Learn someone to sit

[riro 0]

Need some tips on how to learn another person to sit.

I have tried a lot of different ideas but tips on tipping would be great.

Train?
Linked legs?
Let go / Hold on ?

--
riro - http://www.ronnkvist.nu/gallery/

[WrongWay 0]

Here's the way I like to teach it on the rare occasion we have new freeflyers wanting coaching.......

Exit:
The best way I've been able to teach newbies with the exit is to do a train with them on the back.That way, you're holding them in the correct position and all they have to do is stay in that position when you break to look at them. Granted, for actual coaching this won't help much, as you won't get video on exit, but if it's video you want, tell them to hop out in the position you taught them on the ground with their butt to the prop.

Concepts:
Make sure they understand the concept before you take them up. The term "sitfly" is kind of deceiving. Drill into their head that their not actually "sitting", they're really hanging by their arms, and pushing their feet down into the wind so it looks like their sitting, but no butt is involved. Tell them that if they try to actually "sit", then their just going to end up on their back. They should feel lots of wind on their arms and mainly the balls and arches of their feet.

Body positioning:
Even though there are shortcuts to learning, you don't want them to develop bad habits at the beginning. Make sure they have a nice WIDE stance with their feet, increasing stability and making sure that their hands will be free to do docks in the future. Too many times have I seen people learn to sit with this "legs tight in a ball" kinda thing, thinking that just because they're upright they're doing it right. Also, teaching the "zen" thing isn't a good call. I'm referring to the indian style sitting position. While it may look cool once you already know how to fly, it won't teach a newbie anything about flying with their legs, and they're fall rate control will be awful.

Movement:
Emphasize the importance of flying with the legs. Teach simple turns and things using some arms, some legs, but most movement should be all legs.

After they get all that, they should be fine on their own, and you'll be able to talk to them in terms of "Well this is what I do" and stuff like that. Hope I helped!!!

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[The111 0]

Hmm, as long as there's already a thread on this... I've been messing around with sit (solo) for 40 jumps or so with no instruction at all, and the worst part is I seem to be getting worse. Two weeks ago I could keep the sit for a whole jump, do flips and 360's and go right back into the sit every time. This weekend I was going all over the place, I probably just wasn't relaxing enough.

Anyway, a question about ARMS. I've been jumping with my arms basically shoulder height, and sometimes even back a little (though I'm aware this was to compensate for my chest leaning forward which is bad). I noticed that in most pics I see the arms are pretty high above the head forming a sort of "V" for stability, which makes a lot of sense logically, it's just like an arch on your belly or your legs in HD. I think by flying my arms horizontal I was:

1) Making myself more unstable.
2) Forcing my arm muscles to work harder than they need to, fighting to stay perpendicular to all that wind.
3) Slowing my fallrate quite a bit.... Pro-Track usually has my avg between 140-150, which seems a bit slow, but what do I know?

So I can't wait to try it again this weekend and try my new theory about holding my hands higher. This makes sense more after your description about "hanging" from your arms.

One last thing... should my hands be in front of the plane my chest creates, or behind it? (Or even with it...)

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[WrongWay 0]

Okay, these are all good questions.

1. Having your arms slightly behind you isn't a bad thing at all. Actually, you will want them slightly back for stability, but stay nice and relaxed. As for having them up higher or down lower, this will vary on every jump, for the simple reason of FALLRATE. The higher your arms are, the faster you go, but you'll lose stability if you use your arms for this. Here's what you should do.

1. Relax your arms, put'em slightly behind you but not much. Just make them as comfortable as possible, they won't be used for much other than a little stability and hand docks (when you're ready for it). Don't worry about putting them up or down, it won't matter.

2. Use your legs for most fall rate stuff. Keep that nice wide stance I was talking about earlier, and not only will you be stable as a rock, but you'll be able to go really slow or really fast. To go slow (like belly speed), bring your knees in (but NOT your feet) in order to cup air and go slow. To go faster, push your legs down a little bit, and that will create less surface area, making you faster.

3. GET COACHING. Solo's are okay for learning to be stable, but you could be sliding all over the sky and have no idea. An experienced coach will help you fly straight and stable, and he'll tip you on your position, plus you'll get good video!! One coached jump is worth 20 fun jumps, so go get it.

Need anything else, drop me a line, I hope I helped!!

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.