Quite the mouth

No, that?s not a typo, the title of this post is ?quite the mouth? as in, ?he?s got quite the mouth on him.? Not quiet the mouth, as in ?quiet that mouth of yours before I do it for you,? but the latter does tend to apply at times.

As skydivers, we live in this community where people love to talk about themselves. The seasoned jumpers love to talk about their latest badass swoops or the world record ?they were a part of. Intermediate jumpers can?t wait to tell everyone about their first head down they [think they] stuck or the new friendship they?ve sparked with this or that load organizer. Even recently licensed jumpers can?t wait for fresh student meat to come in to force feed their own personal AFF stories.

It goes without saying (but, I?m going to say it anyhow) that sometimes it can be pretty irritating to hear other jumpers talk?incessantly?about how great they [think they] are.

But the truth of the matter is, sometimes, this is where we can learn the most as skydivers. How many of you out there ? show of hands ? were told at one time or another during your student training that often times you?re on the ground more than you?d like to be, and the best way to continue your education is to listen to what the other skydivers are talking about?

My hand is up on that one.

Especially here in the North where weather plays more of a factor than, say, in SoCal, it?s not uncommon for students to sit around picking their nose waiting for winds to cooperate. But while you?re fishing for that gewy one behind your eyeball, talk to some of the others on the ground (or, remove said finger from your nostril, wash your hands and approach the nearest seasoned skydiver for a chat).

Seek out those with ratings (instructors, S&TAs and the like) to give solid safety advice. Talk to those who are both seasoned (we?re talking 500, 1000+ jumps here kids) to hear their stories from years in the sport. But, let?s not forget the newbies in the sport either. After all, they (we) recently went through student progression and can tell you a thing or two about that weird, awkward period after getting your A license. The ?now what the fuck?? phase, as I like to call it.

Of course, this doesn?t just go for what USPA considers ?students.? Just because we have our A (or B or C or even D) licenses, doesn?t mean the learning stops. As I see it, we should be learning MORE. We?re [ideally] jumping more, traveling to new places, meeting new jumpers ? shouldn?t we be getting educated along the way as well? Learning from each and every person we encounter (even if what we?re learning is how not to do something)?

It?s important to be able to adapt to new surroundings, to understand about the aircraft you?re hucking yourself from, to know DZ landing patterns, to know how to get out of an icky situation in a pinch. All this comes with experience, sure, but you can learn so much from those ?annoying? mouths out there that, at first, might seem to be rather obsessed with themselves.

Learning to filter out the bullshit is an important skill in the skydiving industry ? but that doesn?t mean you should stop listening altogether. So on those days where your local skygod is like fingernails on a chalkboard, maybe you should stop and ask yourself if maybe you should quiet your mouth and listen.

Blue ones!

Ashley

Source: http://skydivechick.com/2011/05/quite-the-mouth/

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