Can someone help me ?

[Bouda 0]

I am doing my aff and i was wondering if anyone had any training tips for keeping my legs closer together plus keeping my hands back the floss my ears thing don't work for me.

Look what i made at work today mom!! Put it on the fridge
http://www.bouda.moonfruit.com

[Brains 2]

Practice your arch and freefall position at home. Make yourself put your arm in the right position. Muscle memory is a big part of skydiving, regardless of flying style. Your instructors probably said this but i will say it again anyway, What you do on the ground, you will do in the air. Have fun.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[wmw999 2,149]

For keeping your arms back relaxing is better than anything. Your body is heavier and denser than your arms, so the wind will blow them back if you let it. The floss your ears trick still has you fighting the wind. Let it help you instead.

Keeping your legs closer together? Not as good at that. But something to consider is that you've done it 3 times now -- that's not really a whole lot of practice. How long did it take for the stuff that goes with driving a car to become second nature?

If you, instead of lying on your belly on the arch trainer, lie on your back/butt region on a decent-sized stool, you can feel gravity assisting your arms back -- the wind will assist just as much if you don't fight it.

See how far apart your legs are when you relax them lying on your back like that -- talk to your instructor, and see if that's close enough together.

The main thing to exert pressure on normally is the bottoms of your legs; keeping them straight. It's very natural to keep your knees too bent.

Good luck, and remember that it's a set of physical skills, and no one learns them all the same rate.

Wendy W.

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)

[Jimbo 0]

1. Relax. Before you exit take a deep breath, look at your instructor and smile. It seems silly, and at your stage of them maybe even difficult, but it helps.

2. It's already been mentioned, but practice. Whether it's skydiving or a firedrill in school, repetition is a very powerful tool.

3. Visualize the perfect skydive. Close your eyes and imagine the perfect skydive. It won't come right away, keep doing it until it does.

Someone once said this to me: "Can you move your arms and legs? Great! Then you can skydive!" Think about it.
Good luck.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[Bouda 0]

thanks guys and gals

Look what i made at work today mom!! Put it on the fridge
http://www.bouda.moonfruit.com

[slotperfect 7]

Adding to what has already been said about practicing the correct body position:

Spend some ground time with your Instructor when there's nothing else going on: before the first lift flies, at the end of the day, or during weather holds.

Use a soft carpet or a creeper. Arch into a neutral body position. Have your instructor fine-tune the position by moving your arms and legs into the best position for your body. Then practice snapping into that body position and holding it for no longer than 5 seconds - allowing your Instructor to make corrections. Relax lying flat on the floor in between and think about where everything was relative to your hips (the one low point in your arch), then snap into your arch again, trying to put everything in the right place.

If you come through North Carolina at all, PM me when you'll be here and I'll work with you on the creeper for free.

Also, if you have access to a wind tunnel, that would help you immensely - it's a great tool to teach you how to be relaxed and stay in once place. Starting from there you will learn to keep everything in balance making turns, etc.

I tend to fly with my legs very wide (I am a big lad). Solly Williams from DeLand Majik taught me a wind tunnel drill flying with my legs together. I still used my legs to fly, but started with my legs together. That was the perfect drill for me - my body size a shape, and my experience level.

Arrive Safely

John

[riggerrob 558]

It's okay to look at your hands in freefall.

[Bouda 0]

gonna try to get to a wind tunnel soon might go for spring break

Look what i made at work today mom!! Put it on the fridge
http://www.bouda.moonfruit.com

[winsor 187]

Quote

It's okay to look at your hands in freefall.

Agreed.

If you click your heels, it gives you a better idea of where your feet REALLY are. Your legs may be much farther apart in fact than you think they are, and they are likely less extended than they feel like they are.

It should take some effort to actually extend your legs in freefall, since the force of air against them is significant. If you aren't actively extending them, they are likely on your butt.

Once you get used to freefall, being on jumps where camera is used can give you a good idea of how you are actually flying. You can get an idea of why you don't have the drive you expect, or what you are doing when you close on a formation or whatever, and having a mental picture of what is going on can help you to correct it on subsequent skydives.

A standard caveat is to take ANYTHING you hear online and run it past your instructor, S&TA or someone else with lots of experience that you know personally. If you focus on safety first, you will have plenty of time to polish and fine tune your skills. I expect instructors and coaches to keep safety first and foremost on a personal basis, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.


Blue skies,

Winsor

[Jimbo 0]

Quote

A standard caveat is to take ANYTHING you hear online and run it past your instructor, S&TA or someone else with lots of experience that you know personally.

Good point. Can't stress this one enough.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[Darminion 0]

I just want to clarify what Bouda said about his legs, I'm a good friend of his and I got him into jumping. I have two of his jumps on my camera from his instructor and when he said his legs are too far apart he really meant it. He's basically the opposite of most aff students who fly with their feet on their butt. his legs are fully extended and spead really wide, his arms are out too far as well creating more of an X with his body than the boxman position.

And by the way, just keep at it man, you'll get it eventually. Some things just take time to pick up on.

Anvile Brother #59

[mjosparky 3]

Quote

I am doing my aff and i was wondering if anyone had any training tips for keeping my legs closer together plus keeping my hands back the floss my ears thing don't work for me.

When you are in freefall, wiggle your toes inside your shoes. You will know right away where you feet are. If you do or ever have played football, tennis, baskeball or golf. put you legs about the same distance apart and went getting ready to block, receive a serve, defend the goal or hit a drive...

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals