Need help with arch.

[john101090 0]

I have done 6 of my AFP jumps but am just not having any luck with my arch. When I practice on the ground everything is perfect but as soon as I am up in the air I become stiff as a board. I feel like I am arching but clearly I am not. Please help.

[Gary73 10]

This is a fairly common problem, usually caused by a perfectly understandable nervousness about plummeting toward the Earth at over 100 MPH. Experience alone will help you to overcome this, but the process can be sped up by various relaxation techniques. Consciously taking slow, deep breaths from before exit all the way through deployment sounds too simple, but really does help most people. Another approach is to consciously think "altitude, arch, legs, relax" whenever you're not doing anything else, and give your arms and legs a little "loosen-up" shake when you think "relax". Talk with your Instructors about other techniques, but most of all, keep building that experience level!

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

[ERAUSkydiver 0]

For me, it helped to just program myself to keep my chin up. If you are exiting presented into the wind, try to keep your eyes on the plane. If you are doing a diving exit, look at the horizon. In freefall, keep looking at the horizon (still check the altimeter of course ) Somebody once told me that your body follows your eyes. After that, it just clicked.

[TriGirl 308]

You may think you're relaxing, but perhaps not actually doing it. Try these two techniques when you feel like you're stiff in freefall (they work for me every time):

1 - take a deep breath and force it out
2 - smile!

(the second one was taught to me by one of my tunnel coaches. you can't smile & NOT be relaxed in freefall!)

See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Smile, breathe, relax, arch.

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

[jclalor 12]

10 minutes in the tunnel, probelm solved.

[CHRCNF 0]

Have you tried watching Fandango?

[Aaron_O 0]

The concept of arching hard is misleading. Arching is not something that requires strengh or energy, but rather relaxation. Once you learn that you're not going to win a fight with the wind you will learn how to work with it.

[dbogardus 0]

Take a dump before your next jump.

[sunkenstate 0]

I wrote "DICK FIRST!" with a permanent marker on the top of my left (altimeter) hand.

As in life, so also in skydiving.



Seriously though, it helped me do a nice deep body arch instead of a superficial (for want of a better word) chest/arm arch. Most importantly, it made me - and everyone who saw it - smile even when in free fall.

I saw it somewhere in these forums...

[baronn 111]

The dreaded man arch. It's been the nemesis of many but, fear not, there is hope. As a former(and possibly world's worst) man archer, I have developed a fo sho cure.
A. stand, feet shoulder width apart.
B. look up.
C. Squeeze the butt cheeks.
This method has cured even middle aged man archers and should work for you. The key to understand is to get the hips forward. By looking up and butt squeezin' it will cause this to occur. If it was hard, none of us could do this. Good luck.

[ttribe 0]

I just got my A license last weekend, my arch got WAY better around my 10th jump from a coach having me do this:

Stand facing a wall with your toes about 5 inches away from the wall. Then, without moving your feet, shift your hips forward until your penis presses against the wall. Its not so much in the back/shoulders, its more of a hips thing.

Also, you can try toe taps every now to try to get a feel about your leg awareness. Dont look at the ground, keep your eyes on the horizon so that your chin stays up.

Good luck.

Skydiving is good for the soul

[low_pull1 2]

Have you tried watching Fandango?

...................

Fandango:)????