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Dom-Rivers

I hated AFF1, but now I want to do it again (IT'S MESSED WITH MY HEAD!)

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hey bud...

i've done 2 tandems now and i definitely felt better on the second jump...alot better--its just because you know what to expect---you definitely had first time jitters and in all reality thats what makes it fun right? Im starting aff in 2 weeks and i cant wait but most of all i feel confident now---you can do it i promise-just believe in yourself
Pruitt

Skydive The Farm

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Ya know my first jump was definitly a sensory overload. Probably like everyone else I never even saw the plane as we left it. Really dont remember getting out of the plane. Anyways The first jump wasnt really my favorite.

The second jump was much more exciting. Your not as nervous, you know what is going to happen, and there arnt any questions about what will it feel like, willl I get sick to my stumach, can I handle the pressure. Now all you need to do is relax and focus on the mistakes that you made on your last jump and correct it.

I have only completed 11 jumps so far correcting something everytime. Ready for the next rush.

Enjoy it, live the moment up. If its not for you just admire the sport and go on. Like someone else aready said, "Skydiving isn't for everyone".

Blue Skies!!!
Tuk

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Yep, yep, yep, I'm not in AFF (though I might be switching) but I can totally relate to your anger, frustration, beating yourself up, wondering "is this right for me?" etc. See this post http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1291437 for more details on how badly I've booted my last two jumps (or go to here if you are bored and really want gory details http://ennasirk.blogspot.com/2004/10/skydiving-meta-post.html). I've made at least one, sometimes several, mistakes on each jump. Until the last ones, they weren't bad enough to fail me, but I would walk across the field towards my instructors after landing with a "man, I suck" look on my face and they would say, "Damn, girl, you're your own worst critic."

The two that I've failed, I've failed in about the worst way possible, but I have walked away from them. I can't stress that enough, and my instructors and fellow skydivers have stressed that to me, too.

Trust me - they're not going to let you jump if they don't think you can do it safely. There's a reason the student progressions are designed the way they are. From what I've heard, there are an awful lot of people who have to repeat jumps to get through their progressions. So what? As long as you open your mind to feedback, work on what didn't work, maybe take a different approach if you're really stuck on something (different instructor, different preparation method, etc), every jump will be valuable and eventually, it will "click." I'm counting on that.

The one thing I'm learning quickly about this sport is that there's always something new to learn. There's always going to be some new challenge that pushes our brain and our body to new limits. Right now, it's getting down the basics.

But that's half the fun, and that's why I'm coming back. Glad to hear that you are going to stick with it, too!
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Hey Dom, do yourself a favour - write about your first jump on some scrap paper and stick it in your logbook. That way a few years and a few thousand jumps down the line when you're an AFFI and have a student who feels the same way, you can let them read it and say 'look at me now', and they'll feel a hell of a lot better about jumping! ;)



Durham University Freefall Club

Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

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B|
Hi everyone! Thanks for all the support, I'm glad to hear that it's not just me being weird!

bigway... I'm definitely going to try your music idea. the a-team sounds good, but i think i'll probably go with van halen's "jump"!

nwflyer... well done for keeping at it, even after your reserve rides.

i went to to the dz again on saturday, but it was too windy to jump. but i spoke to my instructors and one of them suggested going with a bunch of them to some bash in america (?) sometime next year. so i guess he didn't think i did that badly after all.

i'll let you know how i get on when i manage to jump again.
Never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up! (Winston Churchill)

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