SkyPixie

Thank you all! I did look at all my de-briefing videos and none of them showed me smiling. I scheduled two sessions with my AFF instructor this weekend and I'll make sure that I'll practice that smile and put some muscle memory on my face I wonder if I should borrow a rig and use it in the tunnel. I've never seen anybody do that. Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

I failed level 4 (release dive) the first time because of a slow rotation that I could not stop. Diagnosis: asymmetrical legs. After going to the tunnel every week and a total of 40 minutes of flight time for practice, I learned to keep a steady heading and even do 180s, 360s, full stops and ups & downs. Arching was never a problem for me. I actually had to learn how to de-arch to get myself off the floor in the tunnel. When I went to my dz for my 2nd attempt at level 4, I was confident that I could do the level 5 (180s) too. I was wrong. I started spinning as soon as I was released by the instructor. I could not stop the spinning. I breathed & tried to relax, arched, felt my legs and did my arm/shoulder movements to counter the turn but nothing worked. My instructor did a catch & release at least 3 times and I spun each time. I pulled while spinning and got a foot long of line twists. I fixed that problem quickly the way I was taught how. When I asked my instructor what my problem was, he said that I tensed up. After my de-briefing, I went to the office and asked to be put on the next plane for my 3rd attempt at level 4. This time, I was able to maintain about 5-7 seconds of stable heading between two sets of spins. My instructor showed me the video and pointed at my legs. My old problem came back, obviously. We went to the training room and did some exercises to get me to "feel" of how my arch & legs should be. As soon as I left the training room, I marched back to the office and asked to be put on the next plane for my 4th attempt. They asked if I wanted a different instructor. I said no and told them that the problem wasn't the instructor and that it was me. Everybody at the DZ and I knew that my instructor was one of the best. Upon release, I started a slow turn that quickly progressed to yet another spin. When I couldn't stop it, my instructor offered his hand, which I grabbed, with the intention of re-starting. In the process, I almost did an impromptu barrel roll which I was able to stop. When I let go of his hand, I maintained my heading for more than 15 seconds before I pulled. I barely passed. It wasn't pretty and perfect, but I passed. It puzzles me that I can do steady heading, 180s, 360s & full stops at the tunnel so easily but I couldn't stop a spin when I'm in the sky. When I'm in the tunnel, I "feel" my arch and I don't have to make a conscious effort to do it. This allows me to focus on my legs & arms, keeping them symmetrical. When I'm in the sky, I don't feel that I'm arching enough, so I'm putting an effort to it. Is this what's causing me to tense up? My instructor told me that my arch was good the whole time. It's just me tensing up and my legs going asymmetrical when that happens. Why don't I "feel" my arch when I'm up there? I'm 5'1", 120 lbs. Does the weight of the rig change my ability to arch as much as I was able to at the tunnel? Was it just a mistaken feeling (that I was not arching enough) or was I actually arching less? I'm hesitant to go back to the tunnel to practice because I do so well when I'm in there. I'm starting to think that the only way to practice now is to just keep jumping (and paying!) Despite all my non-passes (I refuse to call them failures because I'm still alive), in a single day, I felt good because I learned that line twists aren't that difficult to fix, I stopped a barrel roll which I wasn't ready for, I landed on my feet for the first time and continued to do so, AND I avoided a dust devil.

They may be just that. An anomaly in the state in which you refer. But as you stated "Radios were not common even a short while ago at 182 dzs" is not true for DZ's nation wide. Post #88 "I just find it interesting that this sport seems to slowly be moving into the babysitting aspect in all areas from student to experienced. Examples, radios are mandatory, AADs are mandatory, no turns over 90, " You don't know what you don't know (or what you wrote) +1 You have the right tune. Sometimes we just have to stop whistling against the wind. If you read all the threads, this one's direction changes constantly and is all over the place Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

We have a very similar experience. I went through 1,2 and 3 without a hitch, then failed level 4 due to a slow rotation to the left that I couldn't fix at that time. I've had 3 five-minute tunnel sessions in the past few weeks to fix my asymmetrical legs. I'm diving on Saturday to give level 4 another shot. Good luck on your next dive! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

Thank you!

I loved watching Different Strokes! Thanks for the laugh, Gary! http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2010/05/28/Diffrent-Strokes-star-Gary-Coleman-dies/UPI-58471275067358/ Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

Thanks! Looks like I got the leg problem fixed but I'll try that trick just in case comes up again. I tried the toe taps first but it didn't work because my legs automatically separated asymmetrically after the "tap". I think the couch exercises helped with muscle memory because the problem went away when I did my 2nd tunnel session. Here's a video of my 3rd tunnel session showing my arch. I showed better stability and was able to do 180 & 360 turns and forward movements. I get a bit unstable when I try to de-arch and I don't know what's up with the rocking! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH0R4hn1Lgc Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

This is very common and some people just don't have a clue or just plain weird. A co-worker came to my office and asked if she could have some of my milk from the refrigerator. I told her to go ahead. The following day, I saw her pouring milk on a bowl of cereal. MY milk carton and MY cereal box were on the counter. I told her "Those are my stuff!" and she said, "Oh, I know. My ulcer was acting up and I had to eat something. You don't mind, do you?" Since I was too shocked to respond, she said "When I asked if I could have some of your milk the yesterday, you didn't seem to mind!" Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

You guys are so bad..BAD..BAD! Looks like I need more than a few handcuffs here. Too many misbehaving bad boys who deserve good spanking! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

I understand that this thread was started a while back but for the sake of newbies who can't get enough fix for this new addiction, here's my story... I didn't know about this website until I enrolled my AFF course, and didn't get the chance to see Elsinore before I made a decision to take it in Perris. My first skydive was a tandem. I did it in Perris because one of my friends always jumped at that DZ. That tandem jump was such an awesome experience that I enrolled my AFF a week after, and Perris seemed to be the obvious choice at that time. After the AFF level 1, the students go separate ways, unless they enrolled with somebody they already knew. Most of the divers that go to Perris belong to a group and they pretty much keep to themselves, probably because they are busy planning their formations. I've been going to the DZ for almost a month now and there were probably two experienced divers who had time to have a brief conversation with me. I consider myself to be very friendly, one who doesn't hesitate to start up a conversation and one who remembers names. The only people who seem available to talk to at Perris are non-jumpers who are there to watch. Though not having a "buddy" at the DZ is not a bad thing, it gets pretty boring when I want to just hang out there in between or after jumps. It can be frustrating too when you can't contain your excitement and your only option is to call somebody who doesn't share the same passion or addiction. Different instructors have jumped with me on my first four AFF levels. Only one of them remembers my name. I don't blame them because Perris DZ gets about a hundred tandem jumps on a Saturday and probably another hundred or little less on a Sunday. I work on weekdays, so I can only do my AFF on weekends. Once my instructors and I finish a jump, I get to have 2 to 5 minutes for de-briefing and then they are off to do tandems. I've met more friends in this website than at my DZ. We share stories about being newbies. It seems to me that in smaller DZs, a certain camaraderie exists between newbies, experienced divers and instructors. They have ONE group. At my DZ, there are many groups and it's easy for a newbie to feel out of place. I can't help but envy my newbie friends here that get to dive with the same instructors who are familiar with their weaknesses and actually have time to sit and discuss solutions & fixes before and after each dive. I've never been to Elsinore DZ but I wish I had, before I enrolled my AFF. In fact, I just might go there this week and see if I can continue my AFF there. Based on my personal preference, I probably would have chosen a smaller & more laid-back DZ for my AFF course. However, I am certain that I still would jump at Perris after I get my license because I like the facility (tunnel, bar, pool, etc.). Perhaps I'll just have to put together a group that I can belong to Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

Thank you! I will focus primarily on my legs when I go to the tunnel this week. I was told to do some toe-taps to force that symmetry. eUrNiCc was right about the tunnel. The person in the tunnel with me told me to de-arch because I couldn't get myself off the floor! So in order for me to practice leg symmetry and maintain heading, I have to get myself off the floor first by learning how to de-arch. So should I just tell them to increase the air up a little bit? I am still in my AFF, so I really don't want to change my arch if that seems the only thing I'm doing right! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

I know what you mean

Thank you all!!! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

Newbie here. One of my instructors told me that I'm very flexible and my arch is good. A coach at the wind tunnel told me to arch LESS to get more "lift". Is there such a thing as too much arching? If there is, how does it affect my free fall? I'm just wondering if this is something I have to fix. I'm still working on trying to maintain my heading because my legs have the tendency to be assymetrical (left extended, right folded). Now I'm not sure if I have to fix my arch too. Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

You rock! I'm new and this website has been a good resource for me. Just from reading all the responses, MOST instructors with over 5,000 jumps and more than 10 yrs of experience always deliver their opinions and advice in the briefest and most logical way. They are the ones I keep track of and listen to. It's scary that a lot of relatively NEW instructors out there can't look at safety from your perspective. SOME instructors get so way in over their heads at 1,700 jumps, think they have been around forever that they know everything, and don't realize they still have a lot to learn from good mentors like you. Blue Skies! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.

If your goal is to lose weight, you don't need any other supplement other than multivitamin, to make sure that you are not missing important nutrients due to a diet you are trying to strictly regulate. Focus on Cardio and eating small portions of low-fat, low-sodium & low carb foods throughout the day. Cardio can be very boring. Check your gym for kickboxing, club boxing and other high energy cardio/dance classes. I sweat more doing 15 minutes of those than an hour on a treadmill. For diet, look into Paleo Diet. If your goal is muscle toning or a little muscle gain, you're adding more weight-lifting exercises to your cardio routine. Then you might want to start looking into low dose of zero-carb protein drinks or shakes. My favorite is Zero-carb Isopure drink. They taste like cool-aid:) Drink half 30 min prior to your gym routine and the other half within 30 minutes after finishing your workout. If you feel faint or weak during exercise, try eating a banana before heading to the gym. If your goal is to primarily gain muscles then you definitely need more protein in your diet. Protein supplements are a must if you are not getting enough from your daily meals to build & feed lean muscles, and if you are trying to prevent lean muscle depletion when you are highly active. Watching your body fat % lets you monitor a possible lean muscle depletion. This happened to me when I was doing too much cardio and wasn't taking enough protein. Drink lots of water. Good luck! Don't worry about fear, worry about the addiction.