PMTS Mental Keys

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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby Icanski » Sat Dec 15, 2012 6:00 pm

I always hear Diana saying, "tip and tip and tip some more!"
It's the inside leg I have to remember, that tipping the inside free foot and to keep tipping it through out the turn (and pull it back). I find I'll start tipping it, and as the turn continues, the stance leg tips but the inside leg relaxes and the stance 'runs into it'. So I have to remember to let the stance knee chase the free knee, and not catch it.
So my mantra is usually "tip tip tip".
That's for starters.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby HighAngles » Sun Dec 16, 2012 12:00 am

The idea that the inside/free foot tipping "pulls" the stance ski along in tipping is a good one. I've used that mental key too.

One of my biggest take aways from short turn camp was how to really accomplish a one-footed release to cleanly achieve the weight transfer to the new stance ski. Walter explained that there were two ways to get the weight on the new stance ski:
1. The wrong way by pushing on it (which in turn causes the hip to rise)
2. The right way by only relaxing the old stance leg (flexing) and "allowing" the weight to transfer to the little toe edge of the new stance ski (the uphill ski)

Walter also really hammered the point that the first move of the release was the relaxing of the old stance ski. While you're doing that there's no unwinding of the counteracting or relaxing of your counterbalancing. You must achieve the weight transfer first.

So this mental key (relax/flex the old stance leg without any other changes) has really improved my release and results in a much stronger top of the turn since the weight/pressure is already established on the new stance ski as it's being tipped. I used to have "bobbles" where the new stance ski wouldn't really engage strongly at the top of the turn, but now as long as I maintain focus on transferring weight to the little toe edge of the new stance ski before I do anything else, the other pieces start clicking much better.

So I guess I never really understood how to accomplish a one-footed release correctly (and my two-footed release still has something broken), but now that I'm "getting" the one-footed release with the clear weight transfer I'm feeling much better about my skiing. I can't wait for Super Blue camp to get some more parts of my turns worked out.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:27 am

I must ask the gurus about this.... My mental cues this year have centered around something I made up.

The three T's of skiing:

Tip, Transfer, Tidy.

There is no intention of these three words dictating a sequence of movements. Tip means tip and keep tipping. Transfer can be any movements that transfer balance -- lift, lighten, flex, relax. Tidy refers to keeping "tidy feet", which involves pulling the foot back in a "heel-to-heel" direction.

Is this consistent with PMTS?
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby HeluvaSkier » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:43 am

BigE wrote:Is this consistent with PMTS?


E,
The best way to find out if your mental model is consistent with proper PMTS is to video your skiing and see what is going on. Everyone has different mental cues that work for them - some are great, some, not so much. The best way to determine if what an athlete/student is thinking is a good cue for what they are doing is to watch them ski. If it isn't then it is time for new cues.

I've always liked the narrow stance; release-transfer-engage concept myself. Another non-PMTS cue I've used to stay flexed into the top of the turn is "out and away"... but I caution you on inventing your own until you're 100% certain that your perception and reality are in line with each other. There is really no substitute for in-person coaching and video though as creating your own cues without confirmed feedback can be risky and may land you somewhere that you don't want to be.

PMTS provides so many checks and cues in all of the books that you should not have to (or try to) reinvent the wheel.
Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.

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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:53 am

Believe me, I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel. I'm not going to go down that road.

It is just a "cue-card" sort of thought that to me evokes some of the key elements of PMTS that I must continue to develop.

Video is certainly necessary. So far, the kids have said there is a big improvement. I'd like to get a video and see it for myself.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby Max_501 » Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:13 am

BigE wrote:Transfer can be any movements that transfer balance -- lift, lighten, flex, relax. Tidy refers to keeping "tidy feet", which involves pulling the foot back in a "heel-to-heel" direction.


Flexing is a releasing movement but doesn't necessitate a transfer of balance. For example a weighted release.

Did Release, Transfer, Engage (RTE) not work for you?

For me it works like this -

R = flex (including lift, lighten, and relax)
T = more or less simultaneous with R and includes CB/CA to stay in balance
E = Tipping + Pull inside foot back and hold against stance leg
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:13 pm

No, RTE was not a successful model for me. Coming from a hockey background, the "engage" directive evoked a very aggressive muscular image for me. T

Transfer took a while to sort out due to the aggressive muscular tension evoked by engage. If one thinks aggressiveness demands huge physical effort, which I do by default, then one loses the finesse needed for efficient balance, never mind balance transfer! So for me, replacing the aggression of engage with the finesse of tidy really helped in relaxing the free leg when balanced over the stance ski.

There is no sequence to Tip/Transfer/Tidy. In the case of the weighted release, flexion is still the primary movement producing balance transfer, but the balance transfer is delayed. For me, I think: Am I tipping all the time in an analog way? Am I really transferring balance or am i skiing two footed? Are my feet tidy or are they scissored and too wide apart? Am I grinding or is it simple to hold the free foot closer to the stance ski? For me, this line of thinking really clicked.

I picked up the notion of "tidy" from a comment that Harald made about Hirscher skiing with "tidy feet". It made sense to me. The word is far from aggressive, which is what I needed to get away from. I can show checkpoint 1 now without strain. This relaxed balance is the cornerstone upon which all the other movements can be built.

I also like alliteration. When I was playing a lot of darts, it was "relaxation, rhythm, release". :D
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby jbotti » Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:41 pm

Sometimes we all need to ask ourselves if we are making things more difficult for ourselves. Harald's writing is clear and concise and sometimes thinking is over rated!!

Do the drills, get quality feedback on how you are doing the drills (have video shot and post it to get feedback or ski with a PMTS instructor) and follow the progression outlined in the books. It is both idiot and genius proof (for those that will over think it).

If you do this and put in solid work and get affirmation that you are doing the drills properly, your skiing will soar PERIOD. And you may not even understand why but your skiing will.

Don't over think flexing. It is what it is, an increase in the bend of the knee. It's active and it must happen in every arc. There is nothing relaxing about it. It is an active and conscious movement.
Balance: Essential in skiing and in life!
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:30 pm

jbotti,

You don't need to have a death grip on your free leg to flex it. I mean, once you've transferred balance, then what's the point to extreme muscular tension in the free leg? Yes, I am doing the drills. No, I don't have a video camera. I will borrow one as necessary. I am certain of one thing though... Checkpoint 1.

You don't need a camera to know if you have your ski off the snow. You don't need strength/force to lift your leg once you are balanced on the stance leg. It's as easy as transferring balance to a stance leg in your living room and lifting the free foot. I can attest to this: if you are struggling to lift the free foot, you need to work on balance. The drill of skiing ONLY on one ski at a time with the other ski lifted worked wonders.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby Max_501 » Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:44 pm

BigE wrote:I mean, once you've transferred balance, then what's the point to extreme muscular tension in the free leg?


Free foot management requires a strong muscular effort. That is the main point of the pole press drill.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:48 pm

I thought it was to highlight what muscles are used, not to highlight the intensity. I mean, if I can manage my free foot with less effort, then why would I not do so? I find it frees up the body and enables making other moves.

Harald himself said balance and relaxation are the cornerstones of all sport, not just skiing. My experiments with muscular tension tend to agree.

You're not proposing that free foot management requires that I pull the foot back with all my might are you? That would be the polar opposite activity, blocking balance and certainly negating any relaxation. That there is balance blocking with such intense muscular tension is obvious. eg. When you hold an orange in your hand and heft it up and down to test it's weight, you relax your arm muscles, and then tighten them to resist the falling orange. If you were to tense your arm muscles and swing the orange up and down, you would barely feel that it is present, much less able to tell it's weight. This is functional tension as applied to weighing fruit. There is a similar functional tension as applied to skiing.

In my skiing this year, it feels as if each leg has it's own duties and operates somewhat independently. I cannot, maybe others can, achieve any sort of leg independence nor balance effectively if I am using all my might to make simple movements of the free foot. That is a dysfunctional tension.

For ME words that reduce the aggressiveness of the movement reduce my tendency to dysfunctional levels of tension. My video of last season is proof of this tension/stiffness in my skiing.

Reducing muscular tension has allowed me to balance much more effectively. Reducing the tension in the free leg has allowed me to increase it's range of motion. This is still very much a work in progress, but I have gotten a few compliments on my improvement this season, so I would think it is real. It is certain that balance on one ski is far easier for me to achieve.

Of course, I'd like to get video to see for myself.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby Max_501 » Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:21 pm

BigE wrote:I thought it was to highlight what muscles are used, not to highlight the intensity.


Are we reading the same book? Look at these quotes and the highlighted words.

ACBAES 2, pages 68-69:

This exercise enables the skier to develop the tension required to move the new free foot toward the stance foot and line it up for the turn.


You must try to bring the boots together by overcoming this resistance.


Once you can duplicate that pressure to bring your free foot toward the stance boot...


Have you been unsuccessful on ice? You probably didn't have the free foot aligning forcefully enough with the stance ski.


Cues for Success
With the free boot touching the stance boot, have your partner push harder while you press inward to maintain contact between the boots.


The point we are making is that if you are relaxing your inside foot and leg then you are going to be weak in inside foot management because tipping the free foot, pulling the free foot back, and holding the free foot close to the stance leg all take real muscular activity. There is nothing relaxing about it. BTW, no one said you need to use all of your muscular might so I don't understand why you've gone to that extreme.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:48 pm

Thanks Max,

I went to that extreme because the type of movements I thought I was to make must be extremely forceful. Dismissing the level of intensity was required for this student to increase coordination and range of movement.

I look at things like this... when you are learning a sport or an exercise (weight lifting for eg.) the first gains you see are those of coordination. IIn weight lifting, you can add mass to the bar for a few weeks, then you must stop.. you've reached the limit of your strength. The previous gains were of coordination only, not added muscle.

Once coordination is present and the range of movement is correct, you can ramp up the intensity.

For those interested, I have not ventured off the green for the entire season, but for 4 or 5 runs. My goal is to get the movements right in an environment that does not require that I use a lot of strength. That will come when I am satisfied that the movements are functional. Then, I'll move to the lightest blue and repeat the work. I do not wish to jump to using my strength before the movements are proven.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:01 pm

.....
Last edited by BigE on Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: PMTS Mental Keys

Postby BigE » Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:14 pm

Well, it is quite true, inside foot management does need some strength. It's not so easy..... yet
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