Tonto

No System really works. What works is the person involved believing they can acheive what is required in the moment dispite the risk involved. I did 12 years of Judo at school, then about 10 years of Wing Chun, and now I'm doing Jow Ga. In the middle somewhere, I started to fight. A lot. Then I worked as a bouncer, for years. If it's your 400th fight, you have the same edge that you have in the door with 400 dives more than a 1st jumper. No matter how strong, brave or talented, they're in a position which is somewhat alien to them. Sparing and competition fights are largely dances without music. You can only learn to fight by fighting when the outcome is uncertain, getting hurt, losing. We don't learn from our hits. We learn from our misses. I prefer chinese styles to Japanese styles because of my body type, but any "art" or "system" is simply a way to improve ourselves physically and mentally. They all work and will improve your life without ever having to fight. If you want to learn to defend yourself, learn to use a small ball payne hammer, a knife and a gun. They work well when the chips are down. t It's the year of the Pig.

Congratulations to both of you! t It's the year of the Pig.

Ok, so I'm wrong. I asked my Dad if I could skydive on my 16th birthday. He said. "No. I'll never let you jump. If you jump 50 years after I die, I will spin in my grave. I will never forgive you." He was very calm. I asked him again when I turned 18. "No. I told you this just the other day!" And again when I turned 21, as even though he could not stop me, it would be cool to have his consent. Why are you so obsessed with killing yourself this way? I can't stop you, but everything I said still holds! I jumped when I was 22, but never told him till I had quite a few jumps. He was NOT happy. At 159 jumps (I was a hookturn pioneer) I smashed my femur. Smashed it. He was overjoyed! I was alive! Of course, he was a little dismayed when I just kept going. Ten years later he did a Tandem with me. These days (He's calmer at 72) he comes out to the DZ when he's visiting and takes pics of all my landings and is fasinated by the physics involved in flying Birdman. So... yes, I'm fooling myself that it's safe - but I had to do that to fool my Dad! t It's the year of the Pig.

Great reply. (I can see why PJ speaks so highly of you!) t It's the year of the Pig.

Don't worry Kris. I'm with you. I've stood over lots of bits of meat over the years. I've seen the bone ends smeared with red dirt. I see people rolling back and forth in rythmic pain dispite the risk it poses to their femoral artery. Yes, skydiving is safe. Getting shot at is safe too, as long as the shooter misses. In skydiving the ground always knows where you are, and when you screw up - it'll be there. (But you already know this.) t It's the year of the Pig.

Dispite the fact that we southern hemispherians reserve the right to bitch when you forget us, the truth is that most of what happens in the world happens in your half. And that's OK.

*Bump* Good input. We here in the Southern Hemisphere are facing the reverse, with the worms coming out of the woodwork after a long winter, all thinking about downsizing and the other cool stuff that will happen as it gets hotter. (And the air gets thinner..) t It's the year of the Pig.

What have the Romans ever done for us? t It's the year of the Pig.

Not enough. t It's the year of the Pig.

Age: 42 Sex: M Avg: 0.1842 1. 0.202 2. 0.188 3. 0.187 4. 0.171 5. 0.172 Avg 0.178 second time round... Avg 0.174 third time round... Damn. I miss being young and fast.. t It's the year of the Pig.

So you think Toyota should be world champions? t It's the year of the Pig.

Awesome! That's 10 secs for a kilometer.... Moving! Metric or not! t It's the year of the Pig.

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

What's the point of being able to jump if you have no rig? The rig! The rig! The rig! t It's the year of the Pig.

So I guess you don't live together or ever share the same car, just to be safe, right? You're missing out on the very best kind of sharing a pair of lovers can have outside of sex. That's my thinking, anyway... t It's the year of the Pig.

I had 1600 dives when my daughter was born, and I just kept going. She's 10 now, and has climbed with me, and I've done 2 Tandems with her, the 1st when she was 8. I'm divorced. Every weekend I'm at the DZ. Every 2nd weekend I'm at the DZ with my girls. To do anything else would be a lie. t It's the year of the Pig.

No. That's honesty. Many people somehow WANT to share the sadness of the 1st death they've experienced at the DZ even if it's distanced by them not knowing the person. It reminds me of the eagerness some young soldiers have of being "Blooded" and the tiredness old soldiers have of the waste involved in that rite. I was told by an old instructor a long time ago - "Don't go running out there. There will be a time when you'll be called out there because you're it. You'll be the guy who knows what to do. Hopefully by then your love for the sport will be strong enough to overide the images that will remain with you." He was absolutely right. t It's the year of the Pig.

On the 2nd of February next year I'll have been jumping 20 years. I lost my 1st freind to the sport a year after I started, with about 100 jumps. Twisted leg strap on a ROL throwout, no reserve drills. Those pre Cypres days.. There have been many since then, including a few I called "friend" among the 14 jumpers who died in the Perris Otter crash in 1992 while I was there. Most recent was last year, another friend. I'll never stop caring, but I've moved on from anger to sadness. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's about right. I was replacing a bridal and was about to throw the old one away when I realised the pin was still new.. so I cut it off and wore it round my neck. Of course, it was quite useless there, until I was on a bench in a railway station in Germany in 1986/87 being chased out into the cold by the Police, when some guy said.. "You a skydiver?" When I answered "Yes." I had a new friend and a place to stay for the night. I'm not wearing one now - mainly I think because everyone does - and that I'm not a big fan of trinkets, rings, tats etc. I quite like the human body just the way it is.. t It's the year of the Pig.

Mmm. Sounds like you're talking about Iraq... Or downtown New York on 9/11... t It's the year of the Pig.

Oooo! [sarcasm mode] Now look what you've gone and done! Have you not learned that rational, thoughful response has no place in Speakers corner? That comments can be made about the French, "frozen" (in fear) but not about US troops sunning themselves on the beaches? [/sarcasm mode] They'll never chill. t It's the year of the Pig.

So... Why do you want to deal with them? t It's the year of the Pig.

Eager Beaver! You done with your S3? t It's the year of the Pig.

Is Clinton still president? I could have sworn he's not president anymore... t It's the year of the Pig.

I had a narrow (1 inch) on my last rig. My new rig came with wide (?) and I way prefer it. Even thinks like hook knives stay where you put them. Just my opinion. t It's the year of the Pig.