Rookie having a hard time

[Alittleoff 0]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place. If not please excuse my naivete'. I'm a rookie 3 jumps away from my A license and I'm having a lot of trouble with my legs. I always seem to be turning and they are either on my ass, locked out or uneven causing turning when tracking. I've failed two coach jumps focused on slow and fast fall rates and having difficulty with being stable out the door. Obviously I'm beginning to doubt myself and skill (limited as it is). Could someone help me out? Any advice is welcome and thanks for reading!.

[philly51 0]

Have you went to one of your instructors for advice?
That might be a good place to start.

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, Shouting "...holy shit...what a ride!"

[obelixtim 150]

Relax in Freefall.

Conscious, calm thought is necessary during the FF. And awareness of your body....all bits of it.

Focus on letting the wind blow your legs and arms back, rather like hair blowing in the wind. Think floppy arms and legs...

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[BIGUN 1,324]

Go up and do it again.
Stop it.
Seriously... you're overthinking it.


We all had hurdles that took a little longer to work out.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[tkhayes 348]

I did not know you could 'fail' a coach jump.....

Yer pulling the parachute and landing it safely? Then everything else will come with time, chill.

[richravizza 28]

Go to a Wind tunnel !!!
In a matter of mins. things will start clicking. You'll have a good relitive reference (the walls/ instructor)& you will work on your muscle memory.
Fly Big up High,with turns ,side slides, ect
Fly small down Low,with turs,slides, forward; rear movements.
Pick a simulated Alt., practice pulls, E.P. ect.
Have fun, relax,
Tracking skills can't be practiced , But your balance, and corrections in body positions will help.
I allways try to have Altitude Awarness in Mind.I break the time in tunnel into sections with a simulated pull/E.P. drill.
@ $10-20 a Min. It's alot cheepr than coach jumps!

[peregrinerose 0]

Well, if you are close to an A, you have roughly 25 minutes of freefall. Have you ever mastered anything in 25 minutes? Calculus? Riding a bicycle? Driving a car? Most people require a lot more than 25 minutes of practice to do anything well.

Moral of the story, hang in there, relax, strive for perfection but don't expect it. They are your legs, you have to learn how to control them, and the only way to do that is to practice. Which seems to me like a damn good reason to jump more

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[pchapman 279]

If you have an issue with your legs, which is an underlying problem interfering with tasks on multiple jumps...
then do a coach jump that is focused entirely on leg awareness and position.

[topdocker 0]

Take up CRW.

Unless your legs end up in your main on opening, they will be in the right place!

top

Jump more, post less!

[D22369 0]

relax, relax, relax - you have a million things running through your mind, your stressing yourself out - more than likely if you can find a way to relax you will find the problems start disappearing.

even on jumps that you or someone else terms a failure your brain is storing up information that you arnt even aware of and soon everything will start coming together.

tunnel time would help with your body position as well as jumping with a coach/instructor who takes a camera so he can show you what you do right and wrong - and take the time to coach you on the ground to overcome the problems.

plus... how good are your coaches? I have seen a few here and there that were junior zoomies and had no biz coaching anyone - make sure you dont have this type.

turning while tracking, instability on exit, fall rate issues.. - all normal at first, some people have no issues, but quite a few do.

unless you are a hazard to yourself and others keep going, quit doubting and start believing that you can do it - you can.
Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[cocheese 0]

Teach yourself. If you had to figure this out on your own, how would go about it? What would you do in freefall?

I tell people, it's easier to teach yourself how to learn, than it is to learn from someone who doesn't know how to teach.

[dqpacker 7]

Can't skydive? Having trouble docking on a 4way? Can't get that sit? Legs all jacked up? Than check out these links to help you.
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=13;
http://wickedwingsuits.com/