Beginner 2/4way drills?

[adamx 0]

I've done a bit of searching on here and on google but never really came up with anything substantial..

I'm a newly licensed jumper. Jump #27 was my first 4 pt 4way. I've got about 35 minutes of tunnel time, and plan on continuing doing 10-20 minutes every month or two as funds allow.

I'm wondering about complete beginner 2 way drills to practice with other new jumpers, both in the air and in the tunnel. I have found reference to magazine articles about exactly this (simple beginner drills to improve skills rather than just throwing yourself out there with no objective, ultimately not learning much of anything), but haven't been able to find the articles online anywhere.

I know the best bet would be getting advice from the coaches at the DZ who have watched my progression.. I'm just looking for some reading on this rainy ass day

thanks!

[wildfan75 1]

A few of the two ways that instructors did with me when I was a student that I now do with my students are:

Round, Compressed, Round, and then a Compressed on the other side.

And one of my favorite ones is I just fall stationary, and have them dock on me, then sidebody me, then cat me, then sidebody on the otherside and back to a round. It lets them fly a lot. You can make it harder by adjusting your fallrate or side slide a little bit to get them to have to fly forward a little bit. But I always make sure to let the students know that I'm going to make it more difficult so they don't get frustrated in the air because they think they are doing a bad job.

[NWFlyer 2]

Some great ideas in this old thread:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1663957

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[LloydDobbler 2]

Congrats on the 4-way! Fun, isn't it?

In the tunnel *or* in the sky, one of my favorite 2-way drills is a simple turning drill. Rather than beat my head against the wall trying to describe it, I've whipped up a little diagram in Illustrator.

Basically, one person is base, and the other person is turning. Each turn goes in the opposite direction from the previous turn. Stars with you facing off, winds up with you facing off. Then you switch roles.

It never hurts to get in the tunnel solo and work on your 6 points of motion (forward/back, left/right, up/down). Centerpoint turns are a great thing to work on, no matter how many jumps you have. I spend at least a couple of minutes in the tunnel each week just drilling turns and sideslides. The sooner you get the basics dialed in, the better your 4-way will go.

Good luck!

Signatures are the new black.

[bliston 0]

I put together a DVD to aid with tunnel coaching that I do. The footage is from SkyVenture New Hampshire, and utilizes both upper and lower video angles, as well as verbal directions for all types of individual movements - turning sliding forward/back, superpositioning, up/down, carving, etc.

It also includes tons of two ways movement, grip, and turning drills, 8 or 9 more advanced vertical transition drills, as well as piece turning and block drills. There's a bunch of 4-way tunnel footage at the end that shows all the randoms and blocks. The whole thing is about 45 minutes or so and each drill is titled and chaptered so it's easy to navigate.

I can mail you a copy next time I'm in the states, and just might ask you to make a $20 donation to Kurt at skyleague.com to help him keep his website and management of the National Skydiving League going. Contact me via PM if you're interested.

Ben

Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website


sticks!

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Some of the drills mentioned above can be flown WITHOUT contact. By flying without contact you focus on flying the slot... not focusing on the grips. Also flying non-contact keeps you from using the grips to keep you in place.

Even if you choose to fly the drills as "contact", break each grip into at least three phases... fly into the position... pause for a moment... then take the grip. Doing so will help prevent you from REACHING or using the grips to pull yourself into position (doing so often pulls the other jumper out of position).

Lucky that you have a tunnel close enough to use monthly! Most of us are NOT so lucky.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[siddacious 0]

There is a lot to get out of doing 2 way drills! Doing them early and having someone experienced give you pointers along the way will be a HUGE help in the long run.

I use drills very similar to the ones Lloyd posted, among others. One key thing to do is to take it slow and steady until you can stop exactly where you want to (180 degrees, not 190!) and can do them while maintaining your position in the tunnel. The key to stopping in place is to make a conscious effort to stop any rotation you start[/] by ending the turn with an appropriate amount of turn in the opposite direction.

Keep in mind that these drills might seem 'boring' or 'repetitive', but they are more useful than words can describe. I still do them every time I go to the tunnel, after some 370 jumps and 10 hours in the tunnel.

I would also recommend getting a copy of that DVD that Bill is offering. He certainly knows what he is talking about (thanks bill!), and the donation to the NSL is a very good cause.

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[LloydDobbler 2]

Bryan's post triggered another thought -

For Collegiates, the USPA has an official 2-way dive pool. I can't seem to find it posted anywhere online, so I'm attaching it for reference. (We used this dive pool, slightly modified, for the Summit Challenge tunnel competition in January).

You can use the attached dive pool to make your own draw (of, say, 3-4 points each round - just write the numbers and letters on slips of paper & draw 'em out of a hat). Then just get out in the air (or in the tunnel) and work each one.

No matter what the drill, begin by focusing on positioning - work on flying your slot and taking soft docks. Then as you get more comfortable, you can work on flying a bit more aggressively and cranking up the speed.

Signatures are the new black.