Unweighting

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Re: Additional comments

Postby Guest » Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:33 pm

SkierSynergy wrote:Rusty, Thanks for reminding me of a point I forgot.

But first. I said that I saw no leg steering. Skis can quickly change direction with no leg steering and no upper body rotation -- especially if they skid. That is one of the points of the phantom drag description. You are right that much of what Bode says is ambiguous. I am leaving some room open for the possibility that Bode is rotating his body a bit, but he definitely does not say anything about leg steering and I don't see any in the montage. Change of ski direction doesn't necesarily mean leg steering (or body rotation for that matter). I think his description suggests foot stuff, though his use of "pitch" could mean a lot of things.

OK now to the pooint I forgot.

There is no such thing as passive steering.

Passive rotation refers to a passive rotation of the femur. This does not produce steering or rotation in the skis. When the legs are flexed and the foot is inverted the femur passively rotates to accomodate these movements. It is akin to changes in parts of a car's suspension system as the suspension flexes. This is totally different than active inputs of the steering wheel.

There is no such thing as passive steering or rotation of the skis.


OK...

Thanks for the clarification. I guess we merely disagree on one point. I think if that photo was shown to 100 folks with a discerning eye, a majority would weigh in on steering.

I do agree there is ample evidence based upon the article that pitch or drift MAY NOT involve steering.

As I have stated, I simply don't understand the aversion to steering.

I wish I had a reprint of an article Deb Armstrong wrote several years ago on the matter. The gist of it went something like this. In my post race years I rediscovered the importance of inside leg steering. Im sure there will be folks here who will scream bulls_ _ t!

The more I teach the more I realize there are no "bad" movements. There are merely movements. Might I "up-unweight" in bottomless windslab! Yes.

I spoke of Tony Sears. Please believe me he can turn em. He said something the other day that opened my eyes a bit. He stated, "unweighting is a lost art".

Mention unweighting to most instructors and they think "up-unweighting", straight skis, and bad exam scores.
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