Initial head down. Daffy or Shelf?

[fizzbuzz99 0]

Just wondering how HD is initially taught in your local tunnel.

For mine, I have been learning daffy, but that is with the full time tunnel instructors. Friends of mine, who are at the same stage (haven't flown HD in the sky) have come in with external coaches and are being taught from the Shelf position (both legs back).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? I have seen the shelf cropping up more and more as beginners get onto the net, is this a trend anyone else has noticed?

[michalm21 2]

Well, to the little I know all together about head down flying, I am in the process of learning it in the tunnel as well so I feel like this input may be relevant.
Doing probably 5 hours now since January, I've started learning both daffies and hook (shelf), plus transitions, more sitflying, backflying, arched backfly, and other little tricks to develop more body mechanics that will help me to become a complete flyer.

So I'm told and I believe you need to do all 3. By 3 I mean your regular("good") daffy, "bad" daffy and hook. The reasoning for both daffies and hook at the same time is to develop full awareness and ablility to fly in any position, switch comfortably, etc.
Since you (just like me) don't have any experience in the sky, means we likely don't have any good habits, so I believe it is good to start learning the broad spectrum of HD.

Yes, flying will come slower and tunnel is $$$, but I'd rather take extra 6 months and fly comfortable all 3 positions, than learn faster but only fly one position as this will decrease my mobility (and level of comfort) in a formation.

Anyone else with their outlook on this?

[soulbabel 0]

Shelf is easier to get off the net with since you are just keeping your legs symmetrical versus finding the right balance from front/rear leg input for daffy. However, it's always safer to have daffy first, because you'll have more control over your forward and backward movements at this early stage. If you only know how to fly shelf, then you risk tracking yourself into the wall really fast if you lean too much in one direction to move.

[danielcroft 2]

I learnt daffy first but have since switched to hook as my default.

[JumpeRod 0]

The first transition to head down, as was taught to me at Raeford, is a sit to head backflip. This is when you start in a sit and do a half flip backwards to head down.

Daffy is the best choice of head down positions for this transition because as you transition from head up to head down you will be carrying rotational momentum that needs to be counteracted by something. In this case, that something is your front leg. As a student weeble-wobbles their way through the learning process, they will undoubtedly put too much or too little input from time to time and it's a good (and safer) thing to fly a daffy as your base.

As was mentioned by an earlier poster, if you are flying almost-shelf, then you are tracking. I love tracking, but furthest that you can go doing that without a big splat with the current tunnels out there is 16.5 feet. You might want to save that for the sky

There is an art, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day and try it.
-- Douglas Adams

[skyshimas 0]

Learned daffy first but hook is more relaxing for me now. However keep practicing both. You definitely need daffy for transition.