Sketched

[rcberryjr 0]

The past couple weeks I've been getting a bit freaked out under canopy. I had a very minor incident under canopy almost 10 jumps ago but it's got me paranoid and doubting my gear, something that makes skydiving very difficult. What else am I missing? Will the stitching hold? What about freak accidents?

I've got about 150 jumps so I'm still very new in the sport. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through periods of increased anxiety/paranoia/etc and what has helped?

[airtwardo 6]

I think a lot of people go through that...do what I did, learn everything there is to know about what's on your back.

From webbing strength, to stitches per inch...study how to care for it and what causes it to fail.

Knowledge is power!

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

[quade 3]

There is nothing wrong with a certain level of cautiousness when it comes to certain aspects of the sport.

There is a hell of a lot more wrong with being lulled into a false sense of security.

There will be some in the sport who say a person should get over their "fear." I can think of one particular person who frequents this web site that's gone so far as to make a sort of business out of it. I think that's the wrong approach. I think you should control it and not let it control you, but never lose your fear. Losing your fear will make you believe bad things can't happen to you.

I don't care who you are or how good you are, even if you do everything right in this sport you can die. The way to survive it is to stay as sharp and a little bit paranoid of the riskier aspects of it, some of which are not completely obvious.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[airtwardo 6]

There will be some in the sport who say a person should get over their "fear." I can think of one particular person who frequents this web site that's gone so far as to make a sort of business out of it. I think that's the wrong approach. I think you should control it and not let it control you, but never lose your fear. Losing your fear will make you believe bad things can't happen to you.

Quote

Interesting take, I never thought of it quite that way.

Maybe my definition of fear is different than yours...

I like to think of myself as being cautious, which as you said is an important part of safety & survival.

'Fear' to me, is something overwhelming that causes one to make mistakes - doesn't usually prevent them. But I see your point and concur.

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

[Squeak 17]

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There will be some in the sport who say a person should get over their "fear." I can think of one particular person who frequents this web site that's gone so far as to make a sort of business out of it. I think that's the wrong approach. I think you should control it and not let it control you, but never lose your fear. Losing your fear will make you believe bad things can't happen to you.

Quote

Interesting take, I never thought of it quite that way.

Maybe my definition of fear is different than yours...

I like to think of myself as being cautious, which as you said is an important part of safety & survival.

'Fear' to me, is something overwhelming that causes one to make mistakes - doesn't usually prevent them. But I see your point and concur.

Follow what Twardo said. It works for me

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[waveoff5500 0]

definitely get to know your gear as much as possible. once i had taken it apart and seen how it all worked, even watched and helped pack my reserve, it made me a lot more confident. also take some time to look over your gear, not only pins etc, but also wear on leg straps, webbing, stitching etc. but keep in mind, people usually break before harnesses do (hard openings for example)

good luck man and keep jumping, currency is one of the biggest tools for comfort

"its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not"

1653

[jackwallace 3]

Seems to be some "break points" in the sport. When people get off SL or AFF they quit. When they buy their own gear, they quit. When they have around 100-150 jumps they get a different awareness level they quit. A friend of mine named George Mc Cormick used anger. He'd swear at a malfunction. Threaten his stuff that it better work. His reasoning was anger promotes action, fear can make you freeze.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[waveoff5500 0]

yeah, thats what makes it a challenging sport. its being able to keep your commitment going even if youve been spooked or are having a hard time. and some find out its not for them when they get to that time.

"its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not"

1653

[toolbox 0]

Very well put.

[potatoman 0]

Are you jumping your own gear, or club gear? I always felt like checking club gear when I started jumpin, just did not trust it. With own gear and getting the fear factor..... I have been there. Times where I had a near bad landing, or a gust on landing, others were when I lost a friend in front of me etc. Periods after that you start thinking, and thinking of how things could have gone, and that scares you, and potentially keeps you away from the DZ.

My remedy: Book a whole load of jumps for one day. Go with your buds, do it safe, but have some serious fun skydives. Do so many that you cannot even think of being scared inbetween. Next day, you will be over it, and moving on.

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
Davelepka - "This isn't an x-box, or a Chevy truck forum"
Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.

[Croc 0]

Ever since I've been jumping I will occasionally have this notion that, while I'm flying around, my leg straps will break. I'm used to it now, but when it first started happening it was disconcerting, to say the least. Do a good gear check on every jump.

Yep, I think irrational thoughts such as "will the stitching hold?" are fairly common.

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy