Sate of Training

PMTS Forum

Sate of Training

Postby Harald » Sun Jan 23, 2005 6:25 pm

The pres does a state of the union. I do state of skiing.

On January 13, I began a training and teaching trip to Madison, Wisconsin. The first night I arrived I spent two, 2 hour sessions with approximately twenty instructors in each sesssion. I had great assistance from Kris Kruse-Elliott one of our examiners in the mid west. Kris is one of the best teachers I have ever seen operate in skiing. She often works for us in PMTS training and camps.

I trained approximately sixty instructors and skiers over the next three days. I also have to thank trainers from Sunburst, Arcmeister, in particular for the help he gave me on the hill.

We had a great time, the enthusiasm was infective and the whole gang learned about their skis and their movements based on efficiency and ski tool use. We worked on releasing with a softening and bending of the legs. Ears and eyes were wide open and similes were everywhere, even in the sub zero temperatures.

I was very pleased with the reception and excitement for the information I presented and the programs we practiced.

I began most sessions with an introduction to PMTS and small movements that begin at the base of the kinetic chain. I introduced how to move with the feet, ankles and how these movements have an effect and move up the kinetic chain without disrupting the ski behavior. People and skiers don?t realize how much inappropriate movement from the larger muscles and bones affect the skis. I introduced many exercises for edge change from the PMTS exercise plans.

I find skiers are weak in what I call hinging or rolling on and off their edges. Many skiers and instructors alike have difficulty rocking off and onto edges without twisting or changing the direction of their skis when they come close to flat on the snow. This is often due to alignment or boot selection and set up problems. Since I had only two hours with twenty people in a group, I could only give some quick recommendations based on a few passes and observations.

I did observe many ears perking up when I told skiers that they had built into their skiing, first moves that changed the direction of their skis, rather than tipping their skis on edge. These are rotary or steering movements that originate at middle or top of the chain rather than the tipping movements at the bottom of the chain. To demonstrate how this creates problems, I usually give them the visual of how a ski travels at the beginning of a turn, if the tails of the skis go back up the slope at the beginning of the turn you are pushing away from the ground on the last turn and using an up movement to project into the new turn. This is a limiting way to ski. Yet the teaching methods are still based in a system that creates this movement pattern in their instructors and skiers. This is not up for dispute or argument, as I see it first hand wherever I go.

If this isn?t the most prevalent problem then upper body emphasis sure is the next most overused technique to begin or progress in turns. The skiers I had for the entire time, three days (large groups) made huge improvements and they completely understood where their old movements originated.

They wanted to know how these changes were accomplished. We went to the logical approach and I introduced them to counter balancing and counter acting movements. The reason most people skid, rotate and lose performance is from movements they were or are trained. They are taught rotary movements that create skidding. They have never been introduced to rotary movements that didn?t create skidding. They told me they wanted neither, upper body or leg steering, so I showed them how to rid themselves of their old habits.

I often hear that I use methods that have been around for a long time and that many instructors use these methods. If this were true, why are they not producing results? I like to hear I use methods that have been around for twenty years, yet I get results with the ones I use and others don?t, so where is the discrepancy? Hard to fathom?


In PMTS we teach one thing clearly from the beginning. We teach skiers how not to turn skis, we teach skiers to tip the ski on to an edge and we wait for the ski to do the turn. The same old bugaboo arises when I try to clear up inefficient movements and present precise feedback to skiers. I tell them exactly what causes their malaise and I am very precise about what causes these movements and where they originate.

The limited ability to rock on the edges or hinge the skis from engaged edge angles does not seem to be complicated. The complication for skiers becomes obvious when you require that the skiers keep the skis and the legs moving at the same angles and at the same rates. To introduce this and produce awareness I begin for this line of exercise with a series of static movement. I move to a very easy garland exercise to watch for movements and quality of releasing and engaging.

After a quality level of movement is accomplished by the group and the movements are satisfactory and the skiers become aware of their movements from the bottom of the chain, not from the legs steering or rotating, almost immediately, they gain control of their skis and of their movements.

It is for this reason we are having success with PMTS. How do we do it?
? We give people what they want.
? How do we know what they want?
? We ask them.
? We use old methods that work; we use new methods that work.
? We combine it in a way so that it is individual to each skier.
? We are dedicated to producing the best ski instruction ever seen.
? And we are doing it, how do we know? Our customers tell us.
? We have more customers every year and they tell others.




Diana and I are very pleased, we are also very thankful to our friends, customers and coaches and our new shop manager for making this all possible.
"Maximum Skiing information, Minimum BS
Harald
 
Posts: 1181
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:36 pm
Location: Dumont

Postby Ken » Sun Jan 23, 2005 9:30 pm

Time permitting, I hope you're able to have someone update the Harb Ski Systems web site with all the new PMTS ski schools, independent instructiors, and boot fitters.


Ken
Rooster today
Feather duster tomorrow

VIDEO OF NOT ME
Ken
 
Posts: 784
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:23 pm
Location: Washington, the state


Return to Primary Movements Teaching System

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 48 guests

cron