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yurbai

Why do people skydive?

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I jump because it is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

How I started? My best friend had a car accident in which he "should have" died (he survived with minor scratches, but everyone that saw the pictures of the car afterwards said he should've been dead)
For him this was a wake up call that any day could be your last, and one of the things he wanted to do in life was skydiving, so he asked me if I wanted to join him and I did...
The story after that is pretty standard I think, I was hooked and never stopped skydiving!

Iwan

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I did a tandem jump with a friend that my mother of all people bought for e us one Christmas. I was freaked out the whole way up and as soon as I exited I was in love. Like stated above, I think the story is pretty standard. Went through AFF a month later and here I am... Jumping and lovin it! It is the greatest thing I have ever done.
Oz

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It was my 18th birthday and I kinda wanted to impress the other kids at school....

Almost on every single jump I get second thoughts on exit as I am climbing out and waiting for others to get out... But I keep jumping because I know that all my friends would laugh at me if I hang on.

So that is why I skydive. Not to get laughed at.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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I stole this from some website, do a Google search to find it if you're curious. I think it's beautiful.

I have wanted to try to get in words why I skydive, and it seems to me it has to do somehow with both sadness and love. How is that? The more we allow ourselves to love, the sadder the leaving. We can't allow ourselves to love too much, then; and it's hard to love too much with one's spirit blowing lightly in the wind.

There is a sense as one grows older that pridefulness and excessive ego are misplaced-- there is a tendency towards humility, in the face of knowing how much of what we do is vanity. Skydiving is three things: It is a submission after years of willfulness; it is wholly absorbing, and therefore distracting from our cares; and it is the rational, peaceful contemplation of death, and eternity made less fearsome.

As skydivers, we can feel less deeply the anguish of knowing the impermanence of love, and of those we love. Skydiving *celebrates* life's impermanence with a brilliant brightness, floods it with a blinding light. Ultimately, it reminds us that life is very fragile, but very brave.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

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I had always wanted to try skydiving. For my 30th B-day My wife bought me a tandem. I got the brochure and found out there was a weight limit of 225 pounds, I weighed 260 at the time.

I spent the next year and 6 days working on losing weight. I finally got down to 170. I took my tandem and felt as if I was reborn into some surreal, adreanline crashing world that was about to open up to me.

I promplty started working 6 days a week and put myself through the AFF Program at my DZ. That was perhaps the best money I have ever spent in my life.

In closing, We do it for the rush, the camraderie, the thrill of knowing that all that is between you and death is about 10 lbs of nylon. Some of us are on a spiritual journey, some of us simply have nothing better to do. I have realized in my short time in this sport that life is really worth living. Especiall from 14,000 feet above this beautiful earth we have ben given.

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

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I've wanted to skydive ever since I was six years old. Well, jump with a parachute anyway. I got clued onto skydiving watching "Ripcord" - religiously - every Friday night when I was seven. I knew I'd found something I really wanted to do.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

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I skydive because its the best thing thats ever come my way, it means so much to me, its a very powerful thing and I won't live without it.

I started for a number of reasons, a best friend that was killed is one of them. My dad took me up in a helicopter once when I was 13 to see if I liked flying. I remember looking out of the door and thinking to myself how much I wanted to jump, finally got the chance when I was 20 and have not looked back since..

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Like others said I wanted to do it once to say I'd done it. After the first tandem I wasn't hooked, but a couple days later it sank in how cool this is and signed up for AFF and the rest is history.
In my short time in the sport I'v found comeradery teamwork and a thrill that can't be mached.
I love being out side and looking at the land, and I now know there's no better way to do it than from 14,000ft.

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Why not? its cool!

I had nothing to do in the summer and was sitting on enough $$, so I decided to get into it. I knew i would love it, I started with the intention to get certified. Same thing with SCUBA, if I'm gonna get into somethimg its all the way. I do want to be an instructor someday

http://dropman.com

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I usually just read these responses and nod, but since everyone has a different reason why they started jumping, I thought I’d share mine.

The simple explanation is that like any kid, when I was young I wanted nothing more than to be able to fly like Superman. Once I reached kindergarten though, I had realized that such a dream would never happen, so I became set with idea of becoming an astronaut so maybe someday I could at least float around in the space shuttle during an orbit. Of course, once I reached middle school, this too became a squashed dream when I realized how much math I would need to learn to become an astronaut. Being an “A” student in everything but math (mostly C’s) only made it more disheartening. So, even though I was only 13, I decided the closest I was going to get was skydiving. I began to learn all I could about the sport and started to save all my money (I worked as a golf caddy on the weekends), so by the time I was 16 I could convince my parents to take me to Vegas and sign a waiver saying I could do AFF. I remember it as if it was yesterday, I was so excited to be finally doing something that I had put three years worth of savings into, only to spend it all in one weekend and not even finish the course. I walked away broke with 7 jumps under my belt, only to have gotten to level 5. I realized three things that day: 1. Never put all your eggs in one basket (I had been saving for 3 years for only 3 days worth of training). 2. Just because you try to study up on something doesn’t mean you are prepared for it. (I was scared out of my mind the entire time). 3. Yet, given those first two, when faced with such difficulties in life, if you consider yourself serious, you should never give up (the most difficult things will always be the most rewarding). So, on my 18th birthday, I was at Perris finishing my AFF after being uncurrent for over a year. Even then though, I still had doubts as to whether this was going to be something I could do, or even afford, but I just kept suppressing those feelings and kept on jumping despite the difficulties. I had two reserve rides and a broken leg after six months after coming back into the sport, but I kept going.

The ultimate reward finally came over a hundred jumps later though. (I was committed to the sport by this time, but I couldn’t really pinpoint why yet). I remember being the last one out on a tracking dive over Elsinore and realizing I was going to have to do a fair amount of swooping to get down to the group. So, I went into a hard dive and really cupped my body to catch up. I was amazed at the distance I had just closed as I quickly was working my way up the line to the lead of the flock. It also helped that we had some clouds coming in to give a better sense of not only my speed and distance, but just the raw beauty of it all. Anyway, I came in above and dropped down to the lead’s leg and lightly grabbed on. He smiled and gave me a cheer. All of sudden though, as a joke, my more experienced friend tackled my legs from above and dragged me down out of the group. He was laughing at me and I was so pissed that he had ruined my moment that I started chasing him across the sky for a while. Quickly deciding it wasn’t worth it though, I started to float back up to the others. I ended up getting right back to where I had been before (much to my amazement). As we began to thin out, I remember looking down at the ground and seeing people driving around on the earth below. (Briefly thinking to myself how unaware they all were of this endless world above them). I quickly turned on my back to see if anyone was above me and I caught a glimpse of my friend smiling in my direction about 200 hundred feet up. I waived bye to him as went to dump his chute. I subsequently turned over and did the same. Letting out a huge “Whoo-hoo” upon being under a safe canopy, I reflected on the great jump I had just had, and it hit me that all my dreams have already come true.

Skydiving isn’t about falling and doing tricks in place like all the whuffos think it is. Skydiving is about flying, pure and simple. About owning the sky, being able to go anywhere you want to while you pass through the space. About doing what our mind says is impossible and making it possible. Superman couldn’t have done the moves I did on that jump, nor taken in as much of the earth below him as I did in such a short period of time. No astronaut has ever hit these speeds floating around in their cramped vessels. Besides, at most, an astronaut will make only 3 missions, I can jump for the rest of my life. And lastly, kind of in line with the more philosophical quote by “The111,” flying isn’t something that can actually magically be attained; it’s a state of mind. Once you believe you are experiencing the emotions and actions of whatever the true feeling of flying would be, you probably already are. It’s like being love--it’s not really anything more than a set of emotions, there’s no substance to it, you can’t define it, you just know it when once you reach it. Ten years from when I started, I now know why I skydive; I skydive because it allows me to fly, just as I’ve always wanted.

I don’t bother with all those life/death discussions whuffos will drag you into. We’re all going to the same the end, and it matters little to me how I get there, I can’t stop it. If during my time here I can experience things outside the box, I will. Skydiving has taught me that if you can dream something up in your head, no matter how improbable, it probably exists in your head because it is somehow achievable in life. It's no mystery why the sport's disciplines keep expanding, people think stuff up and give it try. What can't we do up there? And, if all that isn’t enough for you, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun.

Sorry, that kinda got long.

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I jump because it is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

How I started? My best friend had a car accident in which he "should have" died (he survived with minor scratches, but everyone that saw the pictures of the car afterwards said he should've been dead)
For him this was a wake up call that any day could be your last, and one of the things he wanted to do in life was skydiving, so he asked me if I wanted to join him and I did...
The story after that is pretty standard I think, I was hooked and never stopped skydiving!

Iwan



Did your friend get hooked as well?

Well for me I was bored and had nothing better to do during the summer so I just said "fuck it". It was great walking off the tailgate of the Skyvan at Perris. I found my passion. BTW whuffos say to me "30 skydives! Wow!" I know better....I am a complete n00b.

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It is the most incredible, unexplainable experience in my life!! Basically its my crack! (if that makes any sense to anyone out there) The greatest rush you can get and the gravings that will make you depressed when you go to long without it. (Not that i would know what crack is like or anything:)
It took being in Vegas with my parents for 10 days, while my friends that were suppose to come out were snowed in in NY. Sure most people would love to be in vegas for 10 days, BUT after the 5th day of furniture shopping with my parents, and i'm not a huge gambler......THEY DROVE ME TO JUMP OUT OF A PLANE!!!!!! And it was the best thing that could have happened to me. To bad for my parents they just introduced me to my "crack" in life.


"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

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Skydiving was something that I wanted to try ONCE. I had just broken up with a girlfriend, and I saw an ad for a dropzone at a sporting good store. My attitude was "quit saying someday, go do it." After the first jump I was definitely hooked. Going through the student program was a little discouraging at times, but once I started jumping with others, I knew I could never give it up.

The cool thing is after 800+ jumps, I still look forward to every weekend at the DZ.
There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

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"Why do people skydive?"

Why do some people get married?... Because they found a love, a passion and they want to continue feeding that feeling.

Skydiving is a passion for me, I want it , I need it... Its a part of me!

I knew since I was a little kid at airshows that I wanted to skydive. I'd see all the airplanes, helicopters and whatnot, all the great aerobatics...
But when the skydivers appeared I was awestruck at what they were doing.

Fast forward many years and now I am a SkydiverB|!

ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

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Almost on every single jump I get second thoughts on exit as I am climbing out and waiting for others to get out... But I keep jumping because I know that all my friends would laugh at me if I hang on.

So that is why I skydive. Not to get laughed at.



LOL

In the military they call this “unit cohesion.” In short it means you don’t want to look like a chicken in front of your comrades. ;)
"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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Basically its my crack! (if that makes any sense to anyone out there)



IF it makes sense? I explain skydiving to people as, "it's more addictive than crack and more expensive than golf."

Ron
"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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:| We live in a world and ON a planet where injustice, miscommunication, poverty, social difficulties, and tough situations, bombard us on a frequent basis...So much here can be so much Better..[:/] While many can find happiness in spite of this,, the world can be a pretty grim place from time to time[:/] :(
Happy is the athlete who can develop and perfect equipment and techniques to allow for the occasional " Fleeting Disassociation " figuratively
and literally from that world...


The next time you are climbing to altitude, relaxing and anticipating, grinning and smiling, taking in the sights and the sounds and the vibes of the others on board, you may smile to yourself as you recall this question...from yurbai ...
Why Do People Skydive??? B| (since I hit 50 this year,,, I have now been A 100 % skydiver ....for 62 % of my Life!!!!! )
Why mess with a good thing???) B|....Oh
.... I started as a college kid, took a static line course, and landed 10 yards from the target on my first jump ( which was also my first airplane ride! )
I also had a lot of fun and mostly positive accomplishments for a nice long stretch when I began,,, and so was comfortable and well immersed in the sport before I had to endure a harrowing landing,,, or an equipment problem, or any other setback or injury..That helped...
Nowadays jumping is the way I enjoy my free time, the way i get some excersize and some fresh air, the way I meet new and interesting People and the way I stay connected to many many fun and wonderful friends of mine,,, and
of course .... often we will all get together and share a sunset skydive at the end of a fine day....

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Every since I knew it could be done I wanted to do it.
I love speed and being close to death I think that’s when you feel at most alive.
I started late but I am never going to stop.
I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

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:ph34r: Quite simply the most fun I've EVER had :ph34r:

Shouldn't it be illegal? Nm shhh! best not let out the seceret.

I skydive for myself, my chance to perform, to learn, to be around my skydiving family/friends. The excitement is always present.

Why not spend your free time with good people, enjoying something that most people will never understand.

"Only, Skydivers know why the birds sing."
( unsure who said this )

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