switching to free fly. Im Athletic but just big and stiff especially lower back. Is it worth the investment if I’ll likely be very stiff? Any advice on switching to free fly would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! How many jumps do you have? A lot of stability issues come from flying with a rigid body rather than actual body position. If you have a flat body position *and* you are flying stiff, that multiplies the problem. If you are a new jumper, I suggest seeking out instructors and local veteran jumpers, and ask them for a critique. Sometimes we can fix a small problem and solve a bigger one. Be safe. Be badass. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mbohu 77 #3 January 8, 2022 Maybe you don't mean it that way, and maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but I find the words "switching to free fly" a bit curious. It sounds a bit like: "Well, I am not very good at driving a car on a regular road, so maybe I should 'switch to race car driving' " In my experience free fly just means adding a lot of additional stuff to the "regular" belly flying. Mostly, I think it requires more flexibility--and it's not like you can completely avoid belly-to-the wind positions or transitions. (So, it's more "adding" than "switching", in my mind) On the other hand: Of course, you may take to some positions and orientations more naturally than others. And also: You don't have to be super-flexible, just to be able to learn some basic free fly skills (I started at age 51 and am 55 now, as I'm finally getting some traction on head-down--so I'm certainly not as flexible as some of the 14 year old tunnel god(esse)s. Anyway--talk to someone who can see you fly, and if you're not living full time at a California (or Florida) drop zone, expect to spend a lot of time in the tunnel, if you want to learn to free fly. Personally, most of the good free flyers I know were great belly fliers first. And some of the "I only free fly since I came off AFF" people, are people I try to stay away from, when getting on a load. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisS 0 #4 January 9, 2022 That was a great read. Thank you very much! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EvilGenius 0 #5 January 10, 2022 Not sure it will be too big a problem, still there are no shortcuts....well unless you count tunnel.....and you'll still need to put the time in. For angle flying it might even help, we're forever trying to get people to de-arch so that they're more like a wing which are...you know stiff and plank like. Head down, it shouldn't matter too much as a straigh spine is whats needed and less movement is generally better. Head up might be more of a problem as you really need to open up your chest and present your back to the relative wind. If you want to do freestyle, the gymnaistics of the sky, then you're probably screwed but I doubt thats your goal anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bokdrol 40 #6 January 11, 2022 (edited) 15 hours ago, EvilGenius said: Head up might be more of a problem as you really need to open up your chest and present your back to the relative wind. Quite right and something that FF beginners possibly don't think enough about. I was going to comment on this post earlier but because I'm a pretty mediocre OAP skydiver/freeflyer, who also flies like a bit of a plank, I thought I'd STFU. But this was one of the points I was 'going' to make, with the addition of, if you don't sit correctly (i.e. you have a natural de-arch) you can end up flying backwards, and at some speed too, which can be problematic for groups who have exited before/after you, esp. if you are facing up/down the jump run. Edited January 11, 2022 by Bokdrol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
