bluewaterstream

Amen! When trying to flash or redpoint a route, downclimbing is an awesome skill. Let's say you get to a crux on a route but you're too pumped to pull past it - you can anaylze the crux and come up with a plan on how to get past it, then downclimb to a nice jug or ledge, take a rest without hanging on the rope, and then once you're all rested up go back and pull the crux and get the flash or redpoint. Also, sometimes on a trad routes you have to climb a little off route to place protection and then downclimb to get back on route. That one doesn't happen all that much, but when you're sketchin' out on lead an you need to place something ASAP, it can be a good skill to have. No doubt, it's saved my ass a few times. Sometimes going a little off route for a solid placement is well worth it. I've also heard people say that learning to downclimb helps out with technique, but I'm not so sure how much truth there really is to that.

Buying an intro to rock climbing book by John Long is a great place to start. Read and study that thing like it's the Bible. Next, I'd suggest beginning with bouldering and/or top roping. Learn how to set TR's up safely always using an equalized 3-point anchor system. Take your time getting into leading, especially if you're leaning towards traditional climbing (aka: Trad). Be very selective about your belay partners. Most of my east coast climbing has been done at the Gunks (Shawangunk Mountains) in New York. Definitely take a drive there - you'll love it! The scenery, climbers, and the quality of the rock there is sweet! I don't really boulder, but I hear that the bouldering there is pretty good. I only climbed trad while I was there because that's really what the Gunks is all about, but I did see quite a few people also doing some bouldering and top roping there too. Be safe and have fun, John

I agree, PRO packing is easy and fast. My Tri has been opening great with my PRO packs and I'm not planning on changing my packing style for good, I just want to experiment with different methods of packing for about 5 - 10 jumps to compare the difference in opening characteristics. I've never jumped a flat pack, so I'd like to have that experience. Plus, I'm currently learning how to pack reserves(from a rigger), so I was also considering maybe trying out one of those pack jobs on a Hop & Pop(open ASAP) with my main just for fun. Once again, here's what I'm really wondering: "Is this a bad idea, considering that the manufacturer recommends a PRO pack? ...can I actually cause harm to the canopy by packing it different than the manufacturer recommends?" I wouldn't think so, but I just want to make sure.

Aerodyne recommends PRO packing the Triathlon, which is what I've been doing, but I'd like to try jumping a flat pack with it. Is this a bad idea, considering that the manufacturer recommends a PRO pack? I understand that the opening characteristics will be different, but can I actually cause harm to the canopy by packing it different than the manufacturer recommends? - John

I was thinking the same thing. ---------------------------------- Ron gave some excellent advise. Also, do a search on this site, you'll find a few other threads where you can find some good advise. If you're just getting into martial arts for the first time, do a little research and find the one that looks the most bad-ass to you. You'll train harder and have a lot more fun if you're really into what you're learning. Most schools offer at least one free lesson to check out their school, go to a few local places and sit in on a few classes. If you go to at least 2 - 3 schools in your area, I'm sure that you'll find at least one that you'd like to get into. Have fun. - John

Dude, I really hope that was directed towards the women! I don't swing that way.

You ladies don't have to be gentle.

No way, you can totally kick my ass...

Listen up everyone: tunaplanet is the toughest guy on dropzone.com and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the only martial art worth studying. Are you happy now? Feel good about yourself yet? Maybe this will help: I am not a good fighter and I am the worst fighter on dropzone.com. I suck. Old ladies can beat me up. Feeling good yet?

Man, you really want to prove yourself - don't you? Save your little rules for someone else. This thread was about self defense, not about sparring and following rules. Remember Viking's original question? "In your opinion which is the most useful style in real life?" In real life, there are no rules and all of this does happen: 1. biting 2. eye gouging 3. fish-hooking Dude, no one cares how tough you are. Give it a rest.

I think you've been hit in the head one too many times. This may prove which one of us was a better fighter, but it wouldn't prove shit about which is a more dominant style. I never said that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu wasn't a good style and I actually agreed with you in my last post that it's "a great art", so what's your problem? You seem to have a lot to prove. I personally can care less who would win in a fight between us. I grew out of this having to always prove myself stage many years ago. If you're really that upset with me, I'm sure you'll eventually see me at a boogie one of these days - introduce yourself. You see what I look like and you've got my name. Approach me as a cool skydiving brother and we'll make a jump together or throw a punch at me and we'll brawl, I vote for the skydive but whatever... you don't scare me chief, so lets cool out with the pointless online threats...

Boxing Thank you for pointing that out. I have also studied a bit of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I agree that it is a great art. I see why you stick by it. However, like most people like yourself that have only really studied one art for a long time, you stick by it and talk down upon others and are blind to their value. Every style has something to offer. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I couldn't disagree more with your comment. A few quick questions for you, have you ever been jumped or have been in a fight where it wasn't a 1 on 1 situation? Probably not, because if you had you would then realize that in a "real life situation" grappling with one dude while you have a few others around really isn't the best idea, because you'll probably end up getting your head kicked in. This guy posting was asking about real life situations, not UFC or any other organized fight, where you're usually guaranteed to only have one opponent. Learning to box first as a beginner has two major advantages: First, it will show you how to get a lot more power out of your punches and how to avoid punches when they're being thrown at you at full speed (unlike the punches and kicks that are thrown at new martial artists). Second, you will learn how to take a hit in boxing - even as a beginner. A lot of martial artists get all the way up to black belt without ever taking a real hit and then when they do, especially in a street fight, they go into shock or get knocked out. Pretty weak. Listen bro, I also have a shit load of experience in martial arts and I am not knocking any of them, I'm just saying that a beginner should focus on the basics if they truly want to be able to hold their own in a street fight. At my current boxing gym, we actually have quite a few Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students training with us because they want to learn how to punch harder and more efficiently(I think one of them is actually training for UFC). These are very good fighters that already have very strong punches, but they realize that they can become better punchers by training with someone that specializes in punching. You definitely are not speaking for all Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters. No one art has it all, not even yours. Try exploring the things that your art is missing and I guarantee you that you'll become a better fighter, both in and out of the ring.

For starters, make sure that the people that are giving you advise regarding the most useful martial art style in real life situations actually have experience both in the ring and in real life(street fights). If they don't, their opinion is useless and they have not truly tested their art. Most people simply stand by the one art that they have the most experience in. I've met, seen, and have fought plenty of incredible tournament black belt point fighters that would get their asses kicked in a real street fight. What most people learn in martial art classes and in the ring, will not apply to real life situations if they are up against someone that can actually fight. Bruce Lee had it right by combining various arts. When you limit yourself to just one art, you are also limiting yourself to understanding and knowing your enemy that may have practiced several arts that you are not familiar with. Learn to fight both standing up and on the ground. If you're really just looking to learn how to protect yourself in a street fight, forget martial arts for now and take up boxing. You'll learn how to take and avoid a hit, plus you'll learn how to put someone on their ass. You'll become a REAL fighter a lot fast through boxing, than you will with martial arts. If you then want to become even a better fighter after boxing for awhile, then take up a few different martial arts and learn how to fight on the ground and how to kick. I personally have most of my experience in Tang Soo Do(Black Belt), Hapkido, Judo, Muay Thai, and Boxing, but I have played around with many other arts as well(including the art you seem to be most interested in, Kung Fu). I also used to be a martial arts instructor and I competed for several years against many different black belts that were proficient in many different styles. I have experience both in and out of the ring and value my ground and boxing skills the most in 1 on 1 street fights. I have used martial art techniques before in real life, but those situations are rare. Save yourself some time and money and learn how to box.

Yup, me too.

Balloon jumps are bad-ass!!! I was the only skydiver in the balloon on Saturday, so it totally added a new vibe to the jump. Very cool. I jumped at about 5K, did a few backflips, a 360, deployed at just under 4 grand, and landed on a nice patch of open space. Unfortunately, my buddy in the balloon didn't have as good of a landing and did about $1,000 worth of damage to his ride. He landed a little too close to a barbed wire fence and the balloon tipped over and landed on the fence. Being the cool cat that he is, he didn't let it ruin his day in least.

I'm making a balloon jump tomorrow morning and I can't help but wonder where I'll end up landing this time. On my last balloon jump I landing on a farm without any problems. So, have any of you ever landed somewhere after a balloon jump and had to deal with the police, a pissed off farmer, or any other assholes? If so, what happened? I'm sure BASE jumpers deal with this all the time, but I'm curious to hear how common of thing this is for balloon jumpers. Or on the other side of this, have you ever found yourself in a really cool situation after a balloon jump? ~ John

Good job on your first cutaway. I'm wondering if anyone here would think twice about using that reserve handle and pin after being dropped from over 1,000 ft? I do a lot of rock climbing and a basic rule is that if you drop a carabiner and it takes a big fall, retire it. It's not worth the risk of the carabiner having an internal crack, essentially weakening it's overall strength. Some rock climbers would still use it, I wouldn't. Carabiners are inexpensive and it's better to be safe than sorry. So, lets say that a reserve ripcord, pin, and handle took a 1000+ ft fall and landed on a hard surface, would you still use it? Would you still consider that pin safe? Just curious to hear what some of you think.

Maybe work on some survival techniques. Try to learn how to determine your altitude by using just your eyes, instead of totally relying on your altimeter. Take a guess of how high you are while you're freefalling and then check your altimeter to see how close you were. Work on flat tracking. This can come in handy when you need to clear your airspace ASAP. Keep working on the basics and make sure that you can do them all on heading: backflips, frontflips, 360 degree turns, etc. When you eventually go for your license, this is what you'll have to be able to demonstrate - not sitflying. I'd work on the basics a little more before you get overly concerned with freeflying.

Exactly what I was thinking. It sounds like his friend never gave the biplane a chance to see if it was going to fly stable. Odds are it would have flown stable and that it would have been safer to simply land the biplane. I'm glad it worked out for him. I think the only time that it's really acceptable to cut away that quickly from a two out situation is if the canopies begin to downplane.

Why did he cut away the main right away? Was the biplane not flying stable? What size main and what size reserve?

Take a canopy course.

So, I ended up going to Elsinore and that by far is the coolest DZ that I've ever been to. No shit, I wouldn't mind moving out there for a year or so just so that I could jump there regularly. Incredibly friendly atmosphere, great landing areas, good looking women all over the place, and good vibes everywhere. No doubt, my next trip to LA will be strictly a skydiving trip so that I can get more jumps in at Elsinore.

I'd suggest learning from multiple sources for various reasons. First, everyone packs a little differently. We all have developed little tricks that help us pack more efficiently and consistently. For example, getting the canopy into the d-bag. What works for one may not necessarily work for another. There are often various ways to accomplish the same result, finding what works best for you is key and will make learning how to pack much easier. Second, how reliable is your source? Trusting one person at your DZ to teach you something as important as packing doesn't seem very wise to me. What if they accidentally leave something out? Two out of my five sources that I learned how to pack from forgot to tell me about taking all of the twists out of the steering lines before setting/stowing the brakes. If I didn't have my other three sources to learn from I'm sure that not taking those twists out would have eventually led to a tension knot, uneven brake lines, or some other avoidable situation. Another thing to keep in mind is that not all packers and riggers that are willing to teach are necessarily going to have to ability to be good teachers. Take your main packer, for example. I'm sure he's a great packer, but that doesn't mean shit if you're having difficulty learning from him. Lastly, I found having the Pack Like a Pro video extremely helpful. Not only did it allow me to confirm everything that I learned from my other four sources, but it also gave me the ability to rewind certain areas of the pack job that I was having difficulty with. Sometimes seeing something over and over again can be extremely helpful. ~ John

I'm heading out to LA for the weekend to visit a friend of mine and I'm planning on getting a few jumps in. I'll probably only do 2 or 3 jumps and my buddy is going to do a tandem jump. Anyway, I've heard great things about both Perris Valley Skydiving and Skydive Elsinore, which do you think would be a better choice? ~ John

Just curious, what exactly would happen if both brakes were left unstowed? Have any of you accidentally or intentionally done this? What kind of opening would this present?