1.“Practice and science show that the more prepared we are, the faster the solution and better the outcome is. How we perceive the situations in skydiving has immense influence on the outcome and the perception depends on our knowledge, experience and training. “- at first, it doesn’t seem perception matters much for what the malfunction is, however, perception is very important. We all perceive different situations differently.An example is a Pilot chute in tow situations- different schools and manufacturers have different guidelines. The reason is the different perception for the same malfunction. The way we deal with this situation is usually the way we are thought, but is that the right way of doing it?
2.“The ability to generate and then select the appropriate course of action is based on the decision maker’s “reading” of the situation—in other words, our ability to assess the situation and predict how it will evolve over the next few seconds. “- The purpose of science is to predict. So, more knowledge- better chance of predicting. It is the same with skydiving, the more knowledge you have of how equipment works- better chance of reading the situation. Knowing what is in the reserve container, what the closing sequence is, how and when the MARD works, why the RSL was invented and implemented, what the reserve pilot chute is, can affect the way we read and PERCIEVE situations. These things are important and being familiar with them could save your life. In emergency, people have reacted in different way depending on how they see the situation. As a result, if you know how all the equipment works and what you have, you do not need to think that much- conditioned response generates acting. Action becomes inbuilt into your reflexes. Example- you are not thinking where exactly your arms and legs are every second when flying in freefall. You are just flying the whole system towards your goal and you subconsciously control your limbs. The same thing happens when you are driving a car- you are not constantly thinking how much input you should apply to different muscles of your limbs in order to maintain a straight line- it is all done subconsciously. You need to think only when you the situation changes, and you need to decide which way you need to turn at an intersection.
The other scenario is the common one, when you do not know how it all works- you execute only what you are told- pull some handles, hopefully in the right sequence. If this does not go well- you will need a lot of luck because you do not have time! You need time to realise exactly what is happening, what the problem is, to run different simulations and to decide what course of action to take and execute it. In skydiving- we lack time. Unfortunately, the current Skydiving education here simply fails.
3.“Knowing your equipment and how it works also fits the biological reasons to perceive the emergency situations as challenge and not as threat and to get into the competence/ confidence loop which means -less stress. In other words- we perceive the emergency as challenge, not threat.”
What does this mean?
Well, it means that if you lack the necessary time and resources/knowledge/ and you are to deal with situation that you do not know how to resolve, the “freeze, fight or fly” response takes into action and you forget even the things you knew. Well, again- luck is in play as time is extremely limited!
In contrast, the situation is completely different when knowing your equipment and how it works, because this ensures that you perceive the situation merely as a challenge. Then, the neurophysiology is different. Your whole organism works in synchrony to resolve the issue. In this case your brain knows you have the necessary time and resources, and it does not get you into a pray response so you perceive this situation simply as a challenge.
High stress situations- what's the deal?
in Safety
Some elaboration on part I here:
1. “Practice and science show that the more prepared we are, the faster the solution and better the outcome is. How we perceive the situations in skydiving has immense influence on the outcome and the perception depends on our knowledge, experience and training. “- at first, it doesn’t seem perception matters much for what the malfunction is, however, perception is very important. We all perceive different situations differently. An example is a Pilot chute in tow situations- different schools and manufacturers have different guidelines. The reason is the different perception for the same malfunction. The way we deal with this situation is usually the way we are thought, but is that the right way of doing it?
2. “The ability to generate and then select the appropriate course of action is based on the decision maker’s “reading” of the situation—in other words, our ability to assess the situation and predict how it will evolve over the next few seconds. “- The purpose of science is to predict. So, more knowledge- better chance of predicting. It is the same with skydiving, the more knowledge you have of how equipment works- better chance of reading the situation. Knowing what is in the reserve container, what the closing sequence is, how and when the MARD works, why the RSL was invented and implemented, what the reserve pilot chute is, can affect the way we read and PERCIEVE situations. These things are important and being familiar with them could save your life. In emergency, people have reacted in different way depending on how they see the situation. As a result, if you know how all the equipment works and what you have, you do not need to think that much- conditioned response generates acting. Action becomes inbuilt into your reflexes. Example- you are not thinking where exactly your arms and legs are every second when flying in freefall. You are just flying the whole system towards your goal and you subconsciously control your limbs. The same thing happens when you are driving a car- you are not constantly thinking how much input you should apply to different muscles of your limbs in order to maintain a straight line- it is all done subconsciously. You need to think only when you the situation changes, and you need to decide which way you need to turn at an intersection.
The other scenario is the common one, when you do not know how it all works- you execute only what you are told- pull some handles, hopefully in the right sequence. If this does not go well- you will need a lot of luck because you do not have time! You need time to realise exactly what is happening, what the problem is, to run different simulations and to decide what course of action to take and execute it. In skydiving- we lack time. Unfortunately, the current Skydiving education here simply fails.
3. “Knowing your equipment and how it works also fits the biological reasons to perceive the emergency situations as challenge and not as threat and to get into the competence/ confidence loop which means -less stress. In other words- we perceive the emergency as challenge, not threat.”
What does this mean?
Well, it means that if you lack the necessary time and resources/knowledge/ and you are to deal with situation that you do not know how to resolve, the “freeze, fight or fly” response takes into action and you forget even the things you knew. Well, again- luck is in play as time is extremely limited!
In contrast, the situation is completely different when knowing your equipment and how it works, because this ensures that you perceive the situation merely as a challenge. Then, the neurophysiology is different. Your whole organism works in synchrony to resolve the issue. In this case your brain knows you have the necessary time and resources, and it does not get you into a pray response so you perceive this situation simply as a challenge.