Skydiving….Why keep doing it?

[artard 0]

Ron

If you are like most jumpers... Wanting to talk about it is a phase you will get out off.

I know at least a couple experienced jumpers who never got over this phase and always want about skydiving when we hang out around whuffos because they think it's impressive. It's obnoxious as fuck

http://www.mixcloud.com/prajna
http://vimeo.com/avidya

[Ron 10]

Quote

Where are you trying to take this conversation?

You claim, "I fully understand what your saying".
Then you know where I am trying to take this conversation. Most times it is more trouble than it is worth to have the skydiving conversation. After you have tried it about a billion times you realize that people will not change their opinion and you quit trying to have the conversation.

As Andy pointed out, YOU are in charge if this conversation comes up. Unless you do something to bring it up, it will not come up. At some point most people quit bringing it up because the conversation goes almost on a script.

You say "I have a whole lot of medals as well that I don't feel like explaining in great detail"

Well after a while you will have a whole bunch of jumps that you don't feel like explaining in great detail. Eventually, you might have no desire to even talk about either your military medals or your skydiving.

That is all I am "trying to take this conversation". After a while you might just avoid the topic because you know how it will play out.

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Maybe we should start a poll asking what skydivers do when asked about skydiving by non-skydivers.

A great idea.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[ManagingPrime 0]

Joellercoaster

Because experiments have shown that I become unhappy if I don't for too long.

+1
It's been relatively freezing here in AZ, so i have not jumped for 4 weeks or so. I've not been the nicest person this last month. LOL

[GooniesKid 0]

baRRRpirate

Whenever the topic of my skydiving comes up with my non skydiver friends, they always give me the look when I say I'm not an adrenaline junky. I don't skydive for reasons of adrenaline. Truth be told, I'm not all that crazy about heights in itself. Skydiving for me is like golf or surfing. It's incredibly difficult to excel in, it takes finesse, and you can never stop learning and getting better.

Just wondering what drives others to continue on in this sport?

I said it before and I'll say it again...i do it for the ladies; it makes for a great date conversation, the ladies get all intrigued and wow'ed, and all my whuffo friends think i'm such a badass.

[baRRRpirate 0]

Ron

Quote

Where are you trying to take this conversation?

You claim, "I fully understand what your saying".
Then you know where I am trying to take this conversation. Most times it is more trouble than it is worth to have the skydiving conversation. After you have tried it about a billion times you realize that people will not change their opinion and you quit trying to have the conversation.

As Andy pointed out, YOU are in charge if this conversation comes up. Unless you do something to bring it up, it will not come up. At some point most people quit bringing it up because the conversation goes almost on a script.

You say "I have a whole lot of medals as well that I don't feel like explaining in great detail"

Well after a while you will have a whole bunch of jumps that you don't feel like explaining in great detail. Eventually, you might have no desire to even talk about either your military medals or your skydiving.

That is all I am "trying to take this conversation". After a while you might just avoid the topic because you know how it will play out.

***Maybe we should start a poll asking what skydivers do when asked about skydiving by non-skydivers.

A great idea.

First off, you sound a jaded
I do fully understand your comment. When I asked where you were trying to take the conversation, that was more rhetorical, since it has nothing to do with my original post. I've was never asking what the sentiments of a skydiving conversation were, I am more curious about peoples different reasons for enjoying the sport.

When I made the statement about conversations with my friends, that was more of an explanation as to what got me thinking about different reasons for skydiving. Sorry if that was interpreted otherwise (i am not a writer).

So my conclusion from your post is:
You either misunderstood my original post or you just wanted to point out how experienced you, and others are, so experienced in fact, that you don't want to talk about it.


Or, I could be way off base with this whole thing…It is very late at night for me and I haven't slept for a while
and I'm biased because I feel all too often people on this site over complicate simple questions, while answering with personal bravado.

[dthames 0]

I want to fly.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[baRRRpirate 0]

GooniesKid

***Whenever the topic of my skydiving comes up with my non skydiver friends, they always give me the look when I say I'm not an adrenaline junky. I don't skydive for reasons of adrenaline. Truth be told, I'm not all that crazy about heights in itself. Skydiving for me is like golf or surfing. It's incredibly difficult to excel in, it takes finesse, and you can never stop learning and getting better.

Just wondering what drives others to continue on in this sport?

I said it before and I'll say it again...i do it for the ladies; it makes for a great date conversation, the ladies get all intrigued and wow'ed, and all my whuffo friends think i'm such a badass.

nice….I'm married so no more ladies and I'm no longer allowed to be a badass

[darkwing 5]

Because it is glorious. That is the answer to give for many endeavors. I feel a little sorry for people who never find a pursuit they feel that way about.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[shoeless_wonder 0]

It levels me out. Clears my head. I love the adrenaline factor, but that is just a plus. When I got a lot going on in my life, if I am stressed out, if I am cranky for whatever reason, I jump. It is the only time my head is completely clear. As soon as I exit, nothing else in life matters. For that minute, I am completely free. And I like that.

What is the point of life, if you don't live it?
To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around.

[jdkalou 0]

Can't put it in words. As I was setting (at my desk at work) here thinking about how I would answer your question, I found myself looking out the window, looking into the sky, and smiling. Just a big old shit eatin grin.
So, I guess the closest I'll ever be able to come to explaining it is..................."just a big old shit eatin grin!"

[format 1]

Quote

what drives others to continue on in this sport?

Stripped off to the core, it's life or death for real. It's a sport.
Quickest and cheapest way to sense who you really are (and other present).
In two or more words: nice!

What goes around, comes later.

[Ron 10]

Quote

First off, you sound a jaded

That most likely has more to do with your admitted bias than anything else.

You asked what do we tell whuffos when the conversation comes up. That answer is that it does not come up in 99% of the cases because it is not relevant to the situation and I see no point in bringing it up. This is the same thing Andy alluded to.

If a student asks me why I still jump. I tell them the challenge of trying to perfect something as difficult as skydiving can be.

If an experienced jumper asks. I tell them because I like to teach. That I like to see the light in the students eyes and like to see the students sense of pride in accomplishing a task.

So depending on who asks, depends on what answer I give. Your query was about whuffos, so I gave you the answer for whuffos... I don't bring it up, so I don't have to answer the question.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[baRRRpirate 0]

Ron

You asked what do we tell whuffos when the conversation comes up. That answer is that it does not come up in 99% of the cases because it is not relevant to the situation and I see no point in bringing it up. This is the same thing Andy alluded to.

This was my exact question…nothing about what you tell whuffos….please re-read my last posts, its pretty clear:

"Skydiving for me is like golf or surfing. It's incredibly difficult to excel in, it takes finesse, and you can never stop learning and getting better.

Just wondering what drives others to continue on in this sport?"

Ron

If a student asks me why I still jump. I tell them the challenge of trying to perfect something as difficult as skydiving can be.

If an experienced jumper asks. I tell them because I like to teach. That I like to see the light in the students eyes and like to see the students sense of pride in accomplishing a task.

These are the answers to that question.

Ron

So depending on who asks, depends on what answer I give.
Your query was about whuffos, so I gave you the answer for whuffos... I don't bring it up, so I don't have to answer the question.

again, I never queried whuffos.

thanks for finally answering, its nice to see what people say from all experience levels.

[J-S 0]

I jump because I like math.

New pair of pants= 2 jumps

New shoes without holes= 3 jumps

Not having new shoes and pants to match, serenity as I'm about to "let go".

Plus it's fun to guess what people have eaten earlier in the day on the way up Sometimes it makes me hungry.

[Baksteen 84]

'Cause it's still fun and I have a lot to learn yet in my chosen disciplines.
As to whuffo's, I generally avoid the subject. But I'm not going to lie when asked a direct question. If skydiving does come up, I answer their questions and comments as seriously as I can.
I harbour no illusion that any of my collegues are actually going to jump, but at I can try to dispel some of the more irritating myths that surround skydiving, at least, among the people I know.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[Andy9o8 2]

format

In two or more words: nice!

[GooniesKid 0]

baRRRpirate

******Whenever the topic of my skydiving comes up with my non skydiver friends, they always give me the look when I say I'm not an adrenaline junky. I don't skydive for reasons of adrenaline. Truth be told, I'm not all that crazy about heights in itself. Skydiving for me is like golf or surfing. It's incredibly difficult to excel in, it takes finesse, and you can never stop learning and getting better.

Just wondering what drives others to continue on in this sport?

I said it before and I'll say it again...i do it for the ladies; it makes for a great date conversation, the ladies get all intrigued and wow'ed, and all my whuffo friends think i'm such a badass.

nice….I'm married so no more ladies and I'm no longer allowed to be a badass

You are a skydiver..so by default you too are a badass among your whuffo friends

[Rover 11]

For the money!

2 wrongs don't make a right - but 3 lefts do.

[format 1]

Andy9o8

***In two or more words: nice!

What goes around, comes later.

[rohicks 2]

baRRRpirate

Whenever the topic of my skydiving comes up with my non skydiver friends, they always give me the look when I say I'm not an adrenaline junky. I don't skydive for reasons of adrenaline. Truth be told, I'm not all that crazy about heights in itself. Skydiving for me is like golf or surfing. It's incredibly difficult to excel in, it takes finesse, and you can never stop learning and getting better.

Just wondering what drives others to continue on in this sport?

If you search the forum this topic is covered a lot. When I had 12 jumps I wondered as well and did some research on it. I wrote this article for medium about why we jump. I think it can speak for the majority of us.

https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/14a70d0c4dc6

[Boomerdog 0]

"Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?"
I get that question all the time.

My answer is this: Airplanes are not perfect for if they were, we'd never have to perform routine maintenance on them!

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

I get that question all the time.

Why?

[Boomerdog 0]

One jump for me was too many...and a few thousand will never be enough...I'm up to 86 closing in on my first 100 jumps and ready to taste that coconut cream pie that's gonna get mashed in my face.

To this day, I don't know why I jump. It stated out as a one time AFF gift certificate from my wife; Christmas 2011. All I know is that I have to...I HAVE TO! That one day out of the week at the DZ makes the rest of the week bearable. Is it the weekend yet?

At the DZ the people I see and jump with every week are more than friends but they're not (blood kin) family either. Fact is, they're somewhere in between and I have to see them...they're the best group of people I've come to know and associate with!

[BobxMarley 1]

My answer to them would be "Have you ever participated in something that makes you feel more confident, happy, inspired, excited, nervous, and complete? Well, every time I jump, I get all of those feelings in the matter of 60 seconds. So my question to you is, why would you pass that up?

Klaasic

[3331 137]

All the real friends old and new every where on the planet.

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.