Noobs Like Me: "Stewie Griffin Syndrome"

[Gato 0]

This may get a bit long; my apologies if you fall asleep.

Standard Disclaimer: I am a noob and I don't know shit. What follows is based on personal observations I've had in my very short time in this sport. Call it a noob's 2 cents. Grain of salt. Etc.

This is for me and my fellow noobs, and one noob in particular, who has apparently never jumped, and keeps posting really odd (and sometimes inflammatory) questions. Not that posting questions and irresponsible statements is bad........

So I'm sitting at home last night watching a DVD of "Stewie Griffin's Untold Story," and got to the part where he's going to take swimming lessons. Stewie is deathly afraid to get in the pool. Then he sees another kid who's got it down, and suddenly is ok with the idea of getting in the water, to show he's better.

That night he's at the dinner table with the family, reading a copy of "The Mechanics of Swimming". The next morning Brian walks in the bathroom and catches Stewie shaving all the hair off his body to improve his speed in the water. As soon as he gets in the water, he sinks like a stone.

I instantly thought of how I first approached skydiving, reading everything I could, listening to Skydive Radio, and living in these forums. While quite enjoyable, none of this gave me an advantage or prevented me from being scared out of my mind when it came time to get out of that 182.

So, to those of you who haven't jumped, I'm going to say the same thing a very wise Skydiver said to me: "Find a place you like, and GO JUMP ALREADY!"

There is nothing you can do, outside of actually friggin' doing it, that will adequately prepare you for this experience. If you really, really want to be ready for it, do the following every day:

- Get plenty of sleep.
- Eat well and excercise, concentrating on your core.
- Meditate at least twice a day, focusing on breathing and calming down.
- Make sure your car is in good shape, you'll need it for those drives to the DZ.
- Limit your exposure to DZ.com - Go to USPA's site and read the SIM.

I spent so much time not doing this stuff in the beginning, that I forgot to have fun. Let me say that again. I forgot to have fun.

You can't know everything, and if you do, it's only a matter of time before you realize you don't know a damn thing.

That's enough. Go jump. Do it. Get out of that plane and do it. You won't regret it.

Yours,

El Gato
Student of the Tao of Stewie

T.I.N.S.

[daremrc 0]

I hear it man.

I got 10 jumps into my student training and dislocated my shoulder (due to on old injury that was exacerbated by jumping, not the sport itself)...

Hurt myself in August, surgery in November, and still off of work right now until March. Wont be clear to return to jumping again until May. I spent the first part of my recovery sucking up all the information I could here, watching video, reading books & magazines...

I finally made myself lay off for a while because not only was I teasing myself, I realied that no matter how much information I cram my head full of, it won't apply to me or *click* very much until I have the experience to compliment it.

I totally Stewied out for a while there, then found other things to occupy my at-home time with.. Now that February is here it's hard to not think about it, but the next step in my progression definately involves gaining more experience.

The good part is that not only has my lay-off given me a big reason to go to PT every session & do my excercises at home, but I've began to think more about what I eat, how I can stay fit, and even getting into a walking/jogging routine... All with the intention of being a better jumper in the spring. Sounds silly or even a little pathetic, but I've never had anything in my life that has motivated me to do these things before I discovered skydiving.

I've read alot of your posts and can relate to most of them, probably this one the most..

Good judgement comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgement.

[Gato 0]

Hey Daremrc -

Sorry to hear about your shoulder; I'm glad to know you're on the mend.

Hopefully you'll be a miracle of modern medicine and be able to get back sooner than May.

Quote

Sounds silly or even a little pathetic, but I've never had anything in my life that has motivated me to do these things before I discovered skydiving.

I don't think it's silly or pathetic, man - it's whatever gets us going, right?

A friend of my wife's came back from Iraq about a year and a half ago, and before he left for the Marines, he was already an expert at Kung Fu, but a pretty small guy in general. When he came back, he was a goddamn Recon Superhero, and one of the most kind, inspiring, funny, and deadly humans you'll ever want to meet. I couldn't sit still after spending some time with him. I'm too old for the military (so far, knock wood) so I began taking better care of myself, got back into the martial arts, and I try my best to avoid the apple fritters. The evil apple frtters.

The funny thing is, it was only after I got in better shape that I was motivated to try this sport. (Actually, the Jet-Powered Birdman video was what got me!)

Hopefully I'll get to jump with you in the future - if you're ever in Kansas City, first round is on me. Keep me posted on how you're doing.

Chris
(Gato)


PS: I just want to thank all of you who protect us, here and abroad. Come back home safe. And if you know "Fruity" Rudy Reyes give him a big man-hug for me!

T.I.N.S.

[pfloyd 0]

All I can say is do what you have to, to make sure you are having fun. And it gets funner when you aren't a student because most of the pressure is gone and you are more comfortable and relaxed with the dive. Keep it up guys and you will get there too!

My drinking team has a skydiving problem

[SkyProdigy 0]

get the basics, learn to save your life, get off student status and the real fun begins. you should want to learn if your passionate, of course no one will know it all.i learn something new every jump.
get your A and then more fun begins. :D

stick in there!