They say the older you get, the harder it is to pick up on things the way you could as a kid. And for the most part, I’ve found this to be true. Living in Texas, I couldn’t learn anything beyond the basic Spanish I was taught in high school – even when I was surrounded by my Spanish-speaking co-workers.
There has been an exception to this rule for me – in skydiving.
Every time I jump I learn more about the sport. I’m catching on to freefly, grasping the elements of body control, and finding new ways to manipulate the air to my liking. Not to mention all the skills I’ve gained under canopy in less than 100 jumps.
The problem with this is, the days I have when I just don’t seem to be getting it.
Sure, we all have those days where we know what we should be doing, and how we should be doing it, but we’re struggling with the execution. And yes, it’s frustrating. It’s even more frustrating when, for the past couple months, these skills have seemed to come almost naturally.
I don’t consider myself a natural when it comes to skydiving (or anything, for that matter), because really, what’s natural about the human body flying through the air at speeds of 120+ mph. Not much, if you ask me.
Lately though, it seems like the learning curve has leveled out a little. Rick and I are spending our practice jumps working on perfecting specific freefly skills, trying to get certain docks and formations down, and it’s going a little slower than I’m comfortable.
It seems that when I first started in freefly I was picking up on the skills quickly – sitting came easy to me, and after a couple jumps with some highly-skilled freeflyers I learned how to go head down. But it’s the little things that are tripping me up – docking, transitions, you get the idea.
(*Photo courtesy of Skydive Fargo)
So the jumps as of late have the same dive plan, as we work to perfect the skills needed to be good freeflyers. I just wish I could be more patient with myself and realize that not everything is going to be learned in one skydive.
What skills have you found yourself struggling with – whether in skydiving or not – and how have you handled the frustrations that come along with this learning curve?
Blue skies!
Ashley
What do you expect? With many skills the first 80% is learned quickly, the remaining 20% may take a lifetime. Are you enjoying skydiving? or are you in a race to acquire a certain skill level? I believe that if your having fun ( I think thats why you started skydiving) you will continue to improve, however if you only want to rate yourself against a level of competence, your experience will be hollow. And if you truly want to learn you will, regardless of age.
Hello Ashley,
Yeah, it seems like for me its time management in my creative work. Being a graphic designer it doesn’t always come easy especially trying to meld creative ideas to a timetable. Within that there is the question of how to execute the idea in whatever media I’m working in. Usually its an Adobe program (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc…) that can sometimes hinder me if I don’t know the best approach to get the desired effect. It can be more frustrating than constructive and creative! I think its alot about research, practice and communication with others that know what the score is. In terms of skydiving, I’ve always heard from friends that jump, the tunnel is a quick way to speed up the learning curve!
Cheers,
Alex
WOW! Good thing you kept your wits enough to fight off the bugger. Glad you’re ok. The worse thing to happen to me on that street was when I encountered a pack of dogs late one night. I kept a safe distance behind them until I got home. Take care.
skydivechick.com – go to my favorites!!!
john – I definitely am enjoying skydiving, and have no complaints about how much fun I have on every skydive. It’s a harsh reality that the learning slows with anything you do. Guess I’m still figuring out how to cope with the fact that I’m not going to “get it” on every single jump – though no matter if I figure out a new skill or not, I’m learning something on every skydive. That’s definitely what counts!
alex – as a marketing kid myself I find time management to always be a struggle. It’s a challenge I’ve come to love – just like skydiving. Tunnel time is definitely in my near future, when time and money allow that is.
MottVatoSnult – LOL. Thanks for the laugh!