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PLF - what is it?

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Just to clear things up, PLF is the acronym for "Parachute Landing Fall"
The position is feet & Knees together (the legs naturally take on a slight bend at the knee), feet pointed out about 30 degrees away from the side you're going to land on, hands down to groin, chin to chest and teeth clenched. The overall image is "this is going to hurt" (and you're usually right)!
You then land and roll / tumble in a cloud of dust / grass / mud (depending on your DZs climate). You then get up, keeping your teeth clenched until you've bought the beer!
Mike D10270.

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LOL
To adapt Adam's comment, how about "Prepare for Leg Fracture"
The PRO pack spinoff made me think of that....
"Prepare for Reserve Opening"
That must have been the saying when they first started PRO packing?
Craig
Edited by Craig on 3/5/01 03:46 PM.

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The PRO pack spinoff made me think of that....
"Prepare for Reserve Opening"
That must have been the saying when they first started PRO packing?

Yep. When I first started jumping our DZO wouldn't allow anyone to pro pack anything that belonged to the DZ. But at that point there were really no zp canopies and flat packing works just fine for F111.
There is truth behind the Prepare for reserve opening line... You need to control the lines, esp the D and steering lines, throughout the pack job when pro packing or you could end up with a nasty line over or other shall we say non-preferred opening... something you don't have to stress as much when flat packing.
pull and flare,
lisa

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The position is feet & Knees together (the legs naturally take on a slight bend at the knee), feet pointed out about 30 degrees away from the side you're going to land on, hands down to groin, chin to chest and teeth clenched. The overall image is "this is going to hurt" (and you're usually right)!

The technique described here is correct. However, keep your body relaxed. Keep your mouth closed, but don't clench your teeth and tense up or it will hurt and you are more likely to be injured. This is why drunks are rarely hurt in car wrecks, because they are relaxed.
Trust me on this. I study kung fu and we learn how to fall without hurting ourselves. A PLF is very similar to a break fall. When I was a student, still on radio I couldn't hear the radio very well and as I was nearing the ground I hear something that sounded like "flair". He was really saying "let it fly". I flaired way too high and stalled at about 5 feet in the air. I just relaxed and did a PLF and walked away without a scratch, much to my own amazement.

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Is that because you kung fu guys are always getting your asses kicked?

You have discraced me, and the Shaolin temple and now you must die.
Actually, my style of kung fu is well known for locking techniques and lots os sweeps. If you are fighting someone from our school you will probably end up on the floor alot and we don't want anybody to get hurt. Some of our forms actually have break falls in them as well.

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HHAAYHAA muuhhwwhhaa where do you do the kung-fu Dutch?
Chineese Shaolin Center in Duluth???-LOL

Nope, Broken Eagle and I both study at the Eagle Claw Kung Fu center in Midtown http://www.yingjowpaiatl.com. This is a bit of a drive for me (30 miles), but I try to make it down there at least twice a week. Last night was hilarious. It was the tough conditioning class. A couple people watched but didn't know that it wasn't a regular class and got scared and left.

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PLFs are lifesavers. I learned mine the "old-school" way, courtesy of the US Army at Ft. Benning. Basically, you jump off of a platform in different directions and practice for a week, then you start the fun stuff. They have an evil contraption called a "Swing-Landing Trainer" where you are suspended about 6 feet in the air. Using guide ropes, they can swing you around in any angle in relation to the ground. Then they yell at you to drop. Then you do it again... and again... and again. You either get it or become a walking bruise.
Being proficient in PLF procedures has taken a lot of stress off of my landings. I'm not worried about standing up landings, because I know I'll be fine if I don't. Just knowing that takes a lot of the stress off and makes me more relaxed come landing time.
Justin

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