Tonto

1st jump 02/02/1985 Broken ankle 16/02/1985 Broken Femur 14/02/1987 *Serious attitude adjustment* No injuries in the last 17 years/4183 jumps. t It's the year of the Pig.

And that, I guess, is a fine example of thread drift. t It's the year of the Pig.

Congrats on surviving! A student recently tore the ass out of a Classic demo suit on landing. The Birdman factory replaced the leg wing for me. Total cost was around $100, excluding shipping. Kim did a great job of helping me out with the repair. Hope you're back in the sky soon! t It's the year of the Pig.

Cologne. t It's the year of the Pig.

Strap.. under my jaw. Cup.. on my chin. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah.. And we know how accurate your fortune telling has been. t It's the year of the Pig.

On my left wrist. t It's the year of the Pig.

Thanks for the info. Good to know since we have no BMI's here yet, and I''m trying to keep this safe. t It's the year of the Pig.

Great. Just fucking great. I'm "Like the Bride" in Kill Bill... I'm a born killer. I lack mercy, compassion and forgiveness, but not rationality. It doesn't mean that I'm evil.. I'm just forced to do bad things because people are out to get me... t t It's the year of the Pig.

I'd love to... but I bought a Mirage earlier this year. I'm a little short on skin.. t It's the year of the Pig.

Is your new Avitar "The scream?" t It's the year of the Pig.

Are you honestly trying to tell me these are sick terrorists while simultaneously advocating the Genocide of a BILLION people? Really? t It's the year of the Pig.

You're funny! Lets have a look at this... Yup, but it’s also likely that the Chechens Iraqi's are gonna find themselves in an equally big world of hurt. Terror campaigns damage Western countries because we have rules we have to play by and our leaders have to worry about getting elected appointed the next time round. Russia’s The USA's just likely to bomb the crap out of ChechnyaIraq in response to this sort of tactics.nothing much at all. Where we respond with arrests, (without trail) Mis intelligence and surgical decapitation strikes, Russia’s USA's likely to respond with a tank Regiment. an entire invasion and continuing ocupation. t It's the year of the Pig.

Really? Most of the guys I knew at school were pimping for their sisters (at worst) or simply telling all their friends when she was most emotionally vulnerable and could easily be taken advantage of.. t It's the year of the Pig.

This is meant for martial artists, but it's good advice to anyone who is learning more, but feels like they're knowing less.. The Power of Awareness Learning is a response to a demand to grow-a response to a desire to do something we couldn't do before. Learning involves errors. Errors aren't a problem, but ignoring or judging them is. None of us really likes to look at our weaknesses. It's much more comfortable to acknowledge only our strengths, especially if we judge ourselves for "not doing it right". Learning any new skill requires awareness and refinement of errors. It can be a disillusioning process; it entails a momentary drop in self-esteem, a dent in our self-image. It requires the spirit of a warrior. One sure sign of growing awareness is that we "feel" as if we are getting worse. At this point, many of us say "I used to be better" or "I'm going downhill". Yet it's obvious when looking at films of previous skill levels that we have radically improved. We've simply become much more aware of errors needing to be refined. It is important to understand this phenomenon, because there's a tendency for us to judge ourselves harshly, become discouraged, and resist awareness just when we are moving into a higher level of proficiency. If we cling to a feeling of mastery over a lesser level of proficiency, learning stops. Open, non-judgmental eyes cut through illusion and transform errors into whole body awareness and power. The supreme difficulty is to be willing to lose face, to see ourselves momentarily in a light that is less flattering than we wish. Awareness is like sunlight in a dark forest. It allows us to see we are off the path. If we stop to judge ourselves for being too far left or right of the path, we are only wasting time and energy. The thing to do is be thankful for the light of awareness, and follow it back to the path. -from "The Warrior Athlete" I hope that, and Aggie's more practical advice help a bit. Just keep packing. We're amazing creatures. I once went 6 years without packing a single rig. I had to pack, and just touched the canopy and it all started happening when I stopped thinking about it. 10 min later it was ready to go. t It's the year of the Pig.

Don't push it dude. I'M THE WORST! FIGHT ME! I BET YOU"LL BEAT ME! t It's the year of the Pig.

Start smoking. Drink lots of coffee Eat plenty of sweets and crisps. t It's the year of the Pig.

LOL. Do you explain these rules to the people who attack you on the street or in a bar? Viking asked about self defense not about controlled sparing. We get the message. You're quite prepaired to fight anyone as long as they promise not to maim you if you lose or take legal action against you if you win, and drive all the way to your state so as not to inconvenience you. No thanks. I'm skeered Wooo. I can't type anymore... my hands are shaking too much! t It's the year of the Pig.

That's not always the case. I talk to my dead friends more often than I talk to those who used to jump. t It's the year of the Pig.

I have no friends below 2000ft. As for being cold - how about they come to at 1400ft and pull, and YOU take them out through collision? Mmm? I have over 1500 AFF dives and have chased and caught dozens of unstable students. No friends below 2000ft. Edited to add: SkymonkeyOne - 4100 dives - 2000ft Diablopilot - 2968 dives - 2000ft Tombush - 4700 dives - 2000ft Gotta make you think... t It's the year of the Pig.

Here's a little story... It's 1987. I'm a living God and know more about skydiving than anyone in the world. I'm very talented and have 159 jumps. Due to some error on the part of Planet Earth, a low turn results in me breaking my femur in 9 places. I'm rushed to hospital. AIDS is quite new. There are no antiretrovirals. I need blood. Lots of it. And surgery. Since I'm concious, I'm asked to sign a consent to surgery form. I ask "Is the blood tested for HIV?" Answer? "Don't know. If you don't get it, you're out of here in 30 min. Yes or no." Tick, tock, tick, tock... I think... I'm 25. AIDS takes like 10 years to kill you, right? I'll be like 35. Middle aged. An old fart. Yeah. Bring the blood. Ten years is better than nothing. I get the blood, surgery, a year on crutches. After 9 months I find I'm HIV neg. (Window period was a lot longer back then.) I'm a winner. So. Ten years would have put me dead in 1997.. and since then, I've had 2555 sunrises and sunsets 91 full moons 2063 skydives fallen in love and countless other joys like thunderstorms, rainbows, wind through the trees etc. Me? No. Thanks, but no. I want more time. t It's the year of the Pig.

Waking up in the East... and this thread's been moving! That really says it all. For whatever reason, I can't fight "a little." I have a quick mouth, and often upset those who don't know me well. I'm usually ready to apologise, or take a smack to let the tension disipate if it's someplace I know I'll be backed up if it goes too far. (read: home) Truth is, most of the fights we get into as new martial artists are through insecurity and/or ego. We're like boy scouts with a new Swiss Army Knife seeing if it really can cut stuff up. After a while the novelty wears off, and we realise it's a tool we can use if and when we need it. Smile. Breathe. Don't fight. Good advice. I'll follow it. t It's the year of the Pig.

You know little about Kung Fu if you beleive it's a primary kicking style. All fights end up on the floor. Having said that, grappling is useless against multiples. While you hold the one, the other could strangle you with their shoelaces. Royce Gracie is not a "quick" winner, dispite being undisputed master of his domain. "No rules" fighting competitions are full of rules. No biting of cheeks, ears, noses, throats or other wobbly bits. No ripping off of ears, eye gouging, single hand throat crushes. No snapping of individually pried off fingers, throwing people from heights or into a nearby fire. No drowning. etc, etc. When you really fight - those are all open options - and you're an idiot not to use them. I try not to fight - but if I do, I'm trying to permanently maim or kill the person who has chosen to fight me ASAP using whatever tools are available to me. I don't care if it's in a bar, at the bonfire or in the traffic. Fighting is not a game, and if forced into submission you are relying on your attackers goodwill to survive.. which is questionable, since they just attacked you. Ask yourself - What will I fight for? What will I kill for? What will I die for? If your answers to all three questions are not the same, don't fight. The truth is that if you choose to fight you may no longer be able to control the outcome of that fight. t It's the year of the Pig.

Best way is do the work and take it off the risers. I used to teach CRW to newbies this way long ago, as the eye contact is there, they're easier to see and MUCH easier to top dock. There's a BCReW association in Oz, I beleive. (Or used to be around 1994..) Turns and spirals can feel very odd, but otherwise it's still pull left to go left and right to go right. Landings can be tricky. I'd advise wearing a helmet as if you trip you'll almost certainly bump your head going down. Jump a lowly loaded canopy, no more than 1.0 psft to start with. t It's the year of the Pig.