What to buy first? (DVDs and/or books)

[cmp122323]

Hello all! I am going to be working and skiing at Alta for the entire season and am super excited to bring my skiing to the next level. I have been watching some of Harald's Youtube videos and am now planning on buying the Essentials DVDs 3-pack. Would this be the best way to introduce myself to PMTS? I know there is a book too, but I think that seeing it with the DVDs is better, unless people here really recommend the book too. I apologize if this has been asked before; I tried searching!

[Lester]

Start with the book first, but I would strongly suggest to start with " Anyone can be an expert skier" book 1. I started with Essentials and I missed some stuff. Videos are additions to the books.

[cmp122323]

Yeah, I was actually just reading more here and found this: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=67 where Harold advocates book learning more so than the videos; makes a lot of sense. The Expert 1 is only $12 for the eBook so I will do that to start. I will say though it is confusing to the consumer. From what I am reading Essentials is similar material presented in a new way; but even that description is wanting. I agree with comments I've seen here that suggest to just buy them all and it will still be cheaper than a ski lesson, but it would still be nice to have a bit of a guide to the different book series.

[h.harb]

Welcome CMP, and congratulations for finding PMTS. The Essentials DVDs are a good start. After you get into the movements, you'll see the benefits of reading up on all the building blocks of PMTS. PMTS through the Essentials is simple to apply, easy to understand, yet the depth and congruity of PMTS movements, turns, applications and finesse are fascinating to learn. This is a highly evolved skiing and teaching system, and is like no other on the planet. The critics like to call me and PMTS dogmatic. Dogmatic is defined as an unrelenting set of in stone principles.

Dictionary says:
It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology or belief system, and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system's paradigm, or the ideology itself.

Yet, PMTS has evolved and in it's evolution is remarkably flexible in approach to movements and learning. So it's hardly dogmatic in a negative way, although still dogmatic in a positive one, because the founding principles are so sound, they need no questioning or modification. If anything is dogmatic negatively, and ripe for criticism, because of it's weaknesses toward successful skiing, it is TTS. Which have not changed one iota in 30 years, since straight, wooden skis, except for a few marketing terms that has done nothing to improve it.

Welcome to the community, you will enjoy becoming a "practitioner" of PMTS, it's an intriguing journey. Practitioners is what we call ourselves. I differentiate because we are not "followers" of a belief system or faith; we are self determining individuals. PMTS practitioners don't follow a system blindly, they make smart decisions about how we want to ski. So, good luck with your skiing, you have a great support system through Harb Ski Systems and here on this forum as well.

[h.harb]

Just to explain the difference between, "Anyone can be an Expert Skier 1" and the "Essentials of Skiing" , because sometimes it gets muddled. The Expert Skier 1 book is set up and written in a progression format, more of a step by step approach. The "Essentials" brings out and demonstrates the 5 components of skiing and gives you numerous ways to access them, through exercises and movements. In this way each of the 5 "Essentials" can be achieved and worked on, developed and perfected separately, which makes learning more accessible. My 4 books and 6 DVDs are not at all conflicting; they are supportive of each other. I include the "Instructor Manual", as my 4th book, because many skiers use it to get gain a teacher of PMTS's perspective and in depth look at how PMTS is taught and presented, by a teacher.

[Max_501]

Here's part of a post I put up in another thread:

Start with Book 1. Once you have it mastered move to Book 2. Essentials can be read for extra drills and instruction in conjunction with or after reading Book 2.

[h.harb]

I don't know what it is, Amazon, the forum, Facebook, or a PMTS buzz, but we are having a sudden rush on sales of all our books and DVDs. So I encourage you to get the whole collection.

[nipper]

I found it useful to make up a large loose leaf binder subdivided into many different PMTS category's. I then either print off any useful information that I find on this forum or just write out any salient points. Over the past five years I have built up a file that is now bursting at the seams with information that supplements the books and DVD,s.

[richk]

Just a reminder that ACBAES volumes 1 and 2, and the companion "dvd's" are all available for download and use on computers and mobile devices through the HarbSkiSystems.com website.

For counteracting coaching, there is also an "angry mother" video download which is terrific.

RichK

[HighAngles]

I found it useful to make up a large loose leaf binder subdivided into many different PMTS category's. I then either print off any useful information that I find on this forum or just write out any salient points. Over the past five years I have built up a file that is now bursting at the seams with information that supplements the books and DVD,s.

I use Microsoft OneNote similarly. I have all of the PMTS Essentials as categories along with my take-aways from my camp experiences and my training plan as it continues to evolve. The advantage of using something like OneNote is the ability to globally search on particular terms and topics.

[cmp122323]

Thank you everyone for the kind introduction! I have been watching the expert 1 and 2 videos and reading the expert 1 book, can't wait to put it to use; Snowbird opens Wednesday. This forum is really useful as well. It takes some searching but most of my questions have been answered here before. Harald, any plants to make, "Performance Free Skiing" an eVideo? That looks like an interesting DVD from the YouTube clips I'm watching.

[richk]

Do you have a slant board?

http://harbskisystems.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=39&Itemid=354

RichK

[jbotti]

Thank you everyone for the kind introduction! I have been watching the expert 1 and 2 videos and reading the expert 1 book, can't wait to put it to use; Snowbird opens Wednesday. This forum is really useful as well. It takes some searching but most of my questions have been answered here before. Harald, any plants to make, "Performance Free Skiing" an eVideo? That looks like an interesting DVD from the YouTube clips I'm watching.

I commend you on using the search function. As you are realizing almost every question that a newbie to PMTS might have has been covered many times in the forum. And.. there are real nuggets of gold in many of those old threads. Max and I go back and read stuff all the time and we are amazed at the new insights that we gain almost every time.