Myth #3 Debunked: Part 5

As I start to shift gears with this series into how to neutralize the memories that are holding you back I do need to take a look at one other easy source for finding what the mental barriers are that are holding you back.

 

What do you find yourself talking about when it comes to ski jumping?  What do you blame as your number one source for the trouble that you are having with your jumping?  What are the memories that you remember from ski jumping, and if you happen to be an older jumper, what are the memories that you remember from your childhood?  These are all sources of possible barriers.

 

I find myself all the time blaming swimming competitively as a child, the crash on the 48, and seeing the crash on the 90 as parts of the reason for my trouble with jumping.  I know they are very vital parts to my being held back.  It's these kinds of things that you need to start taking notice of.  Run through an imaginery talk with someone about ski jumping.  Watch what you say and write it down.  Do this with all aspects of your life.  You might be surprised at what you are actually saying to yourself.

 

There are other things though that you may not think of that really does have a major influence on your jumping.  You have to watch the thoughts that go through your mind/words that come out of your mouth to find them.  Here's an example of one that I feel quite confident is influencing another jumpers progress.

 

This jumper had attended a jump meet in Hanover, New Hampshire several years back, before I started jumping.  The coach, thankfully the now former coach for the Ford Sayre program, asked him if he didn't think that he was a little too old to be out here jumping.  This is a kids sport.  Each year this jumper brings up this story.  He has now brought it up three times so far this winter.  Obviously, this incident has had a major impact on him.  He would never admit it.  Granted the impact that has been made, has been made to his subconscious mind and not to his conscious mind.  That is why he doesn't realize the impact that the incident has had on him.  Stories like these won't come up without someone bringing them up, unless they are having an impact on your life right now.  If you don't have any subconscious feelings for the situation than you will have a hard time remembering the situation.  Someone will have to jog your memory for you to ever be able to remember the story.  On the other hand, if the memory is causing you trouble you will be able to remember it and it will come up in the nice little talk you have with yourself.

 

It's crazy little things like this that you have to watch out for when you start analyzing why you are having a difficult time improving in ski jumping or any other endeavor that you get yourself into.  It's the mind that is holding you back because of crazy little incidents that have occured in the past.  They may be directly related to ski jumping and they may not be.

 

Tomorrow I will start the process of dissolving these memories, have your computer/pencil and paper handy.  You will need it.

 

Until next time

Keep the ski tips up,

Crash

Jumping Journal: February 14, 2006

Day 37. RADICALLY DIFFERENT.  That's how you explain putting on a real pair of jump boots versus the pair that I have been wearing for the past couple of years.  I don't think I have had a jump quite like the first jump tonight in ages.  I couldn't even lock my knees out.  That hasn't occured since...while as long as I can remember.

 

I got to the Roland Tremblay Ski Jump Complex, formerly the Newport Ski Jump, and noticed several pair of boots sitting off to the side that I hadn't noticed before.  I started looking to see if any them might actually be able to fit my size 13 feet.  The first pair I tried fit great, maybe even a slight bit big, problem they was too long and the toe was too wide for the bindings on my skis.  I tried another pair, much tighter but they would fit the bindings better.  I decided to stick with them and give them try on the hill.

 

I knew from just walking in the boots that I was going to have a rather interesting night of jumping.  The boots I have been using are blown out on the sides, so much so that I can very easily stand straight legged, vertically, with the boots on.  Anotherwords they do absolutely nothing to help with the jump whatsoever.

 

I put on the skis and before even making it to the knoll point on the inrun I notice that this is going to be very interesting.  I head down the inrun and almost can't even get into a decent tuck position.  Very unusual.  I jump at the takeoff and quickly notice that I haven't even locked my knees.  The tips are amazingly pointed down.  That was the biggest shock.  I ride the landing hill but I'm so far out of it that I end up crashing.

 

I make my way back up for the second jump. It ends up slightly better, but not much.  At least I don't crash anymore jumps for the remainder of the evening.  The third jump gets better and I start to feel a little more comfortable.  The fourth and fifth jumps are much better and I start to even drive through the heels and I notice the ski tips come up very easily on their own without me having to do anything to get them to come up.

 

The sixth and seventh jumps seemed to be the best jumps of the evening.  I was told by one of the other jumpers that my seventh jump was quite good.  That jumper does know what he is talking about.  I think the different boots will show an amazing difference when I go to jump the 50, hopefully, on Thursday evening.  I will have to pull out the video camera and get some video taken.  I will be curious to see if I will still bend at the waist or not.  Supposedly on jump seven I didn't bend at the waist.

 

Jump eight wasn't very good.  I groaned in the air since I knew it wasn't worth a darn.  Jump nine was slightly better and jump ten was even better than nine.  The coach said that he thought that the last jump was the best, I would say number seven was the best of the evening though.

 

Crash