Quote:
Graham Christian wrote:
Hi Matthew.
Interesting, thanks.
I had a skydiver friend doing Aikido with me once, about 18 years ago now. After a few lessons he asked for a couple of private ones as he said he had a problem. This guy was a long term skydiver, I found their hierarchy went by numbers of jumps so they recognised each other by number or if someone they didn't know came along they would wonder what he was. Like was he a mere 33 or 100 or was he up with us in the thousands.
Anyway, this friend found he was petrified of the break-falls. Wow. That didn't make sense at all to me. Here's a fella that hurtles towards the ground at I don't know what speed and safely lands and rolls on whatever hard surface and he's scared of a soft mat from three feet. Go figure.
Anyway I got him through it but here's the thing. He told me that the one reality he had as a skydiver was that that thing, the ground, hurts! Now being up close and personal with it about to be thrown into it freaked him.
Thought you might like that one.
Regards.G.
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Hi Graham,
That is kinda funny. I can see how the ground might take on a whole new meaning when you dive right at it. Ground = potential death if systems fail. It's different too when you have a quasi-wing above you to stall your decent; gives more sense of control I would think.
When I was a kid I fell from a variety of heights, which I think may have helped me at times. Somehow falling 10 feet from a treehouse puts 3 or 4 feet in a better perspective...not that it isn't still scary sometimes: i value what's left of my brain.
