AFF is not going well for me

[firstime 0]

had the same issues, I was told many times to relax
and I told my instructor " I am hurling my body out
of an airplane @13k and I should relax" Her repsonse was "you need a level of confidence which
will make it easier to relax". It worked for me. Not sure what should come first but I walked to the plane
with the attitude "I'm not a stupid person therefore
just do what they told me to do" Once in the air I was
like hot shit it works... Then I relaxed. Just a little food for thought. someone, somewhere at some given time is going to say something to you that will
light a 1000 watt bulb in your head, then it all comes together.

Good Luck and I am not going to tell you to relax because you all ready have been told that a zillion x

[willso 0]

I've only just done my stage 3, about a week ago anyway. I don't know if the course is the same here (Australia) as the US, but it sounds like it is. On stage 3 I did a height awareness check ASAP after exit, practice pull, then JM1 releases grip and flies to the front of you. You must keep heading with him and if all is going well JM2 also releases grip. My JM's both released me at 9000ft, which I was aware of due to my body 'rocking' a bit. A word which I've had drummed into my head over and over by one my JM's (he's from the US and has 6000 + jumps) entered my head, the word 'relax'. I did and the 'rocking' subsided (not completely though). I did a solo pull and everything was sweet. I may have passed this level, but somewhere in the back of my head tells me stage 4 will be a bit more intense, one JM who releases ASAP after exit and I must keep heading with him!! I'm nervous but I will always remember to 'relax'. I don't have the muscle stiffness you mention, but my ears have played up big time and I've had to wait lenghty periods between jumps, which makes it even harder to retain the confidence you have just after landing. Good luck with it all, would enjoy hearing how it turns out for you.
Blue Skies from OZ

[somethinelse 0]

I'M STILL IN STUDENT TRAINING TOO.

This is my 2nd time trying to get my A thru a student program. But at a different dz, in a different kind of program. I found this time that static, helped ME to deal with different issues necessary to move along better.
MUCH MORE CONFIDENCE NOW TOO.

It can be discouraging to see other students just FLY thru the program, and quickly work on becoming regular fun-jumpers while we struggle with simply learning how to acquire skills to safely move our bods around in the air to be able to safely freefall solo!

Be patient with yourself.
I'm trying to be, too!
EVEN AFTER I FINISH MY STUDENT PROGRAM,
I'M GONNA WANT COACH JUMPS.

SO, HANG IN THERE!
& Remember to HAVE FUN! It seems like every jump is teaching something new, and learning & experiencing something totally different & cool!

SKYDIVING IS AN AWESOME SPORT!

[sum1mom 0]

[somethinelse 0]

Thanx for your encouragement.
I think it's a good thing. Can only help, right?!

Any tips about how to use a coach? What do you do prior to going up together??

Thanx. I appreciate it!

[sum1mom 0]

PM'd

[CieloDiosa 0]

evelyn-
girl you and me have the SAME exact story

except im still working on aff!
i'll be done next week tho! woohoooo




keep goin boy you'll get it

~boogie ho!!
pull before impact!
L.A.S.T#14, PMS #309, Ci EL O DI O SA

[LittleOne 0]

I also thought that everyone else was zipping through. That made me feel even worse and probably made me even more tense. Don't feel bad though. Here's my less than stellar AFF history: level 4-3x, Wind tunnel 45 minutes, 2 months grounded from wind tunnel injury, passed level 4, level 5-2x, level 6-2x, levels 7,8-passed. I am just off student status and still cannot stand up on landing. But hey! I've never had so much fun in my life, even on my crash landings.

The best piece of advice I got from an instructor is to keep the forearms, wrists, and hands limp. The wind, she said, will blow them up and level. The second best piece of advice I got was to keep my chin up. Relaxing is mostly mental but there are some parts of the body that have to be relaxed too.

[drdive 0]

I feel so much better after reading this thread!! I just started my AFF last weekend, did OK on level 3, but did level 4 3 times, and still didn't pass. As soon as I start my turns, I tense up, overcompensate, get out of control, did 720's instead of 360,s kicked my AFF instructor in the head. etc. I'm having a ball, but was frustrated that I couldn't get it right, being a Virgo perfectionist. I have 2 weeks to replay in my mind and learn (I hope) to relax before next try.

"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub"

"

[mattjw916 2]

sounds like you already know what your problem is... R E L A X... a deep breath and a nice relaxed arch make the dive go smoother.

have fun and hang in there!

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[Morcyk 0]

Just adding my 2 newbie cents...

While I, like anybody else, would prefer to spend as little money as possible to become certified, looking towards the future with my whopping 2 tandem jumps experience, my primary concern is actually learning the skills. Who cares if you did or did not do well enough to move on to the next level. It's all irrelevant if you haven't learned the skills, safety included, to do it alone without anybody around to help you. I'm very anxious to get to be able to jump without an instructor correcting me, but at the same time, if I haven't learned something to my satisfaction, I'll hold myself back if the instructor doesn't. Be thankful when you get more time with the instructors. It'll pay off lots when you're on your own. On top of that, you'll be known as being very determined in your goals, so you'll gain respect for the efforts you put into it.

Luckily the above applies to more than just skydiving, so I wasn't just talking out of my @ss.

[DOCsa 0]

dude when i started everyone told me i was a natural , so ofcuase i got a huge head until i got to my first 10 seconds and i have to exit out of a islander and i've never exited out from the sitting possitions before always used the strut on an C206T
anyways I jump out the plane and overamp the exit so much I did 3 barrel rolls, then got stable and pulled ontime , this new jump master fails me and there goes the big ego, no prob i'll try again , so i do and this time on the cecna and i look down before i let go and freeze my in strucktor jumps out and pulles for me :( ,failed again this time i think thats the end for me cause the fear over powered me , my instructor says here i've paid for your next jump it last load of the day i have to jump otherwise i'll never do it again , so off to the plane i go and waiting for me on the plane are all the guys that have like a couple of hundred jumps and me :), we get to alt and it's time for me to jump , they already given me extra alt cause they think i'll enjoy it more ,so out the plane and io had the best jump ever.now i'm done only 70 jump but i learned that even though i'll good at skydiving i can still screw up like the rest . so just because your strugaling on AFF doesn't mean your a bad skydiver , the instructors think your alright to jump otherwise you'd have been given the bowling talk and who knows mabe when you start freeflying you'll be better the otheres ?? , just enjoy the jump only stop skydiving if it ain't fun no more

_________________________________________
SO many places to jump so little time !
_________________________________________

[nael 0]

When I was doing my B-rels (coached RW jumps just after AFF) one of my instructors refused to turn any points with me until I smiled in freefall (and hense, relaxed). I wasted 2000' in freefall while we just sat there looking at each other, then I remembered I had to smile, I smiled, relaxed, and off we went!

Up until that jump I'd been told a lot of times that I needed to relax more in freefall, but it never hit home until I actually finally did relax on that jump. Now when I feel myself tense up in freefall I just remember to relax, and it all falls together so much better!

What I'm trying to say is, you know you need to relax, now you just have to figure out how you can best relax. Try smiling in freefall, it worked for me!

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[Jeth 0]

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What I'm trying to say is, you know you need to relax, now you just have to figure out how you can best relax. Try smiling in freefall, it worked for me!

This is soooo true!!! I THOUGHT was relaxed in freefall. I was even smiling. But it wasn't till my last jump that I finally figured it out. It was when I took a huge breath, opened my hands and exhaled like I just plopped down on the sofa. I felt it the instant I did that -- I was truly relaxed!! And then I had an even bigger smile on my face.
Keep at it, you'll get it!!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[somethinelse 0]

sum1mom-

Thanx via PM for all the helpful stuff!
Blues to ya - L.

• Quote

[willdogg 0]

Failed a level?! Man..I would quit now....especially if you are worried about the money. getting through aff might be the cheapest part of skydiving.

Maybe you should try bribing your Instructor

just kidding.......I know it seems like a big deal now...and thats why relaxing is such a problem. if you cant relax dont worry about it. I fly just fine all freaked out. just get your freefall tasks done, pull, and get through aff. Its not like your actually learning to skydive during aff anyway.

dont take it so seriously...you will laugh about all of this later.

keep your head up and have a good time...thats all its for anyway

Look good, have fun and safety third......if there is time