What would you do if you bumped into the following FJC testimonial on a BASE school page (translated below for your convenience):
http://baseguru.ru/event/thailandcoach
This is not a troll, it is for real. This particular testimonial is actually chosen by Ratmir to advertise his Tonsai trips on his school page. Sadly, this is also the biggest student factory in Russia.
Obviously, it's a Russian thing, but you are still likely to bump into Ratmir and his students at your playgrounds in Europe - or in Thailand, as presently is. He just honestly doesn't get it: what's wrong, the customer pays and (usually) goes home happy?
FJCs in Russia are still stuck at stone age, for a variety of reasons, and a bit of education could go a long way if you want to email the school, or say a word or two here or when you bump into them on the road. General wisdom of teaching 1st time students off low cliff or low antennas (majority of russian students) could be a topic that will save lives and limbs - and possibly some foreign objects, if the oil ever goes back up! ;)
Another point that just cries out loud for education: object avoidance drills. They are generally unheard of in mother Russia. Recent Russian BASE forum poll showed 0% of people had them taught, 11% tried on their own, 50% never tried any kind of object avoidance at all, and the rest already struck an object or turned away by luck. My efforts to explain to Ratmir that it isn't wise to let people who can't turn a 180 to jump off a slider-down cliff, hit the wall (pardon the pun). I'd hope the wise words from foreign experts might have a better outcome.
There's some hope here: for now at least, after a private discussion, Ratmir is not going to do PCA's in Tonsai. Practical object avoidance, however, remains an alien concept.
Tom, Marta & Jimmy, Douggs, Johnny Utah, anybody else? Please, fire away:
http://baseguru.ru
dmz66@mail.ru
+79056372219
