What was your "break-through" this year?

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What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby arothafel » Wed Apr 01, 2015 1:39 pm

Seems every year some PMTS devotees experience a major break-through in their skiing. An "ah-ha" moment!

Did you have one this year? And, if so, what was it?
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby HeluvaSkier » Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:54 pm

Heh. If-only. I could use a do-over.
Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.

www.youtube.com/c/heluvaskier
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby Basil j » Thu Apr 02, 2015 5:46 am

I feel like I had 3 big improvements this year even though my on snow days were much lower than a typical year. The biggest improvements I made were:
1. Eliminating a slight push I had at the end of every turn. I did not realize I had this little default move till I went out with a coach several times this year who understood my PMTS goals and worked with me on eliminating it. Probably from my hockey days, but that little edge set was probably subconsciously a safety move that had become so ingrained in my skiing that I did not ever realize I was doing. By focusing on the super phantom movement at the beginning of each turn and a continuous flow at the RTE at the end of the turn, I eliminated the slight edge set and hitch at the end of each turn. I feel like I am doing a lot less and achieving much better angles, speed control and balance now. My tracks are much cleaner, my balance is improved and I can manipulate weight distribution better as well.
2. Really getting low in the transition and using deep flexing to release edges. Especially at higher speeds,. I always thought I began my turns with a good amount of inside foot tipping, but again working with a coach, he showed me that I could get much lower with better knee flexing at the release, which led to much easier and aggressive inside foot tipping. Getting a deep flex, almost like sucking my knees up to absorb an invisible mogul and aggressively tipping to start the turn makes the turns feel like I am swooping from turn to turn, again with minimal effort. Using edge angles vs edge setting to control speed opened up a whole new world to me.
3. Pole plant/ hand management. I try visualize that I am holding the handle bars on a mountain bike which has helped me reduce the amount of pole swing and also helps keep my body facing down the hill. I actually try to imitate Helluva's hand positions, because he has very still hands, yet maintains a nice aggressive posture.

End result: I feel like I still have a long way to go but, my skiing has become much more relaxed,much smoother and I can feel when I am reverting back to some bad habits and can now immediately correct. My upper body is a lot stiller now.Next season I am going to try to get to a camp. My ski friends have all noticed a huge overall improvement in my skiing and I feel much more in command on the snow now. Unfortunately because it has been so cold this winter, I could never get any decent video to submit, which I am desperate to do so I can get some feedback form this forum. I deliberately avoided bump & tree skiing the last 5 days out this year so I could really focus on the 3 areas I discussed and it has made a big difference. By not putting myself in any situations where I felt out of control, I minimized the amount of times I reverted back to old default movements and I feel that it helped accelerate the learning process. I spent as much time unlearning as I did adopting new movements.
My last day was Tuesday so I will have to wait till next season.

This forum has been awesome and a great resource and I want to thank all the regulars who post here.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby Bolter » Thu Apr 02, 2015 6:06 am

Although not a moment, attending Tech Camp transformed the entire season: Coaches training, the balanced turn emphasis, DRILLS and focused skiing- no "free" runs.

The e-videos played a big part in coaches training.
Last edited by Bolter on Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby DougD » Thu Apr 02, 2015 7:43 am

Having my boots (well, my R boot) aligned by Diana.

35 years ago I over-stressed my R knee bicycling above my fitness/training/knowledge level. Since then, when skiing challenging terrain, I hesitated before committing to a new L turn because I didn't quite trust that knee. On ice my R ski chattered more than my L. My R hand tended to drop while my L never did. I had trouble making certain PMTS movements when the R leg was the stance leg. Skiing in heavy snow could cause R knee pain if it experienced any twisting. I suppose this encouraged learning to turn without rotation, but it was still pain.

Dumont CO - February 2015 - 45 minutes of in-shop evaluation - one shim - on snow evaluation over the next week.

All the R knee symptoms disappeared INSTANTLY. The instability vanished. I felt this immediately in the shop. The ski chatter is gone. The pain is gone. Even the hesitation at the top of a scary L turn is gone. I now make PMTS movements equally badly on both sides, as confirmed by Diana and HH on snow. :P

I'd been alignment checked by a dozen bootfitters over the years. Several knew about the R knee problem. None of them came close to understanding my feet, legs, movements and true alignment needs. One visit to the HSS shop was all it took.

As to my skiing... as I'm new to PMTS, let's say it's a work in progress. :oops:
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby BigE » Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:17 pm

At least when I focus on stuff:

1) It's all about balance: Better Balancing. Trusting my ability to balance. Learning that being FAT is not good for balancing.
2) CA and the miracle of unwinding.
3) Free foot management. ( See 1 )
4) Flexing, with no fake phantom.
5) Relaxing the hips to allow balance....

It all boils down to a way better short turn. I hope video is as good as I think..... going to try to get some this weekend.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby emakarios » Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:33 am

Agree with Bolter's assessment (we were in the same group at Tech Camp).
Also benefitted greatly as a coach and instructor by studying all of the new E-videos, another season of coaching ages 6-8 year old race kids, coaching one of the Welch PMTs camps and teaching 12-15 direct to parallel beginner lessons to small groups over the season. Also got to shadow the first PMTS race accreditation.
Skiing wise, still working on symmetry left and right and all of the PMTS basics: I noticed when I got on some really hard snow at A Basin last week that I tended to lose grip on my outside ski on steep terrain. Harald's advice was to flex out of the turn and flex into the turn(while tipping). That advice was spot on!
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby JohnMoore » Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:32 pm

There's one simple, apparently minor change I made at the beginning of my last skiing day of the season last week, after noticing something odd in photos of myself taken while skiing, and observing other good skiers about the resort, which had such a significant effect that I'm kicking myself I didn't do it earlier. I lowered my hands. I was in the habit of holding my hands quite high in front of me, which looked a bit strange in photos, as I mentioned. So I tried skiing with them held much lower (but no lower than where HH, say, would have them). To my surprise, this seems to have considerably improved a long-standing problem with fore-aft balance, such that I no longer find myself struggling to stay centred over my skis (I always had the feeling of being slightly aft). This has immediately manifested itself in rather greater control on steeper slopes. Bizarre that the effect of this should have been so great. Of course, this is just the kind of thing that Harald or Diana would have immediately pointed out to me if I'd gone to one of the camps...
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby blackthorn » Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:44 pm

I have always skied with a narrow stance, and frequently told to widen it! I cut the inside of my skiboots and skipants a lot.
I do find sometimes I 'trip' over my skis. I had been putting this down to A-framing, but at times had been reasonably certain that my release had been OK.
The concept of FFM - free foot management - has just become a "lightbulb" for me, and I am working on it.
I now also understand that there are a number of reasons for A-framing - poor alignment, release problems, FFM problems, and at times a brief A-frame is quite acceptable eg GS racing in some circumstances. -?are there any others.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby sujo » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:48 pm

Riding the uphill little toe edge for about one ski length really improved my Phantom Move. This along with flexing the inside knee with tipping and inside boot pull back really helped making quick carved turns and speed control.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby Matt » Wed May 06, 2015 4:49 am

My biggest break through this year was realizing that becoming a supple leopard makes a huge difference in technique and necessary alignment. http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-Preventing-Performance/dp/1936608588
I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it every day.

Stiff hips or ankles anyone?
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby skijim13 » Wed May 06, 2015 6:21 am

Developing LTE balance, and flexing into turns and removing the old TSS popup. Next season and this summer further develop my balance, and improve timing for CA/CB and flexing moves on tipping board.
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Re: What was your "break-through" this year?

Postby acali » Sat May 09, 2015 8:20 am

Instead of tipping until the halfway point and trying to hold my tipping there, I've been gently increasing tipping throughout the whole turn. Even when it feels like you are not getting higher angles past the halfway point I have to keep progressively increase tipping all the way.
Works wonders.

Also I've been reaping the rewards of pmts as they apply to mountain biking. Lots of things have transfered. Relaxation, leading and tipping with your feet, ca/cb, flexing, vision practice, fore aft. Some of the timing is a little different but much of the core movements transfer. Its a fabulously fun counterpart to skiing
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