SecondRound 0 #1 October 3, 2014 Got my a license last Summer and after a few hiccups along the way, finished the season fairly confident. Set goals for the next year to 1. get my B license 2.get involved in RW 3. get past 100 jumps with enough skills to get a Coach rating so I could begin to give back to the sport. Over the Winter I did 2.5 hours between 2 tunnels, 2 Canopy courses and filled my canopy card, and did some fantastic coached jumps which showed me a way of teaching which left me feeling positive about myself and about my skills. My season is pretty well ended and I am 0 for 3 on my goals and feel like I have gone backwards in my development. I am trying to come up with a plan to avoid a repeat. In retrospect, I may have allowed too much time between my winter trip and my local season,which admittedly came late this year. Also, I noticed that my DZ setting seemed to make a significant difference for me in many ways. Unfortunately I seem to thrive best at a DZ 7 hours away. Still one plan might be to jump less frequently, but instead make the trip and spend multiple days making a lot of jumps at a time. More tunnel time might also be in order, but I might want to move it closer to my jump season.Lastly, is a Winter trip even worthwhile at my stage and in light of my lack of lasting improvement? Your thoughts, ideas and comments will definitely be taken into consideration. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #2 October 3, 2014 My plan would be to do water training and get the B license, and to hit the dropzones that are nice in the winter once or twice (Eloy or Deland for a week at a time maybe.) Supplement with tunnel time and fair weather skydiving as needed. If you still aspire to coaching or any sort of RW, reset those goals and try again next year. You don't have to go stampeding into freeflying in the tunnel, either. If you work on belly skills, your belly skills will improve. There's no need to be discouraged. My summer didn't go as planned either -- bad weather, an infestation of family and the worst allergy attacks I've ever suffered kept me from getting to where I wanted to be with my skydiving this year. We've only had really decent skydiving weather for the last month. So I'll just jump the good days, work the tunnel, try to hit Eloy once or twice, and see if I can pick up where I left off next spring. It's not like the sky's going anywhere.I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #3 October 3, 2014 This shit is hard. You've only been in actual freefall for what, an hour or a bit more? How many new things have you picked up in your life that quickly? Gosls are good. I'm not knocking on goals, because they really do help us to progress. But I think you're being way too hard on yourself if you didn't hit those this season. So go for them this next year, or set different goals. This sport, like many others, is rarely a nice straight line upward with constant forward progress. You'll nail something one time, then the next time you try it you might be flailing around like you've never done it before. That's life, that's the reality of this endeavor. If that kind of non-linear learning process isn't going to work for you, well, this might be a tough sport because the reality of how often and how much we get to do this (for most of us, anyway, based on limits of time, weather, and budget) means you're going to have setbacks, and that's okay."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #4 October 3, 2014 Quotea failed season Quote85 jumps in 1 years Tunnel Hours: 2 You seriously need to re-examine your definition of "failure". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catfishhunter 1 #5 October 3, 2014 I'll trade ya. I've made 3 jumps in nearly 2 years. Seriously be grateful. This shit is supposed to be FUN. If your not having fun then maybe you should find something else to do as this isn't a cheap nor a forgiving sport. If you turn it into work and disappointment bad things are going to happen and I'm not taking just accidents. Your quality of life should not suffer because of skydiving it should be enhanced. Relax and enjoy the moment instead of chasing a moment.. MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewGuy2005 51 #6 October 3, 2014 Andy9o8Quotea failed season Quote85 jumps in 1 years Tunnel Hours: 2 You seriously need to re-examine your definition of "failure". For sure. It took me 2 years to get in 72 jumps and 10 minutes of tunnel time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trafficdiver 8 #7 October 3, 2014 Well said, NWFlyer. Keep your goals easy. Land the next jump safely. Have fun. All the other stuff will follow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shift 0 #8 October 3, 2014 Andy9o8Quotea failed season Quote85 jumps in 1 years Tunnel Hours: 2 You seriously need to re-examine your definition of "failure". Exactly. Im almost exactly at 1 year and I've got 86 jumps and 30 mins of tunnel, and I can jump year round at Eloy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #9 October 3, 2014 shift Exactly. Im almost exactly at 1 year and I've got 86 jumps and 30 mins of tunnel, and I can jump year round at Eloy. I'm picturing the inside of one of the Eloy skyvans at noon in the middle of July *shudder*I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimjumper 25 #10 October 3, 2014 Now picture it as your hooking up to a scared and hungover tandem student! Preferably a big fat one! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #11 October 4, 2014 By "giving back to the sport" do you mean make money/get free jumps ?scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #12 October 4, 2014 jimjumper Now picture it as your hooking up to a scared and hungover tandem student! Preferably a big fat one! Oh I know exactly who you're talking about! But you'd get an extra $30 for her!I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrDom 0 #13 October 4, 2014 SecondRoundGot my a license last Summer and after a few hiccups along the way, finished the season fairly confident. Set goals for the next year to 1. get my B license 2.get involved in RW 3. get past 100 jumps with enough skills to get a Coach rating so I could begin to give back to the sport. Over the Winter I did 2.5 hours between 2 tunnels, 2 Canopy courses and filled my canopy card, and did some fantastic coached jumps which showed me a way of teaching which left me feeling positive about myself and about my skills. My season is pretty well ended and I am 0 for 3 on my goals and feel like I have gone backwards in my development. I am trying to come up with a plan to avoid a repeat. In retrospect, I may have allowed too much time between my winter trip and my local season,which admittedly came late this year. Also, I noticed that my DZ setting seemed to make a significant difference for me in many ways. Unfortunately I seem to thrive best at a DZ 7 hours away. Still one plan might be to jump less frequently, but instead make the trip and spend multiple days making a lot of jumps at a time. More tunnel time might also be in order, but I might want to move it closer to my jump season.Lastly, is a Winter trip even worthwhile at my stage and in light of my lack of lasting improvement? Your thoughts, ideas and comments will definitely be taken into consideration. Thanks A lot of people talk in terms of success and failure; think of it as a pending-success or opportunity to overcome a limitation. You know what is failure? I didn't finish my one jump to clear AFF last year and didn't jump this year. What you did is... well... procrastinating? A speed bump? Its not failure. When I have med students... which are some of the hardest perfectionists to deal with... I oft have to remind them to slow down and look at ONE goal at a time. For you: maybe comfort at the DZ is a first goal. Maybe just learning to have fun with it and not stress numbers and ratings, which can be "secondary pursuits". Its really your call but it sounds like you have some lofty goals, and WILL meet them but otherwise... just have some fun with it, find your love again, and it will naturally progress!You are not the contents of your wallet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecondRound 0 #14 October 5, 2014 Neither of the above. I received very generous help and teaching in my journey to my A license and I want to be in a position to pay forward what I have received by being able to jump with novices and hopefully helping them progress. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,123 #15 October 6, 2014 Dude, it's only skydiving. Figure out how to make it the most satisfying, figure out how to get there (and the cost), decide if it's worth if, and get started. Most people get it at "and the cost," and go from there. And I'm glad you want to jump with newbies -- it's fun Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
