Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start a story, where to begin an expression. It’s very easy for me to know where I want to end, but that’s just the way my mind works. Often, when I find something that I know I’ll enjoy, I like to skip the hard parts and get right to the fun stuff at the end. However, of course, that just isn’t how life works. And I know that is true, because that isn’t how skydiving works either.
If you haven’t skydived yet (and yes, YOU should) you’ll soon learn that you’ll need to take a First Jump Course (that’s FJC, for short). In that course, you’ll basically spend about 6 hours to learn the skills you’ll use for about 6 minutes, from the door to the floor, on your first jump (be careful.. that first step you’ll take is almost 3 miles high).
If you’re like me (which I hope you’re not, as I do enjoy my uniqueness) you might agitate you’re instructor so much that day with silly things like “How hard can it be, you’ve just gotta jump and fall”. Trust me, there is a lot you’ll need to learn. I believe some students try to rush though their class a bit, not quite focused on every word. Do not fear though, we are not just wasting your time, or trying to make your body hurt. We really do need to make you arch that much on the ground, so that it will feel natural to you in the air. If you’re not sure what that means, be sure to give us a call.
Yes, the skydive is the fun part, but you will need to work hard in class to gain that opportunity – no Instructor I’ve ever met would take a student they did not believe was prepared. I promise you, if you just slow down a bit, you’ll get to the fun part fast.
Ahh, now I remember where I was going with this story.. The reason I love this sport. There are a lot of things I could say, but nothing could say it as well as jump #222.
Picture it… Sicily.. 1942.. (haha, just kidding).
Watch the video.. Skydive Tecumseh.. June 20, 2009 – Summer Jam
The last of seven skydives that day. The previous jump, 221, was really special to me too: after 20-some tries to teach myself to sit-fly, I asked Sporto to come watch me to make sure I was safe to freefly with others, afterwards he told me “ugly, but safe”, priceless words to me; figuratively and literally, he did not charge me for that jump.
Back to #222 and a very simple explanation of why I love this sport:
A sunset skydive with nine of my closest friends.
I could write more, ten pages at least, if I had the time. But the video below should explain better than I ever could. You’ll either get it, or you won’t. If you’ve never jumped, remember that you’ll get to this too, eventually. The first small step is believing that you too, can fly. And once you’ve gone that far, you’ll just need to go a little bit further and call your local dropzone and ask when they’re offering the next FJC.