Need escape or for escape?

[jumpslo 0]

I am thinking of starting my AFF this summer with my buddy. We are both stoked on it and have been raising money for awhile. I saw skydiving and went onto these forums saw some videos and heard about some of his military jumps and got hooked. I think i want to start this summer, but now i'm afraid i am only starting because i need an escape. I usually play competitive sports, but i have taken a semester off from sports and have went through a few hard things this year and usually i can remain upbeat through sports. So my question is, since the $$ side of this sport, would it be something to start because it might just be an escape? i know "escaping" isn't a great way to deal with things, but it helps . Wondering everyones imput. Thanks. also, sorry if this message doesn't make sense. . its late ha.

"Good rule of thumb; is what you are doing the EASIEST for You? Because if it is, it ain't going to work for the people around you."

[kelpdiver 2]

if you're saying you can't control well your competitive instincts, it's a bad sport. There will be better jumpers all around you doing dive flows you shouldn't do until later in the game.

it's all a bit vague, but personally I think it's bad to go in with an unclear head.

[popsjumper 2]

Well, it's a little harder to learn skydiving because you only get to practice 1 minute at a time unless you go to a wind tunnel but...

Once you get good, there is competition in every discipline that you could take advantage of that would probably satisfy your competitive nature.

Be careful, though. It happens quite often that once you take up skydiving, all other sports just fall by the wayside as dull and boring.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[staysafe 0]

As with anything, I believe that people jump for different reasons. For me, a large part of it is my need to experience true freedom. Skydiving is one of the closest things I have found. I think that whatever reason you choose to jump is OK, but as was mentioned earlier, please make sure that you can commit yourself wityh a clear head. Unfortunately, It can also be a very unforgiving sport.
I also find it helpful to remember that there are days when I feel I am up to the challenge and days I am not. You may want to start the training and see if it is for you, if not, you have already done more than most. Good Luck!!!

[Fast 0]

Ok this is a tough question and it isn't so much about skydiving more about psychology.

Skydiving is an escape from the mundane nature of every day life. You will experience things jumping from planes that even your imagination can't predict at this point. That doesn't make it for everyone though! What are you trying to get away from should be the real question that you ask yourself.

Skydiving is a great thing to do if you want to be apart of something fun, special, and with a great community. I think you should go into it with level head though. If you have problems in your every day life, you shouldn't run away from them because they won't ever get fixed. This sport is a lot of fun. If you are competative I can bet you will love 4-way. Don't just rush in thinking it will melt away all the problems in your life though, cause it wont. It will distract you some but you will still have problems if you don't go out and activly fix them.

I don't know you or how you deal with problems, maybe some distraction will help, but don't abandon things you know you have to deal with. That's all!


oh and, with all that said... Skydiving rocks you will have fun! Go make a tandem and see if its for you. If you think you like it take aff, its even better once you fly on your own!

~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

[riggerrob 561]

Skydiving is a great escape from everyday worries.
The main reason I enjoy skydiving and flying is because they force me to focus - one hundred percent - on the task at hand: survival.
My brain is too busy surviving to daydream about problems in other parts of my life.
Endless worrying about day to day problems will not solve them, but sometimes you need a break to approach those problems with a fresh perspective.
Also, skydiving helps prioritize life's problems. For example, when you are trying to survive a skydive, your co-worker's annoying habits seem trivial.

Similarly, a visit to refugee camp in Darfur will cure your whining about what a lousy cappa-mappa-whappa-frappa, etc. the local coffee shop produces.

[HydroGuy 0]

Quote

Skydiving is a great escape from everyday worries.
The main reason I enjoy skydiving and flying is because they force me to focus - one hundred percent - on the task at hand: survival.
My brain is too busy surviving to daydream about problems in other parts of my life.
Endless worrying about day to day problems will not solve them, but sometimes you need a break to approach those problems with a fresh perspective.
Also, skydiving helps prioritize life's problems. For example, when you are trying to survive a skydive, your co-worker's annoying habits seem trivial.

Similarly, a visit to refugee camp in Darfur will cure your whining about what a lousy cappa-mappa-whappa-frappa, etc. the local coffee shop produces.

I agree with everything Rob said. Canopy sports to me are all about "being in the moment"...none of the extraneous bullshit matters in the door or at an exit point.

I hope this doesn't change for me in the future...if it does it will be a sad day.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[RandomLemming 0]

I've just finished my AFF recently, so take everything I say with an ocean of salt.

Nothing you have ever done is like skydiving. I've climbed, driven in rallys, jumped off a bridge with a piece of elastic around my ankles, worked in Braamfontein, and nothing comes close to jumping out of 'planes.

I signed up for my AFF for all of the wrong reasons. I'm not sure I'm continuing for the right reasons, but I'm carrying on because I feel like I just don't have a choice. I can't go a day without thinking about my next jump.

It is an escape. For about 20 minutes at a time, my life just doesn't intrude on me. All the way to altitude, I just sit there visualising the dive... I love that feeling when the door opens and you're sitting there with the wind in your face watching other people get out. Or even better, when you help open and close the door for people getting out early (hop and pops).

And as you step out the door, everything changes. I'm still terrified of the door (well, more for looking like a 'tard for not jumping or falling out when I didn't mean to), but once you're out... wow!

My first solo, I actually flew. I had my whole dive routine planned, but it was planned based on when I'd had instructors, so I still had 1500ft before I had to pull when I was done. So I was looking at the ground, saw something I liked the look of and tracked towards it. I was flying across the sky under my own control, doing what I wanted!

Yeah, it's an escape. But it's more an escape TO something than an esape FROM anything. I have a good job, a loving wife and a generally ok present life... I have nothing to escape from really. But every chance I get, I just want to escape TO skydiving.

[Zipp0 1]

Having only 2 jumps, I can say that for me, absolutely nothing else matters in the entire universe when I let go of that strut, besides what I am doing at that moment. So, in that way it is a powerful escape.

I became interested in skydiving because it looked like so much damn fun! Also, I often would go to bed at night wondering 'well, another day. Is this all there is? There has to be more to life, right?' So I guess I am escaping - boredom.

At the same time, any fantasy about what it would be like has melted away. I have come to realize that it a damn serious and unforgiving endeavor. It is NO JOKE, and I have a new found respect for those who do it, seemingly effortlessly.

I am continuing on with training, because I want to get to the point where I can experience what I have seen in so many kick ass videos. I know now it will not be easy, and I can't really know what the rewards will be. But working hard on each jump and hopefully achieving my goals is the only way to find out.

Zipp0

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.