Turns and movement in a sit.

[surf4life11 0]

I know I should talk to people out at my DZ but unfortunately there really are not any freeflyers out there to give me the advice and help that I need. I have been working on my sit for the last 15-20 jumps mostly solo with some coaching initially and now have it to where I can hold it and go straight down the tube without backsliding or any other unintentional movement. My questions are how do you turn, do side to side movement and do intentional forward and backwards movement in the sit. Also, my exit into a sit is something that I am trully having trouble with, I get out and do fine until I have to transition from having my legs tucked and arms back to a stable sit. Just looking for as much advice as I can get so I am safe in the air when I do start freeflying with others. Thanks

[larsrulz 0]

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My questions are how do you turn

I can't help with a whole lot else, but if you want to turn, then just look where you want to turn to. Your body then naturally turns where you want to go. Sounds too easy, but it really is that easy.

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[OzoneJunkie 0]

There's a number of ways to do it, but most often, and usually most effeciently, it's done by twisting your torso. Keep your shoulders level, then turn/twist your upper body/shoulders. This goes for headdown as well.

[NeedToJump 0]

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I can't help with a whole lot else, but if you want to turn, then just look where you want to turn to.

Yes this does work but I don't like encouraging this way of learning. Ideally we want to be able to take grips and look in a different direction. We want where we look and which direction our body faces to be independent of each other.

Surf - the best way you are going to learn about how to move around while sitflying is to go up with an experienced coach. That being said I will try to explain the physical movements required for motion in a sitfly.

Turns and slides can be done with arms, legs or a combination of both. From a neutral sitfly position with your elbows slightly bent (about 15 - 45 degrees off from being straight.) You will want to leave the part of your arm from your shoulder to you elbow exactly where it is. To turn right you would rotate your left arm down about 45 degrees so your palm is pressing against the air. You would also rotate your right arm up about 45 degrees so the back of your right hand is pressing against the wind. For leg motion to do a turn keep the part of your leg from your hips to your knee stationary and rotate either both legs or just the outside leg so they point in the direction you want to turn.

For side slides think push pull with your arms. If I wanted to side slide to the right I would extend my left arm out so I am pushing off the wind with it and bring my right arm in so I am pulling against the wind with it.

The three most important things I find for learning anything are (in no particular order) 1) Confidence - trust that what you do is going to work if you were taught property. 2) Relax - take a deep breath and don't try to force anything, moving around does not require a lot of input or force. 3) Feel the wind - be aware of how the wind is flowing over your body and what effect various inputs of your body have.

It's hard to explain without pictures but let me know if you have any questions.

Hope this helps

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[surf4life11 0]

Thanks that helps a lot. Unfortunately coaching is not available to me immediately so I am forced to learn from others any way I can. Your post makes so much sense and I can visualize exactly what you were saying. Thanks again for the advice.

[NeedToJump 0]

No problem, I'm glad I could help. Keep in mind as you are learning that you'll want to be able do do every kind of motion without using your arms so that you can fly over to a formation, take a dock on it and still be able to fly. But definitely try to learn to fly every part of your body.

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com