Alliecat 0 #1 January 19, 2012 Ive been on 3 tandem jumps in the last year...I got a deal on a tandem/jump school combo and just did my tandem. They called and confirmed that on the jan 28th i can attend ground school. Ive been okay with it until now and now i feel terrified. How can i get over this fear or elevate it some. Im scared ill be to terrified to do the solo jump. Anyone got any ideas or comments on how you got over the fear?? Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deltron80 0 #2 January 19, 2012 I'm pretty sure you aren't as scared as I was... Panic is the enemy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck_skywalker 0 #3 January 19, 2012 Once you make up your mind that you are going to do it, face the fear you have and forget about it. Once you get through school and are preparing to jump, focus on all your procedures and what you are going to do. Keep your mind on procedures and visualize your entire jump, exit, freefall, canopy and landing. It will help to block out the fear. Hope this helps some. Good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
holie 0 #4 January 19, 2012 just easy to give you an idea how to handle that. DON'T READ OR WRITE ON DORKZONE.COM! Talk to your instructor and listen carfully to them. Then enjoy the ride. THAT'S IT! Have Fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckakers 370 #5 January 19, 2012 Quote Ive been on 3 tandem jumps in the last year...I got a deal on a tandem/jump school combo and just did my tandem. They called and confirmed that on the jan 28th i can attend ground school. Ive been okay with it until now and now i feel terrified. How can i get over this fear or elevate it some. Im scared ill be to terrified to do the solo jump. Anyone got any ideas or comments on how you got over the fear?? Thanks! You won't be making a "solo" jump. You will be with 1 or possibly 2 instructors (depending on the type of training doctrine being used). The instructor(s) will maintain a grip on you at all times until the parachute literally pulls you out of their hands. Assuming you will be jumping at a USPA drop zone, your instructors should be certified by USPA and will have received intense training and testing to make sure they have the skill to handle any situation a student might present them. As for the fear, trust your training and be ready to execute the skydive as practiced. Fear - to a point - is your friend in skydiving. It makes you pay attention and keeps you from doing stupid shit. At least until the beer light comes on.Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckakers 370 #6 January 19, 2012 Quote DON'T READ OR WRITE ON DORKZONE.COM! Using that logic the OP should ignore your reply.Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hillson 0 #7 January 19, 2012 Any question you have during FJC...ask your instructor. I had about a million (75% of which I thought were dumb) and each was answered with grace, patience and a full explanation. If something is nagging or you'd like your instructor to go over it again...ask Before you get to the door take a nice deep breath and smile. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richardw38 0 #8 January 19, 2012 You have nothing to be scared about. You have already done a tandem, and presumably were not scared there. On your first AFF you will have two experienced instructors holding you at all times, and talking to you as you float under the chute. Just listen to them,and concentrate on what you need to do on your first jump. You will no doubt be going through everything that was taught in the ground school, that you will be too busy to be scared anyway. Ofcourse this will not help until you have actually met up with your instructors, so in the meantime, enjoy the nerves, its kinda fun! its good to feel alive! I was worried as hell a couple of days before my AFF, I had not even done a tandem, and was thinking I had made a rash decision on a whim. But by the time I got up in the plane I had such faith and confidence in my two instructors that I had no fear at all when I got to the door. It was kinda wierd. check in, check out, whoosh. blue skies Rich Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #9 January 19, 2012 ~Definitely remember to breathe, it calms you down and help you to focus. ~Remember that excitement & fear have almost he same biological responses, When your body is tellin' your mind it's afraid...make your mind tell your body to ~Shut Up And JUMP! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fast 0 #10 January 19, 2012 QuoteIve been on 3 tandem jumps in the last year...I got a deal on a tandem/jump school combo and just did my tandem. They called and confirmed that on the jan 28th i can attend ground school. Ive been okay with it until now and now i feel terrified. How can i get over this fear or elevate it some. Im scared ill be to terrified to do the solo jump. Anyone got any ideas or comments on how you got over the fear?? Thanks! Eh, you're supposed to be scared. This isn't a natural thing we do here really. People weren't made to jump off/out of things in this manner. The fear goes away with experience, then comes back a bit differently once you start to get really experienced. (mostly you end up with a fear of the people around you who do stuff that is dumb, but even that is a matter of managing risk through again, experience)~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #11 January 20, 2012 "Fear is the Mind Killer" - Dune Hey, part of the challenge of this sport is working thru that fear. It's a very common emotion for student jumpers. Learn all you can, practice hard, do it in the air just like you practiced on the ground and it will all be fantastic. Jump for a while and the fear will go away. That's when your life will really rock. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alliecat 0 #12 January 20, 2012 I appreciate all the responses everyone. I think it makes me feel better that mostly everyone else was/is scared outta their minds when they did it...lol. Thanks yall! :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dthames 0 #13 January 20, 2012 Study the proper section(s) in the SIM. You can download it from http://www.uspa.org/ Look at the online first jump course and training videos. Learn that you have two parachutes, how they work, and how to use both of them. That will be in your class. Learn about how the canopy flies. If you are a serious student and learn your stuff, you should feel like you have enough skills to do a first jump. For me there are a lot of things I would never do because I know I don't have the proper skills. But with good equipment and the knowledge you know what to do, your fear should be greatly reduced. At least that is the way things are to me. It doesn't hurt to hang around the dropzone and watch other first time jumpers. After you see a few that you know are no different from you doing the same thing, you should think, "I can do that as well". Good luck with it. DanInstructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leandercool 0 #14 January 20, 2012 Fear is a bitch! Not much to do about it. All you can do is relax, prepare and visualize. http://tailotherat.blogspot.com/ maybe this can help you a bit. It's namowal's AFF experience :) http://www.skydiveelsinore.com/jumpstart/index.html this can be very helpfull too: it's the AFF and it's objective, but animated! If fear is your ONLY problem, don't worry, we're all scared. That's all part of the training From 0 to 12.000 in 9 minutes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #15 January 20, 2012 fear can be alleviated with Knowledge... be attentive during the class and think along the lines of...."We don't jump out the door" ( of the plane ) "We jump into the door " ( of freefall ). which truly IS one of lifes BEST freedoms!!! you'll be OK...jmy a3914 d12122 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot90 0 #16 January 20, 2012 Do not watch Fandango, or maybe you should and if your FJC is like this I'd look for a different drop zone try looking here http://www.transcendingfear.com/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Divinfool 0 #17 January 20, 2012 Anything that you have never done before that is meaningful will bring fear. You will learn so much in ground school and have a huge learning curve... ask lots of questions and voice your fears to your instructor. A good instructor has a way of calming a student down. I sometimes see the fear on some of the AFF student's faces when I get on a load and clearly remember how I made it into a lot bigger thing than it is. Learn your EPs and be able to do them in your sleep. You will learn so much in the first 25 jumps. I like what my instructor told me..."Skydiving is like learning to play a song... you begin one note at a time and eventually they come together to form a beautiful thing." And welcome to this incredible obsession with the sky.... Fear is the thief of dreams..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
