New students don't stick with it?

[DSE 3]

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Oh yea? Well I have been walking since I dunno, as far as I can remember and man have I seen a lot walking in my day. U know, I even ran and jogged and speedwalked. Now I'm going to base a theory on how different generations walk.

I'm with AFFI on this one; our DZ is pumping em' out faster than our plane can carry them 6 days a week. More tandems, more AFFs, more employees than ever before, (funny how that works out).
However, geographically I'm sure it's different.

You can postulate and theorize all you want, but the younger generation will always be younger than those that are older...

edited to add:

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Despite your best efforts, the videographer whined about how much you spun and how little "face time" he got.

That really happens/gets whined about?

[mjosparky 3]

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>>The "entitlement generation" lack the patience and stamina to become old-school skydivers.<<

Please quit making generalizations about us. You "old" guys are calling us the "entitlement" generation. I guess in a way you're right cuz we are entitled like everyone else a fair share under the sun just like you got. You know, maybe the problem is not within us but within you (personally I think it's a bunch of crap either way). I read the "skydiving is dead" thread. Like seriously, you can't possibly know what you are talking about to make statements like that. Think about how that sounds, you just made a general statement about a whole population! I'm guessing that you didn't do any actual academic studies to identify any kinds of trends even with a sample that is worthy so really you have no right to say those kind of things. I'm sure the younger people here would just love to hear what you have to say about what our generation lacks.

People living in glass houses..............................

Pot meet kettle!

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2297644;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=40;

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[happythoughts 0]

I had this conversation about 7-8 years ago.
The person was telling me that they had done an industry study for a manufacturer on this topic.

The reasons were injuries, finances (in some cases, both at the same time), or burn out.

Burnout - a lot of sports have a 2-year mark burnout. Nothing new or interesting, no new challenges, "been there, done that".

Injuries - it could be something minor, but the emotional impact of "Holy S---, I almost died."
Some injuries are financially catastrophic.

Money or Time - other things demand our money or attention. Skydiving loses.

Anytime someone announces that they are getting married, I always ask how much they want for their gear (in jest). Usually, they call me in two months.

[freeflyit 0]

>>People living in glass houses..............................

Pot meet kettle!
I have no idea what this means but I'm sure it's an insult. Seems like you are the same miserable old man. Remember I told you a long time ago not to anwser my threads/comments? I tried to reach out to you on your thread but it seems like I was wrong to even try. I would diss you back but what's the point, we've been through this before (plus I don't even know what you meant by ur comment )

[AFFI 0]

I don’t quite get the Pot Meet thing either, but I believe it has something to do with commentary on the link provided where you commented about a disappointing time you has at some unnamed DZ.

“some dropzones really suck.
There's about 20 "skydivers" there and your name is the only one on the board for about an hour and a half! Why isn't anyone jumping?...
"Well, there was a bunch of tandems this mourning so everyone is tired"...
I couldn't believe this lame-ass excuse at 4pm in the afternoon on the most beautiful day.”

Now I try not to get into politics or spats here, it is a waste of time so I will leave my personal interpretations out of the equation and just concentrate my opinions on the skydiving aspects by sharing a personal story.

When you said:
“Seems like you are the same miserable old man. Remember I told you a long time ago not to anwser my threads/comments?”

It reminded me of a time back when I had 100 or 200 jumps and I said something similar to some old timer, and he looked me square in the eye and said something like;
“You know, I have FORGOTTEN more about skydiving than you have even learned yet, so even though you don’t always like what I have to say or the way I express myself, you may want to consider listening to me if you want to become a better skydiver yourself.”

I ended up learning a lot from that old bastard over the next couple hundred jumps, and we ended up becoming pretty good friends and it taught me something about humility and respect, even though I did not like his methods, his experience was priceless and his willingness to share it with others was very decent of him.

I seriously doubt he reads here, but Thanks Rick!

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[freeflyit 0]

Things have changed a lot since then. I'll admit that the things I said were not called for but you know, I might still sound stuck up saying this but I don't care. I mean what the hell do you expect me to do? This guy does nothing but shut me down so really I don't care how much experience he has or what he knows. Sometimes you gotta carve your own path and I really enjoy reading all the things you experienced jumpers talk about...it helps me and I learn, so truly thank you all. But I don't need any kind of abuse and look at what he's done: The guy just reminded everyone of my "some dropzones suck thread" and he's done it more than once. It's not that I'm trying to hide what I've said but like if you don't understand where I'm coming from there's not much I can say to you. I've changed my attitude a lot since then and my perspective of the sport has changed and in fact... I really like that dropzone now (and yes, I understand why they weren't jumping). I made statements that were just a point of view that were not right. At the time I belived it. Anyways man, he's being the bully in this situation and I'll be damned if I don't stand up to a goddamn bully. He makes statements about young people and how he doesn't like them (calling us all kinds of names)...well guess what, I don't like you either! But I won't lower myself by stooping to your level. There, I've said my peace...now I'm just going to go on without your knowlege (Mjo) and without your expertise. So you know,, you were right, a part of the sport did die because of your ignorance. I did try to put it behind me, even to reach out to you, but now I see how you're just powertripping. I got nothing but openminded and willingness but understand that I will not let anyone walk all over me.

EDIT: Sorry I was wrong, it was someone else who did that before (remind everyone of my thread), so he has done it only once, but still, everything he's ever said to me was negative.

[DougH 270]

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The "entitlement generation" lack the patience and stamina to become old-school skydivers.

I will do my best to prove to you that we aren't all a bunch of little shits.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[scottjaco 0]

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Am I really doomed to turning my back on something I love so much?

You will go through phases where you will want to jump and other times you won't care at all about skydiving.

I started jumping in August of 2002.

I have tried quitting due to injury, money, seeing people get killed and almost getting impaled by an aircraft flying over the dropzone. I guess I'm still into it.

My best advice is to not burn yourself out. Don't go to the dropzone unless you have an itch to skydive.

There are some great people involved in skydiving that you won’t meet in any other sport. It really is one of the most tightly-knit communities I’ve ever seen.

People quit skydiving because they don’t feel the same attachment. They don’t need to skydive to feel contentment.
Maybe these people have a lot of friends, money and status to keep themselves occupied. It’s too bad because they are missing out on all the great things this sport can offer.

[Baksteen 84]

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My best advice is to not burn yourself out. Don't go to the dropzone unless you have an itch to skydive.

There are some great people involved in skydiving that you won’t meet in any other sport. It really is one of the most tightly-knit communities I’ve ever seen.

People quit skydiving because they don’t feel the same attachment. They don’t need to skydive to feel contentment.
Maybe these people have a lot of friends, money and status to keep themselves occupied. It’s too bad because they are missing out on all the great things this sport can offer.

Why not go to the DZ just to hang out?
Especially new students; Make some friends and get some valuable advice from them.
Buy a few beers.
Learn to pack, or make yourself useful in some (other) way.

This will help one ease their way into the skydiving community, and help them form that attachment with the sport which you are referring to.

Isn't it the people who care for nothing but their own jump(s) who quit before completing basic training?


edited for clarification

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[freeflysteve 0]

MJO has sent me some great pm's after discussion on certain topics.
He has a wealth of knowledge and understanding,you would IMHO be churlish to turn away his knowledge cos with 88 freefly jumps in your short jump history(according to your profile)you obviously know more than we do.
These guys with many years in the sport themselves never stop learning neither do they charge us when imparting that knowledge which may well help somebody stay alive in our sport.
Best of luck in your world
Steve

Swooping, huh? I love that stuff ... all the flashing lights and wailing sirens ... it's very exciting!

[kkeenan 13]

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Things have changed a lot since then. I'll admit that the things I said were not called for ...

I've changed my attitude a lot since then and my perspective of the sport has changed and in fact... I really like that dropzone now ...

I made statements that were just a point of view that were not right...

EDIT: Sorry I was wrong, it was someone else ...

People who:

a) Change their minds about their "strongly-held" beliefs,

b) Can't remember what they've said about people,

c) Are righteously indignant about the knowledge gained in a relatively microscopic time in the sport,

...really don't carry a lot of credibility in an open forum such as this. Generally, listening to someone with more experience than yourself is a good thing. In a sport like this, that can really increase your survivability.

Kevin Keenan

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[freeflyit 0]

Yea, you and freeflysteve are both right... probably everyone else here is thinking the same thing.

I was wrong about what I said. You guys are right, really I'm a nobody in this sport with only a bit over 100 jumps and I keep running my mouth like I really am "entitled" to something.

It actually took me a while to get to this point and realize it. Sorry if I offended anyone in my process of being that kid.

In the future I will demonstrate a better attitude. I really hope to make some friends here.

I'm just going to say this once and never again so that people who have been painfully reading my posts will know.

I think what I really wanted was recognition in the beginning of all this and I let my pride (and some ego) do the talking instead of reason. I came to realize that it's like respect... you really have to earn it, and I thought I did but nothing worth anything in life is that easy. (It took someone to point it out to me- and they know who they are, thank you again)

Anyways, that's where I am. Have a good weekend people, I'm out.

[scottjaco 0]

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In the future I will demonstrate a better attitude. I really hope to make some friends here.

It’s one thing to be sorry for a particular comment you’ve made about a person or dropzone, but it’s an entirely different problem when you apologize for who you are.

You don’t have to play the royal kiss-ass.

They still won’t like you. Why? because some people are just selfish assholes.

Everything in life is give & take.

You wish to make more friends in the sport. The key to making friends lies in the laws of attraction.

If you grovel for people, it just makes you look worse because they now know that you are willing to act in a manner that appeases them.

This is a form of submission.

Don’t fall into that trap just because you want to “fit in”

Be your own boss and form your own ideas & attitudes about what is right & wrong in this sport. As long as you are not putting people’s safety in jeopardy, you can think & act however way you want.

[ChrisL 2]

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It’s one thing to be sorry for a particular comment you’ve made about a person or dropzone, but it’s an entirely different problem when you apologize for who you are.

You don’t have to play the royal kiss-ass.

They still won’t like you. Why? because some people are just selfish assholes.

I don't see him apologizing for who he is.

Looks more like he is able to take a look at himself
and if he finds himself at fault is man enough to own up to it.

Your remarks here are inflammatory and serve no useful purpose.

Are you actually encouraging someone to be arrogant
and disrespectful to people with more experience in order to avoid looking like a kiss-ass?

Thats certainly what it looks like.

__

My mighty steed

[lippy 772]

I agree here. It took some guts to say that, and the ability to admit that you've made a mistake is a helluva virtue in this sport.

I think a lot of the stuff being talked about in this thread was summed up really well by Stratostar last month, in the thread below. Sorry if Stratostar or any greenies aren't big on this being here, I'll gladly take it offhttp://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_reply_write;parent_post_id=2859382


PS. I couldn't remember the name of Strat's thread, but I remembered the word 'Asshat' being used a bit. I searched all forums for 'asshat' to find it......Y'all use that word A LOT!

I got nuthin