Progression-Drill Dives vs. Ball Jumps

[fedykin 0]

what is everyones opinion on what is the best means of progression and what the balence should be

should it be loads of drill dives- ie.. alt 360, dock, repeat

or lots of ball jumps as soon as you are capable of catching the ball

its a subject alot avoid, some just break into the--just chill it'll come dude bla bla.

ive just noticed RW jumpers are alot more structured in terms of developing thier flying skills and are more attentive to thier development

any opinions would be greatly appresiated as im off to eloy on the 28th for some hard core training with alaska john, and wana sort some stuff out before he shows up

cheers

[PhreeZone 15]

I'll only say this, Ball jumps are not to be taken lightly or common. The posasibility of death to someone on the ground is there with a ball. I spoke to a Ballmaster that had lots of ball jumps and the only way he'd do another ball jumpis if he was giving an AD test since there are better things then a ball such as a person holding a heading and speed and having the other person use them as a ball.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[fedykin 0]

but recently there have been 'safe' spaceballs developed, the vladiball etc..

this is just one option, i dont wana get too focused on the spaceball portion of my question, but mainly on the whole subject of progression

[ramon 0]

drill dives.

You should get enough by doing drill dives that you perform well on a ball dive.

"Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.", Ambrose Bierce.

[fedykin 0]

what kind of drill dives do you do?

[freeflir29 0]

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what kind of drill dives do you do?

I'm certainly no expert but I made some pretty amazing leaps in ability over the summer. I started out being comfortable head down. I could move around, change speeds, transition, etc. I wasn't really comfortable docking though. So...we started out with that. I was jumping with a guy that had about 1200-1300 jumps. Mostly free fly and had gone to the World Air games as a camera guy for a freestylist. (Tough job!!! Fall rate changes are CRAZY!!) Did one jump just practicing docking. I was a little wobbly at first but by the end of just that one dive I was comfortable docking with either hand. From there...he kept increasing the skill level. Eagles, carves, joker, rock the cradle, foot to foot (That was probably the hardest of them all) Did the occasional ball jump in there too. Just for fun. My progress was quite simply AMAZING. My answer to your question. Ball jumps are merely for demonstrating and maybe fine tuning the skills you ALREADY have. Two ways are WHERE IT'S AT for learning new skills.

[hookitt 0]

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I spoke to a Ballmaster that had lots of ball jumps and the only way he'd do another ball jumpis if he was giving an AD test

Many years ago. I made my first ball jump. It happened to be my AD test. Good drills will get you there.

AD #28

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[indyz 1]

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but recently there have been 'safe' spaceballs developed, the vladiball etc..

I recently saw a video of a vladiball in action. It was moving all over the place, more than any spaceball that I've seen. It should be noted that I haven't jumped with the ball, I don't have anywhere near enough skill to try, so this is really just a comparison between a bunch of videos. Also, one experienced jumper on the ball jump (who has jumped with a different ball in the past) commented that the ball was difficult to catch, and that only one person on the dive managed to catch it.

[skydivegirl 0]

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Eagles, carves, joker, rock the cradle

At the risk of sounding like a newbie could someone describe to me what these are?

Pink Mafia Sis #26

[Trent 0]

I can only speak from my experiences and what people told me while I was learning to freefly. A lot of what we learned goes into how we coach students today, so it may be of some value.

Start with the sit. Sitting is more difficult and less mobile than head down, and therefore requires a lot of patience to learn. You will see many freefliers that can do pretty much anything they want on their heads, but can't do much at all in a sit. I spent at least 250 jumps JUST learning and experimenting with a sit. Most of these were either solos or working with my current teammate. After about 400 or so jumps, I really felt that I was ready to work on my head. I was patient. I did a TON of jumps where I just followed out a group and stayed outside. That gave me a reference and some way to figure out if I could fall relative to other freeflyers. Once I felt comfortable that I could move around and fly relative, I went with 2 ways. That's where I worked on flying docks and transitions. I would say be careful with 2-ways at first... unless the other flyer is very disciplined and a few steps above your level, there is the chance that he/she will be compensating for your movements (backsliding, driving, carving, etc.)

In my opinion, ball jumps are great to demostrate your abilities to fly down the tube and transition in place, or for competitions. Otherwise, it's just one more thing to worry about. Besides, you can do the same stuff with a coach who's flying in front of you with a fist extended.

For what it's worth....

Oh, hello again!

[bdazel 0]

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I did a TON of jumps where I just followed out a group and stayed outside. That gave me a reference and some way to figure out if I could fall relative to other freeflyers.

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Trent- I have a question for you. I agree with your idea above. I've done a couple dives where I stayed 'relative' to a group to work on my skills, but wasn't necessarily 'in' the group (it was done with the groups ok). I found that to be very helpful. On these jumps I always kept the group in my sight and tracked away before the group broke up. However, I've found that a lot of fliers aren't comfortable with this idea, and I fully understand why. How did you approach this situation when you were learning? Were those jumps done with people who already knew your skill level, and therefore knew you wouldn't be a risk to the group? Were there any specific safety precautions you took?

Thanks a bunch- B

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[Trent 0]

I generally stayed close to the group. Close enough to be "outside video". I usually waited until the group's breakoff altitude to track just so that everyone could see everyone when it was time to leave. These were usually 3-4 ways that I'd hang with, so identifying everyone was no problem.

A good idea when you're with freeflyers who may not know you might be to volunteer to track off a little high and to also dump higher. That might make them a little more comfortable having you out there.

Give it a shot!

Oh, hello again!