Issues with my arch

[keith82687 0]

Hey guys. I'm not sure how to word or ask this but here it goes:

I'm on my AFF 5 and my AFF 4 didn't go too well. Mostly it was because my goggles were too loose and were almost completely off after about 15 seconds into the jump (which made me very distracted and it took me several seconds to read the altimeter). If my glasses had come off it would have REALLY sucked as I'm legally blind without them (around -10 prescription).

Anyways. It seems like I'm potato chipping a lot. I was told (pretty recently) that I should arch from my hips instead of my back (I'd been arching with my lower back). Can you suggest some ways to train a proper hip arching? Also, a bigger problem I have is that my legs tend to wave in the wind some. When I tense up and have a very rigid arch, I fly much more stable...but my instructor gives me the relax signal and as soon as I try to relax, my legs start to wobble and I start potato chipping.

Advice?

[Olmed 0]

Quote

Hey guys. I'm not sure how to word or ask this but here it goes:

I'm on my AFF 5 and my AFF 4 didn't go too well. Mostly it was because my goggles were too loose and were almost completely off after about 15 seconds into the jump (which made me very distracted and it took me several seconds to read the altimeter). If my glasses had come off it would have REALLY sucked as I'm legally blind without them (around -10 prescription).

Anyways. It seems like I'm potato chipping a lot. I was told (pretty recently) that I should arch from my hips instead of my back (I'd been arching with my lower back). Can you suggest some ways to train a proper hip arching? Also, a bigger problem I have is that my legs tend to wave in the wind some. When I tense up and have a very rigid arch, I fly much more stable...but my instructor gives me the relax signal and as soon as I try to relax, my legs start to wobble and I start potato chipping.

Advice?

Ok, I am NOT a skydiver, at least not yet.

But I share my minimal experience from 17 jumps (years ago) and a few minutes in wind tunnel.

I had the same problem. Either I arched to rigid or I became too loose and ended up on my back on exit.

In the wind tunnel I would wobble and move uncontrolled around when I did not relax.

[PiLFy 3]

Keith,
Advice about this should come from your instructors. They are the ones who can actually see what you're doing/not doing. You'll get the hang of it.

[davelepka 4]

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When I tense up and have a very rigid arch, I fly much more stable...but my instructor gives me the relax signal and as soon as I try to relax, my legs start to wobble and I start potato chipping.

There's a difference between relaxing and going limp. What you're looking for is balance with the wind. Not enough pressure with your legs, and the wind will blow them out of position, easy to understand. The flip side, however, is different. You can lock your legs into the 'ideal' position and tense your thigh mucsle to the maximum and the wind will not move your leg, but it's not right. What you're looking for is 'just enough' tension in your leg to hold your leg in position, but too much that it causes you to tense up.

Think of it like the suspension of your car. If the shocks are weak, the car will bottom out and the tires will rub the body. Not good. Now you can stiffen up the shocks and keep the car from bottoming out, but if you go too far, the ride will be stiff and uncomfortable. The car won't bottom out, and the tires won't rub, but it's still not right. You want the middle ground, where the car doesn't bottom, but the ride is still smooth and comfortable.

[KollegeKay 0]

Since my level 4 deployment, I have had this problem. I was fine for the first couple jumps, but I am wondering if that was because two instructors were holding onto me making it seem way easier then it is. With level 4, I was told I over-arch. In level 5 I was told that my mistake is twisting my hips, which makes one of my knees dip and dominants my turns over trying to use my arms/shoulders. My instructor also said that I try to compensate for the potato chipping by kicking my legs, which perpetuates the motion.

My instructor also told me it is easier for females to arch and that I shouldn't focus too much on the arching, but to focus on being relaxed! Generally I shake out my hands out and take a deep breath to relax, it helps until I try to focus on the task for the jump.

I know I will get this, even if it takes me twice as long as the program suggests for progression.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
---Kollege Kay--,--'-@
Newbie Skydiver

[Olmed 0]

Quote

Quote

When I tense up and have a very rigid arch, I fly much more stable...but my instructor gives me the relax signal and as soon as I try to relax, my legs start to wobble and I start potato chipping.

There's a difference between relaxing and going limp. What you're looking for is balance with the wind. Not enough pressure with your legs, and the wind will blow them out of position, easy to understand. The flip side, however, is different. You can lock your legs into the 'ideal' position and tense your thigh mucsle to the maximum and the wind will not move your leg, but it's not right. What you're looking for is 'just enough' tension in your leg to hold your leg in position, but too much that it causes you to tense up.

Think of it like the suspension of your car. If the shocks are weak, the car will bottom out and the tires will rub the body. Not good. Now you can stiffen up the shocks and keep the car from bottoming out, but if you go too far, the ride will be stiff and uncomfortable. The car won't bottom out, and the tires won't rub, but it's still not right. You want the middle ground, where the car doesn't bottom, but the ride is still smooth and comfortable.

Thanks. Even if I did not start this thread.

[RonRandomguy 0]

Hey, that's a really great description of how to 'relax'. I never thought of it like the shocks of a car, and that's an awesome analogy, thanks for your input, much appreciated.

Life's not permanent, don't take it too seriously! :-)

[keith82687 0]

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Think of it like the suspension of your car. If the shocks are weak, the car will bottom out and the tires will rub the body. Not good. Now you can stiffen up the shocks and keep the car from bottoming out, but if you go too far, the ride will be stiff and uncomfortable. The car won't bottom out, and the tires won't rub, but it's still not right. You want the middle ground, where the car doesn't bottom, but the ride is still smooth and comfortable.

Beautiful. Thanks! There is a wind tunnel about 5 hours away from where I live and I've considered going there when I have the time/money/people to carpool and split costs. I originally had no plans to go to a wind tunnel...but so far I've had 1 good day of skydiving, 1 day where I got in one jump and sat around the rest of the day, 6 entire days (dawn till dusk) of being at the skydive center and not diving (usually being the only one not diving as AFF student weather conditions are strict), and 6 more days of night-before or day-of cancellation of my plan to go due to weather. Also note the skydive center is a 2.5 hour drive. At this rate it'd be MUCH more economical to just go to the damn wind tunnel w/ a couple friends (one of which used to work there and gets instructor rates..hell ya) and split an hour of wind tunnel time over 2 days.

[leandercool 0]

I'm replying to this post so it will go back to the top of the list, cause these are great tips for people with a bad arch.

Also remember speaking to your instructor or coach before taking ANY advice with you on a jump

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