Hand slap tradition?

[Pilotkev33 0]

Sup everyone. I'm kinda new to the sport. Been jumping for a year and 185 jumps later. I was in greece and cabo san lucas for a couple of jumps and thought it was cool when a hand came into my face to give our notorious " secret handshake". I thought it would be a nice Convo starter to the origin of the the hand slap and pound before jumps. Let see if we can go all the way back and find out who where the first to start our worldwide tradition.

Blue skies

[JeffCa 0]

Pilotkev33

I thought it would be a nice Convo starter to the origin of the the hand slap and pound before jumps. Let see if we can go all the way back and find out who where the first to start our worldwide tradition.

I thought it was a terrorist fist jab. Fox News said so.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[chuckakers 425]

Not sure where it started or when, but I would personally prefer we spend those extra few seconds checking gear, or the spot, or something a bit more productive.

Given how many people go out the door with gear gigs, plow through clouds, and an assortment of other silly crap I think we would be better served by paying attention to the task at hand instead of celebrating before a successful landing.

How 'bout we play slap-ass *after* the jump.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[airtwardo 7]

Pilotkev33

Sup everyone. I'm kinda new to the sport. Been jumping for a year and 185 jumps later. I was in greece and cabo san lucas for a couple of jumps and thought it was cool when a hand came into my face to give our notorious " secret handshake". I thought it would be a nice Convo starter to the origin of the the hand slap and pound before jumps. Let see if we can go all the way back and find out who where the first to start our worldwide tradition.

Blue skies

Since you're 'new' you get a pass on this one~

That 'hand slap' is merely the 'latest' in a long and distinguished line of 'one of US' type greetings.

There was the 'spirit fingers' palm tickler, the double fist bump followed by locking your thumbs together and makin' your hands look like a bird flying away, the elbow hammer - then the DOUBLE elbow hammer, the double slap - point your finger like a gun then shoot the bird...I could go on & on.

It does change some regionally - smaller Cessna DZ's are usually a handshake or two behind the power curve...until one of the regulars goes to Perris or Eloy for a camp and brings back the updated version, which is what those camps are really for anyway!

I get so confused sometimes I just revert back to the original one I learned first back in the 70's...I lick the goggles of everyone around me.

Ya wanna see something REALLY cool...go to a boogie & get on a big airplane last - as you get to the door, yell at the top of your lungs: HEY ASSHOLE!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Pilotkev33 0]

Gear checks and spotting are never last in my book. I just thought it would be nice topic to screw around in.

[Rick 67]

What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[airtwardo 7]

Rick

What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

No I didn't...the 'shoot the bird' IS the middle finger salute ~ to us old farts!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Rick 67]

airtwardo

***What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

No I didn't...the 'shoot the bird' IS the middle finger salute ~ to us old farts!

oh damn missed that

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[Rick 67]

Chuck I don't see it as so much of a distraction. Once gear checks are done and you're getting ready to exit I see it more of a deep breath/relax yourself put a smile on your face before you go out the door

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[airtwardo 7]

Rick

******What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

No I didn't...the 'shoot the bird' IS the middle finger salute ~ to us old farts!

oh damn missed that


Yeah it's kinda hard to see...after someone licks your goggles!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Rick 67]

airtwardo

*********What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

No I didn't...the 'shoot the bird' IS the middle finger salute ~ to us old farts!

oh damn missed that


Yeah it's kinda hard to see...after someone licks your goggles!


Had someone stick a chewed up wad of gum on my face shield as I was climbing out one time. It was still there when I landed that shit is sticky

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[towerrat 0]

A word of advice: For the most part, leave the instructors out of it. Whether or not you realize it, we are more than likely busy. I can't count the times I've been hooking up my passenger or giving my student a pre-exit once over only to have some new guy shove his hand in my face for a hand slap. The last few minutes of the airplane ride are of particular importance. I'm preparing to jump from an aircraft with a student. I'm busy.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[Krip 2]

airtwardo

*********What?? Twardo you forgot to add the middle finger "hand shake"

No I didn't...the 'shoot the bird' IS the middle finger salute ~ to us old farts!

oh damn missed that


Yeah it's kinda hard to see...after someone licks your goggles!

Tiger lick anyone?

One Jump Wonder

[Rick 67]

towerrat

A word of advice: For the most part, leave the instructors out of it. Whether or not you realize it, we are more than likely busy. I can't count the times I've been hooking up my passenger or giving my student a pre-exit once over only to have some new guy shove his hand in my face for a hand slap. The last few minutes of the airplane ride are of particular importance. I'm preparing to jump from an aircraft with a student. I'm busy.

good point Randy

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[popsjumper 2]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=black%20man%27s%20handshake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-gkwjc75VM

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[towerrat 0]

Exactly like that

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[MikeJD 0]

My 4-way FS team (along with lots of others) practise an all-hands-in exit pulse in the plane that's designed to mirror the one we'll do in the door.

As chuckakers said, this sort of thing can be a distraction if you're not careful. Since I'm responsible for initiating it I've made it a habit to be very predictable - mainy by always starting it at the same altitude during the climb. That means everyone knows it's coming, and can have done their gear checks/ sorted out their helmets etc. in advance. I never start it while people are still fiddling with their stuff. I also make sure it happens well before people have to start worrying about the door or the spot.

Nobody outside the team gets a handshake unless they initiate it, because I don't want to force it on them. I still think it's nice to show solidarity with the whole load, so a thumbs-up or similar works for those further back in the plane - that also means people aren't moving around too much to reach over. Unneccesary moving around = bad

[chuckakers 425]

Rick

Chuck I don't see it as so much of a distraction. Once gear checks are done and you're getting ready to exit I see it more of a deep breath/relax yourself put a smile on your face before you go out the door

You may not be distracted, but apparently many others could be.

EVERYTHING anyone does that isn't directly related to the logistics of the jump takes their mind from those logistics.

There's no way to quantify how many unbuckled helmets have been lost, premature deployments from un-tucked p/c's have happened, and a million other things have occurred from doing "other than business" activities in the aircraft (especially in the moments approaching exit), but there's no denying that anything that takes one's mind away from the task at hand is a possible cause of seemingly stupid f-ups.

I have on more than one occasion had to remind someone to buckle their helmet after they stopped midstream when they saw a bunch of hands waiting to be slapped, skinned, bumped, 5'd, etc. and then never went back to the process, so yes - it does happen.

I guess I just don't see the piont beyond "everybody does it". Remember when going helmetless was the cool thing to do? Well that didn't end because everyone figured out it was dangerous. It ended when the cool competitors started wearing those awesome fullface helmets.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[Mogwai 0]

The new kids are so busy with the their hand jive and checking their go-pros that they don't bother to look out the door and check the spot or to make sure the sky is clear...

[Rick 67]

Point taken the newer folks in the front of the plane take their cues from the more experienced

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Chuck, I get what you're trying to say. But, I think most of us that jump can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Granted, some of us have to limit ourselves to walking and just having gum in our mouths.

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[JackJ 0]

airtwardo

Ya wanna see something REALLY cool...go to a boogie & get on a big airplane last - as you get to the door, yell at the top of your lungs: HEY ASSHOLE!

WHAATTT?

[Bitswd 0]

Simple enough question, but as always on DZ.com it turned in to the stupidest thread ever. The guy was just asking a simple question and it got turned into a pissing contest. And of coarse some young jumper camera references had to be added for effect.

[evan85 0]

Bitswd

Simple enough question, but as always on DZ.com it turned in to the stupidest thread ever. The guy was just asking a simple question and it got turned into a pissing contest. And of coarse some young jumper camera references had to be added for effect.

I'm totally on the side of keep cameras off people until they're ready, conservative downsizing progression, and safety in general. But this thread struck me as getting a little ridiculous. If someone puts their hand out and you're busy checking your gear, don't slap it. But it's insane to think that someone would not be able to check their own gear for 10 minutes or however long it takes you to get to altitude because they were too distracted thinking about how they were going to slap hands with someone.

Let's try to keep the censure where it truly belongs--on things that are legitimately unsafe--so that we don't all become the boy who cried "dangerous!".

[hypoxic_fool 0]

evan85

***Simple enough question, but as always on DZ.com it turned in to the stupidest thread ever. The guy was just asking a simple question and it got turned into a pissing contest. And of coarse some young jumper camera references had to be added for effect.

I'm totally on the side of keep cameras off people until they're ready, conservative downsizing progression, and safety in general. But this thread struck me as getting a little ridiculous. If someone puts their hand out and you're busy checking your gear, don't slap it. But it's insane to think that someone would not be able to check their own gear for 10 minutes or however long it takes you to get to altitude because they were too distracted thinking about how they were going to slap hands with someone.

Let's try to keep the censure where it truly belongs--on things that are legitimately unsafe--so that we don't all become the boy who cried "dangerous!". i have ti agree. rather than spending the 10 minutes it takes to get to altitude staring out the window or off into oblivion, take care of the obvious. make sure your harness is full fascened, turn your pilot chute all the way in, put on your helmet/goggles, have your pin checked before the door opens, check the spot. nothing wrong with a quick high five in my book after all that is taken care of, its just a "hey have a nice jump" sort of thing.