Being able to think during freefall

[Mockingbird 0]

I never thought of that. Hmmm.

Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird
"Why is there something rather than nothing?"

[Joellercoaster 6]

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I just hope that I don't ever get to the point that there's NO rush of adrenalin.

Call me a weirdo, but the adrenaline rush stopped for me about halfway through AFF - and I think that was just performance anxiety anyway.

But truly, adrenaline is overrated. Skydiving isn't.

I still think jumping is the very best thing I can think of to do with my time, even with no "rush". Back on-topic, that's because skydiving turns out to be one of the few activities that can totally occupy my attention while I'm doing it. If you like, I can only really "think in freefall"
Just a different perspective.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[Fast 0]

I have gotten to the point that I am there in freefall but I still struggle to recall everything after I land.

It is something that I have been trying to work on to better my ability to coach lowtime jumpers and eventually get an aff rating.


I think it comes to you in stages. I remember around jump 15ish I was alone on a solo and it clicked and I actually looked around and realized where I was and what was going on. From there I progessed gradually to the point I am at now. I can remember 90% of what goes on but the little details of things still escape me. I am sure it will come with time and practice.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[aftermid 0]

It isn't the same on the ground, because you're not on the ground. It'll get better and better over time as long as you remember to arch, pull, and flare. It's really cool when you start seeing other groups in freefall and under canopy while you're in freefall.

[justinb138 0]

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It's really cool when you start seeing other groups in freefall and under canopy while you're in freefall.

Yep, it's pretty awesome. About 10 jumps ago, I had just opened at about 4k and saw a few freeflyers doing some weird kung-fu looking stuff just before tracking away...

[happythoughts 0]

At some point, you can do a 2-way drill dive. Get video and review it. As you will look at the video, your mind will recall the little pieces and the total memory will become sharper. You will relive how it "feels" to be doing certain things.

Then, on your next jump, you will be more in touch with all the sensations and your mind will be clearer.

(edited to add:)

I was a 4-way jump from 23K once. We were in freefall for a while and my internal alarm was going off. I looked at my altimeter and thought, "Wow, I'm still at 12,000 ft. I'm going to be up here all day."

[BlindBrick 0]

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My brother swears that I have ADHD, and frankly, I think he's right

If you do have ADHD then I have one recomendation for you if you ever plan to use an audible; start wearing ear plugs. I have ADHD and it was total sensory overload at first when I got into FF, somewhere along the way I began to tune out my sense of hearing in freefall as I was only getting wind noise. It made it next to impossible for me to use an audible.

For the last 60 or so jumps, I've been working hard on getting my sense of hearing back, but only now (am beginning to see9hear?) results.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[Meux 0]

Work witrh what ya got. No tunnel, oh well. Make jumps.

another thing that I believe is a good learning tool is watching videos of yourself or others. Get a couple jumps on video.

I love watching the super teams doing their 20+ jumps. (on video). It helps me visualize. Maybe someday I'll be turning five, then eight, then ten.

In time.

Have fun.

Mo

[malboy 0]

yeah i remember the first few jumps i did with other people seemed like 10 seconds long, and full of blanks, but now jumps feel a lot longer, and i sometimes get wierd things popping into my head. i remember the time a guy told me it was possible to 'fly your opening', at the time i had about 30 jumps and i thought id NEVER get to that stage, but the other day i realised ive been doing it for ages without realising it, same goes for other things too.

i guess the moral of my little story is; stick with it and itll come to you, but dont try too hard, just CHILLAX, and enjoy it.

www.ewancowie.com
www.facebook.com/ewancowiephotography

[darrenspooner 0]

The reason you can't think is because your brain doesn't want you to. You've activated the fight or flight response because your brain perceives danger. When confronted witha danger situation it becomes more dangerous if you take time before responding. Your brain wants you to act, not think. A bit like the pain response - you lean on a hot stove. If you stand there thinking "erm, that hurts, yep, can smell my skin burning, yep, not good, better think about moving soon" then you damage yourself. So pain hurts like hell, and this makes you act, not think.

Once you activate the fight or flight response a whole load of physiological things happen. One of them includes the amygdala (a part of the brain) making you aware of how bad you feel, then sending a message to the prefrontal cortex (another part of the brain, responsible for complex thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and so on) to shut it down. In simple terms, what this means is the more danger your brain perceives, the more anxious you get. The more anxious you feel the worse your thinking gets.

Solutions - do AFF (if you're not already), or perhaps even shell out the cash and do a tandem, or, carry on jumping. Over time your brain with learn that its not really so dangerous after all, and therefore it won't trigger off anxiety.

[marv0723 0]

I am new to skydiving as well and experienced the same phenomena. I was, however, familiar with the sensation. It commonly occurs when you are placed, or place yourself in a stressful situation. There are a number of physiological changes that happen to your body in these instances to include visual and auditory exclusion (tunnel vision) among other things. Basically, your brain is trying to assimilate all this new data and your processor, to use a computer analogy, is a little slow writing to your hard drive. What youprobably have for memories of your Level I are more like snapshots of the dive. The only way you get over this is through a process known as stress innoculation. Simply stated, "KEEP JUMPING!". This will allow more of the experience to burn into your conscious memory giving you what would be more like streaming video.

My references for these experiences have their roots in life and death encounters in the law enforcement field. Two different worlds, but many of the experiences dovetail nicely.

Marvin Walden
Move Shoot, Inc.-Tactical Training Consultants
Visit http://www.moveshoot.com