What I wish I knew

So I’ve been asked to write about what I wish I knew when I got my A-license – “transition from student to fun jumper” as it was so eloquently put. Honestly, that’s a big task because I still see myself as a student. I’m by no means proficient in any area of skydiving and dabbling in disciplines, though fun, does have a way of keeping progression in freeflying, belly flying, wingsuiting, etc at a bit of a slower pace.

On top of that, every skydive is a learning experience, so I’m a true believer in each and every jumper always being a “student” in the sport. Of course, I do understand the request, and I did a bit of polling of other skydivers so I can provide a heartier post than just spewing learnings from my own experiences.

Let’s start with the obvious:

Never stop thirsting for knowledge: If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you need to crave the learning experience. Skydiving is, at times, very fucking humbling. But, if you’re open to it, you can really learn something about yourself in the process. It’s not all about figuring out how to stick a sitfly and dock with your fellow jumpers – it’s deeper than that – having an open mind will allow you to take all that in.

Not only that, the thirst for knowledge helps keep things exciting and novel. Sure, I may not be the best belly flyer at 300 skydives, and by now I probably should have my head down dialed in, but I’ve enjoyed the learning experience that comes along with new disciplines. I like perfecting my canopy skills, I love jumping in a wingsuit for a fun flock, keeping things fresh helps me stay in that wide-eyed, giddy phase that most jumpers are in just off student status.

Be flexible: This one is two-fold. Physically, I can’t recommend enough that you stretch, do yoga, pilates, whatever you have to in order to stay flexible. Flexibility allows you more opportunity to manipulate the air in different ways – it gives you more options. And, it really does help you understand your own body a bit more.

Mental flexibility on the other hand, can be a bit of a challenge at times. A commitment to progress in the sport is important, but don’t be too rigid with yourself on what that progress looks like. For example, if you want to focus on your belly flying skills, that’s great. But don’t tell yourself you absolutely won’t freefly till you have X amount of jumps, because you never know when you might turn away a chance to jump with one of the best because of your rigidity. Ebb and flow with the opportunities that come your way – even goals have a way of finding that flexible balance. Go with it.

Ask more questions: This is a great one from one of my fellow jumpers who is also a coach. Sometimes students are too timid to ask questions, but this is your chance. People expect it. When you’re on the ground, talk as much as you can to experienced jumpers. Blurt out any question that comes to your mind to your instructors and coaches. Get answers now. There’s no stupid question when you’re a student. But, when you have 100 jumps and you’re just now finding the courage to ask about basic canopy flight mechanics, you might get laughed off the dropzone, or worse, people will refuse to jump with you because they think you’re uneducated and not safe. Plus, knowing all you can as a student only preps you for being as safe a jumper as you can be once you earn that A.

Read, Watch, Admire: Dropzone.com, Blue Skies Magazine, Parachutist, blogs, YouTube videos – the list goes one. Soak up as much knowledge on your own as possible. Take opinions with a grain of salt, but listen to them regardless. This is how you’ll build on your own skills. Find time to read Brian Germain’s book, sign up for a canopy course stat, flip through the SIM if you’re bored one rainy afternoon. The more you can surround yourself with skydiving, the more knowledge you’ll have.

Ask for advice: Norman Kent in town and you’ve got a burning question – ask him. Been admiring Taya’s flocking skills from afar and run into her at a boogie – stop and say hi around the bonfire. Everyone is approachable (usually) as we’ve all been students at one point or another. Advice can come in all forms, but you’ll never get it if you don’t reach out and talk to those who inspire you.

Those are my top 5 at this point – that’s enough out of me. Any other advice from all you fun jumpers out there?

Blue ones!

Ashley

Deal with it

Now that the skydiving season is in full swing, it’s time to get real about something – lifestyle.

What I mean by that is, figuring out what kind of skydiver you are and coming to grips with that. As the weather warms and many of my friends are out at the dropzone during the week (and tweeting about it, rubbing my sad little face in the fact that I’m stuck in my office on a day where it’s 69 degrees and sunny) this is the most difficult time of the year for those of us who can only be weekend warriors due to prior commitments.

Last year around this time I took a look at a few different types of skydivers and how you can learn to embrace that to enjoy life to it’s fullest – after all, isn’t that what skydiving teaches us to do?

So, the question remains, how do you come to grips with being purely a weekend (or occasional) skydiver?

Suck it up, that’s how!

In all seriousness though, you have to make a conscious decision about how skydiving fits into your life. For some, they just can’t stand not having skydiving play a significant role in their lives, so they take risks, make adjustments, and find a way to make the sport a greater part of their lies. Others, like myself, have a such passion for what we do on a daily basis and, though we wish we could be out there on the nicest days of the year jumping with our friends, we know our other responsibilities help round out our life.

Of course, there are other variations of this – if you didn’t read my post from last April, be sure to do so, I don’t intend to repeat myself and bore y’all…clicky clicky.

Anywhoosits, the point here is this: make a decision about your life, when it comes to skydiving, career, family, and how all those pieces fit together, at embrace it. There’s nothing saying you can go down one path and make a change later on as your needs and preferences change, but there’s also no point in stewing over the fact that the other parts of your life are taking away from your passions (skydiver or not).

So, if you’re a weekend warrior like me, don’t waste your energy on envy when your fellow jumpers are out at the dropzone on a sunny Wednesday afternoon while you’re “stuck at the office” or wherever you are. Instead, dedicate yourself to your commitments, to your passions, and know that come Saturday morning, you can wake up to the smell of Jet A with a smile on your face, knowing that the weekend is yours to play amongst the clouds.

(Note: yep, that’s a bit of a pep talk for myself as well, even the preacher needs a friendly reminder every not and again.)

If you’re lucky enough to be heading out on a lovely weekend for your freefall fix, be sure to enjoy it a little bit more for the rest of us who are with you in spirit.

Blue Ones Kiddies!

Ashley

A little help from my friends

By nature, I’m a talker.

What I mean by that is, when I come up against an issue or a big decision, I like to talk it out. With my friends, my family, even co-workers, just to get their perspective. As I’ve grown older (and I like to think wiser) I realize that talking things out isn’t always about getting the perspective of others so much as it’s about working things out in my head – thinking out loud if you will.

I’ve also found that, in discussing life issues about others, that the same can be the case. Sometimes, my own advice is the best advice, it just finds me in odd ways.

Recently, I wrote the letter below to a friend that, upon re-reading, slapped me upside the head.

“Hello, take your own advice dummy!”

Honestly, as much as a ‘duh’ moment as it might be when I’ve been neglecting my own advice, it’s refreshing to know that I’m capable of coming up with solutions that can cross a wide variety of life-issues. Sometimes I even surprise myself at how this advice could benefit so many people in a number of situations…today, this is the case, so I’ve decided to share the wealth.

I’ve rambled enough. The note below has been edited, since some of the specifics don’t apply, but I’ve tried to keep it as close to original form as possible. Take a read, you might be surprised how this advice can translate to your life too.

For those who are considering taking up skydiving, turns out this is a good one for you:

Hey Skydiver

You do need to do what is right for you. You’ve [made previous big decisions] that didn’t turn out as planned, so what a better time than now to reevaluate – you gotta take the path that’s right for you.

It’s not as if you’re going into this without any thought and planning. You have [the resources available], that’s more than most can say!

Yes, from the outside, this might not be the most practical decision, but seriously, practical is boring. I’m a big believer these days in taking chances. Some might see your [other life decisions] as taking chances in the first place, but it really wasn’t. I mean [these likely weren't that risky]. Though they may have been daunting at the time, in the end they were no biggie, really.

What you’re about to embark on is a bit scarier since the security isn’t what you have now, but it’s something you’re passionate about, so security is what you make it here. If you put your heart and soul into it then you’ll succeed. If you’re in a situation where it’s ho-hum and you’re doing enough just to get by, what fun is that? Stuck in an position where you’re not loving the what you’re doing 110% is awful.

And, moving on while your reputation is strong is smart…rather than getting lazy and having people watch that happen. Sure enough, the longer you continue to take part in something you’re not fully invested in, and passionate about, the more likely you are to burn out. Bowing out gracefully before the flame totally dies is a wise move.

If the people [around you] have any respect for you, they’ll understand your desire to pursue something that tugs at your heart, not just your wallet. That’s what life is all about, after all. Doing things you love, being with people you love, and having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Therefore, I think [that this is a smart decision on your part]. You appreciated the feedback from those who care about you, but ultimately, it’s your life. My 2 cents.

It’s your life…definitely a big take away here.

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Awkward…

So my blogging is going through this awkward stage right now – sort of like adolescence: I’m no longer in that giddy student phase where all I care about is getting my thoughts and excitement about skydiving down on paper (or, in Word Press, whatever), and I’m far from an expert who has any kind of authority to talk about or give advice about anything of importance.

Being in this “intermediate” phase is challenging. There are things I’d like to think I’ve become skilled enough to chat about, but then again I don’t want to go around giving advice that could end up hurting someone because it wasn’t the right advice for them.

Though I do have to say I love where I am in my skydiving career – so to speak. I’m finally starting to get it, each and every jump it’s visible that all that I’ve learned in 200+ skydives is finally starting to come together into something, even just simple docks in sitfly. It’s rewarding, to say the least. But of course, I’m no where near ready to start teaching others what they should and shouldn’t be doing in the sky. Hard to believe a D license, which is considered expert, used to require only 200 jumps.

But I still struggle with where I should be in my skydive blogging career.

Earlier this week I took a poll that helped generate a few ideas for upcoming posts, and my readers have even inspired me to do some research to get them answers on things they’re looking to learn.

Fun Jumps

Before I earned my A license, toward the tail end of my student training, I was told that once you’re off student status the real work begins.

At the time, I shrugged that comment off, focusing on how great it will be to finally have earned my license. And now that I have, I see just what was meant by that statement.

The last skydiving outings have been a lot of work. I’ve started jumping with groups of other experienced skydivers and have been lucky enough to be invited on some big ways with competitive jumpers who have thousands of jumps on me.

As fortunate as I am to be learning from these folks, it doesn’t come without hard work and serious concentration in the air. 

Being the least experienced of, well, anyone I’ve ever jumped with, if a dive goes awry, it likely has had something to do with me. But, when it goes well and you can look back at the video and be proud of your jumping skills, it makes all those little blunders worth while.

Here’s a great example of a 6-way from this past weekend. After a couple of rough exits, we pulled this off beautifully! I can’t stop watching the five of us hold on to this formation perfectly.

It’s a feeling of pure satisfaction to know I was a part of that. Sure, there’s still lots of work to be done, but can’t I just admire what was accomplished for the time being? This jump definitely ranks high on my list of fun skydives.

It’s also been fun to get out and play around in the sky with Jeromy. He doesn’t mind doing these fun jumps with me every once in a while, and honestly, I think he enjoys having me chase him around the sky.

What have been some of your most memorable fun jumps?

Blue Skies!

Ashley