David Wang

Great article! I remember my first jump...and those emotions & feelings after landing....happiest day of my life. Looking forward to my first comeback jump. "“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely bring my parents to the DZ. Actually I'm planning to attend Celebration of Life with my parents... Idk...will that be a good way to introduce the sport to my parents??

I recommend you utilizing Elsinore coaching program. Instead of doing those boring solos you can continue developing your skills for free. (curious - do you need to pay for your coach's slot?) Have fun and stay safe... :) man you will get your A in no time! (jealous) And come visit Perris some time.

Bruh. What about innocent Asian Americans?

Thank you for sharing your story and advice! I think discussing about risks with my parents won't really work because I've already got hurt once lol. My mom already thinks that it's a dangerous sport....and I know it's not a safe sport..lol. But my definition of "dangerous" may be different from her. I will be at college by then, and I'm planning to get back in the sky in college. I will pay *most* of my tuition. *most* but not *all*. My parents will help pay a small percentage of tuition. Thanks for sharing!!

Welcome to the forum!

However things I can do for my parents (for me as well) are: heal completely before jumping again, being hyper aware of safety and staying safe in the sky.

I can definitely understand her feelings, but HATE what she is doing! I will jump (target date: Summer 2022) whether she likes it or not.

I was just talking to my mom about surgery and she said that I made a bad decision to cut away the main and I'm not qualified to skydive because of that. I was so pissed and I didn't know what to say. This is utterly ridiculous and unfair. Cutting away the main at that low might be a bad decision but landing a down plane would not be a great decision either. It was a complicated situation and I just made the decision that I felt right. I feel so tired just to talk to my mom about skydiving. You guy's stories are awesome!

Ha! I was lucky to have a great instructor with me in AFF and I did all the jumps with her. I learned a ton and had a great time jumping. Kindness, patience, encouragement, safety awareness and constantly emphasizing safety, teacher-student engagement, and overall making all the jump experiences fun and memorable. To be honest I think I have failed to be a testament to their teaching because I was unsafe and got broken this early. But all the memories + passion of flying keep me in the sport.

This is a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing!

That was beautiful...your mom watched you jump. I don't think my mom would ever watch me jump.

Funny story, this morning I was watching a video of "two men BASE jumping from a hotel roof" and in the video there was this girl screaming " oh my god oh my god" and my mom heard that and asked me what it was. I told her that it was BASE jumping and it was cool. My mom immediately replied that I would never allowed to do that. Lol. I think I scared her this morning. She also said if I ever BASE jump she would not regard me as her son anymore. Bruh. I think parents are more scared after I got injured. I can understand though. But I'm also glad that she never said "if I ever skydive she would not regard me as her son". I'm not sure about BASE jumping honestly. I will probably never get into it. But one thing for sure is as soon as I am ready, I will get back in the sky and get my A. Parents can't stop me. And I'm finally going to college this year...sooo... One thing I can do for my parents and also for myself is that I will make sure I heal completely before returning to the sport. It's for my own safety and also for a better and longer skydiving career. Just sharing...What are your experiences with scared parents?

just got back from doctor's office. My x-ray is normal Strengths of my both shoulders are normal I'm getting an MRI to see if surgery is needed If I need surgery, I will be cleared to jump 5 months after surgery

A question has come up - According to my coach, my body position was perfect even though I had a dislocated right shoulder. I have started to wonder if freefall really caused my shoulder to dislocate, or the reserve deployment did, or the impact to the ground did. but my shoulder hurt like hell under the reserve though. Sadly, there is no way to verify this now. I wonder if a jumper can still have a perfect body position with a dislocated shoulder?