marco-ripcord

Well Marinus, just to add to what more experienced skydivers have already said.... welcome! You've got the bug, no question about it. The bad news is its a nasty one to get rid of. I have yet to meet someone who got rid of it, but then again I am barely at the 2 years mark. And I don't know anyone who TRULLY WANTED to. Everything about it is in such a higher level ... the adrenaline rush, the feel, the view. Your consciousness level goes way over anything you have ever experienced. Long story short, its the best thing you'll ever do with your pants on. Blue skies!

Talk about a late come back, huh? After being away for a while, 4 months ago I was able to get back into it (financial reasons, as it happens).. Had a good talk with my instructors to let them know why I was away and what my intentions were/are. After a 2 hour refresher and some ground training, we took to the skies for a 7K jump, 15s free fall in which I qual'ed up to get back to 12K and have been on since. The "relax problem" was solved, too. Maybe the time away helped take the edge and pressure of.. or I just "got it", I don't know.. Somehow I discovered I feel A LOT more comfortable throwing myself out of the airplane (literally jumping out of it) then hanging on the skids and maybe that's been the key factor. Over the past 6 jumps I have made more progress than the previous 10 combined. Next two coached jumps will be focused on side sliding and then I should be set for my A License qual jump. Its in sight now...

Thanks for the help, guys! In 2 weeks I'll be @ the DZ to do a few more jumps. I'll let you know the outcome.

@skymama: somehow I don't think I want to give them a reason to call me that... @gravitysurfer: Hey!, who's not gonna like the guy buying a free round, huh? hahaha.... @henryvillar: You're on, dude. I might be in Boituva for the Carnival. Heard there's going to be some activity down there... Thanks for the welcome, all!

Knowledge wanted, boys (and girls). After my 15th jump (not a good one I might add), I most definitely need some help to achieve and maintain a good arch. Background info: 15th jump (yesterday) @ 11K was a mess. Poorly executed exit (I'm doing this 3-points exit (left foot on the skid, right foot hanging, both hands grip)), legs spread a little too far (more of an X than a boxed position) and one knee more flexed than the other lead me to a spin. Also, I was a little more nervous than I should since the instructor kept signaling me to relax (which I obviously failed to do), which also lead me to "pendulum" a little bit (sorry, I don't know the skydiving lingo in english). You can tell I'm a little frustrated because we (me and lead instructor) were supposed to do forward/backward movement training and none of it happened. However, I'm more concerned with the fact I wasn't able to achieve and maintain a good leg position. Video footage shows my arms/hands are well positioned. In the briefing, he told me to relax a little more but I'm having trouble to figure out the balance between "relaxing" and "holding tight enough to counter the wind". So, here are my questions: 1. Legs - what's a good training method to achieve a muscular memory to improve my box man (knees, distance)? Is there such a thing? 2. Once in the box and with a good arch, how can I hold it without over flexing muscles I'm not supposed to? I'm 5'8" / 150lbs and I've seen a 6' with no more than 140lbs doing it.. If his body mass is enough, mine sure is but he obviously is using his mass way more effectively than I'm using mine.

What's up all? My name is Marco, 31 years old out of Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have been skydiving for less than a year (out of Boituva and Piracicaba DZ's), 15 jumps and counting in Static Line. Edit: Oh yeah, the "ripcord" in my name is because I lost said equipment in my first free fall.