Israeli special forces to parachute instructor parachute article

Israeli Special Forces to Parachute Instructor

I am the Chief Instructor at Adrenalin Skydive in Goulburn.

We’re located one hour’s drive from Canberra or two-hours from Sydney.

Yes, I jump out of planes for a living, and yes I would love to take you for a jump any day.

I chose to do the course through HBA from home so that I could continue full-time work as a skydive instructor midweek.

This was a great challenge, resulting in many late nights.

It was all worth it in the end, giving me the foundational knowledge essential for the training and assessment aspects of my job.

The role of Chief Instructor (CI) is one of the most important on a drop zone. The CI is responsible for all safety and operational aspects of the skydive training organisation.

The job also includes running courses for first-time jumpers, novices and experienced skydivers.

Before becoming a full time skydiver I was a soldier in the Israeli Special Forces. My role required strong leadership, quick thinking and decisiveness – all of which I have in abundance and serve me well in my current occupation.

But what I wasn’t taught in the army was how to create a lesson plan, one step at a time, which is something that is required in my line of work.

I have always been a confident public speaker but I realised after the course there is more to leading people than simply giving orders.

It teaches you to consider your students specific needs – one person learns very differently to the next. And if you are not conscious of this your message will be less powerful and your students will not get the full benefit from what you’re trying to teach them.

I also learned about the importance of using a variety of resources and teaching methods to get a point across and to assist students in learning.

The course is very challenging, time consuming and it takes a while to get used to the kind of language used.

My advice for anyone considering the course is:
When you get the course notes, take the time to read everything completely before writing, don’t rush, ask lots of questions and… just DO IT!

 

Living The Dream
Yaakov (Kobi) Bokay
Chief Instructor
Adrenalin Skydive Goulburn
0447 404 480