2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby skifastDDS » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:37 am

After spending a lot of time on the tipping board this fall, I was able to maximize my time on snow this year. Areas of focus were stance ski balance in the high-C, concomitant LTE tipping and flexing, and NO PUSHING.

For optimal viewing, the full video file can be downloaded from here (340 MB):
https://xfiles.uth.tmc.edu/xythoswfs/we ... t_Q7s9MvK6

Youtube and vimeo totally ruin the frame rate for some reason.



Some Snowbird pictures:
https://plus.google.com/photos/10362758 ... 8zR-q337QE

Last year's thread is available here for comparison:
http://pmts.org/pmtsforum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3698


Just like dental school, I will submit a self-evaluation:

Is the stance width appropriate for the size of the skier? Yes
Does the release start by flexing the outside leg? Yes
Is there a transfer to the LTE? Yes
Does LTE tipping lead engagement to the new turn? Could be better but usually.
Is there a point in the transition where both legs are flexed equally? Yes
Are the feet pulled back at transition? Yes
Is the inside foot held back throughout the turn? Could be better.
Is there enough CB and CA and is the timing right? Need more of both.
Is the pelvis included in the CB/CA movement Inside hip higher? Improving but could be better.
Strong inside arm, pole tip moving forward? Yes
Is the inside leg flexing and tipping as the turn progresses? Yes
Does the outside leg extend naturally (no pushing) as the turn progresses? Yes
Does LTE tipping of the inside foot continue throughout the turn? Most of the time
Does the weight shift go to the LTE during transition? I don't understand this
Is the skier balanced over the outside ski? Yes
Is there a pole touch and how is the movement and timing? Undisciplined
Is the pole touch a no swing? Mostly
Alignment - watch the skis and knees carefully - does anything look like it needs go be tipped in or out? No idea
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
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Re: 2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby Max_501 » Fri Mar 29, 2013 1:19 pm

You've come a long way in a short period of time. Truly impressive.

Both turns:

Nice flex to release.

Tipping: Inside ski tipping needs improvement. Tip the inside ski early and more, more, more during the turn. Tip only, do not turn or twist the inside ski. Caution - you have a tendency towards BTE dominance so focus needs to be on LTE tipping rather than BTE.

Balance on the outside ski is often challenged due to lack of inside foot management.

Fore/aft is often challenged due to lack of inside ski management. To improve pull the feet back harder at release. Hold the free foot back and against the stance foot through the turn.

Stance width is often too wide.

A great drill that will help improve all of the areas mentioned above is the Super phantom with touch-tilt:

As in a regular super phantom, transfer balance to LTE of the uphill ski. Then, touch the inside edge of the lifted, dowhnill ski to the inside ankle rivet of the stance boot ("arch touches ankle"). Keep it touching while tipping the free foot further toward its LTE. Don't let that free foot touch the snow until the very end of the turn. VERY IMPORTANT STEP! At the end of the turn, when the free foot touches the snow on its LTE, immediately pick up the new free foot, and touch-tilt the new stance boot.

When learning, you can begin with keeping the tip of the free ski on the snow, but the goal is to keep the whole ski lifted throughout the turn which is a true test of the skier's ability to balance on the outside ski.

Reread the Free Foot Management section of Book 2. Start with the Pole Press drill (pages 68 - 69 of book 2) so you have a good understanding of the muscular effort needed to hold the free foot against the stance boot.

Angles: you are pushing for angles rather than allowing angles to develop naturally from the Essentials. I'd guess some of this is from chasing Heluva around and trying to match him. When you push for angles the hip will end up leading the feet and/or you end up BTE dominant. To improve focus on tipping the inside foot (and flexing the inside leg) to increase angles

Left Turn (right foot is the outside): CA/CB looking good. To improve drive your inside hand forward and up after the pole touch. Work on lifting the inside hip a bit more during CB.

Right turn (left foot is the outside): CA/CB needs improvement. Work on connecting the pelvis with the upper body and drive your inside hand forward and up after the pole touch. To improve start with angry mother, boot touch, and NSPP drills.
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Re: 2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby h.harb » Fri Mar 29, 2013 3:04 pm

Stance width is often too wide.
Yes, too wide almost all the time. Tuck your inside boot under the outside boot, look at the Hirscher photos. Good MA by Max. Take it to heart, do the drills, it's the fastest way to improve.
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Re: 2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby HeluvaSkier » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:15 pm

This was the MA that I emailed to SkiFastDDS last night - posted with his consent. As many may know or not know, SkiFast recently spent 3 days skiing with me at Holimont. He is a pretty dedicated PMTS student, and his skiing is coming along very nicely - especially considering that he only gets about 10 days on snow a season.

Your comments are in blue. Questions in red. My comments in black.

Is the stance width appropriate for the size of the skier? Yes. Not often. I think you could do with a strong focus on holding the free foot against the stance leg in order to promote stance ski balance. You still rely on the inside ski a lot, and this lack of discipline destroys your skiing. You should be able to ski balanced with your legs nearly pinned together through the entire turn. Once you can do that, you can move to something more practical, but this is the first piece of forcing stance ski balance. That discipline is critical. Work on the javelin and phantom turns that we practiced. I’d advise getting onto inline skates or hockey skates to develop the balance that you need. Harb carvers and a parking ramp would be another great option as well.

Does the release start by flexing the outside leg? Yes. This is probably your strongest movement – so strong that you need to do less of it. You will always have the RoM that you have now – what you’re lacking is when to use it and to what degree to use it. This takes a lot of practice on FEEL for how the skis are releasing. It does not take much flexing to bring the skis flat. The rest of the flexing RoM is used to absorb the direction/momentum change and rebound.

Is there a transfer to the LTE? Yes. Not really. As we have pointed out before, your free foot goes flat at the bottom of your turns because you’re not balanced well on your stance ski. If this is happening, you cannot really transfer to the LTE. To get a sense of what this feels like you should practice brushed and edge locked weighted releases as done in the Performance Free Skiing DVD.

Does LTE tipping lead engagement to the new turn? Could be better but usually. I think your assessment here is reasonable. Where your LTE tipping breaks down is pre-apex and on steep terrain. On the pitch on the race hill you were relying on dropping the hip in to create your angles quickly. Once you hit the flat you start using tipping but you tend to tip just so far, and then dump onto the inside ski. This all translates back to the stance ski balance issues that we have discussed at length.

Is there a point in the transition where both legs are flexed equally? Yes. Not much to add here except that you can back off flexing a lot. You’ve got that RoM established pretty well.

Are the feet pulled back at transition? Yes. No. Due to over-flexing you’re losing access to the front of the ski. I haven’t worked a lot of fore/aft with you yet, and it has been deliberate, however as you introduce less flexing, you will need to start focusing more on this.

Is the inside foot held back throughout the turn? Could be better. Not really. As soon as you dump weight onto the inside ski, in flattens, and shoots forward. For parts of the turn, sure you’re holding the foot back, but at other parts of the turn it is very undisciplined. Again, if you aren’t balanced on the stance ski, you cannot answer yes to this.

Is there enough CB and CA and is the timing right? Need more of both. Your assessment is correct. I would caution you here to not hip dump into your CA and CB (you have hints of that in your skiing). Counter BALANCE is the movement I would stress here. Why? One, yours is weak at times, but more important – It implies that balance must exist before you have something to counter. Counter ACTING is the countering of the action of the skis where balance is a preexisting condition.

Is the pelvis included in the CB/CA movement Inside hip higher? Improving but could be better. Again, see above.

Strong inside arm, pole tip moving forward? Yes. Sort-of. Your inside arm is usually held high, but sometimes rotates behind you in the bottom of the turn. The basket of the pole is not rotated forward and the inside half is not always moving forward. I would not make this a primary area of focus at this point, although it will eventually block further progress.

Is the inside leg flexing and tipping as the turn progresses? Yes. No. As noted above the inside ski stops tipping as you lose balance mid-way through the turn. It cannot keep tipping if you aren’t balanced on the BTE… no BTE balance, no LTE tipping.

Does the outside leg extend naturally (no pushing) as the turn progresses? Yes. Sometimes. When you don’t force your turns, your assessment is correct. When you do force your turns, there is A LOT of pushing. It is one thing to use the forces of the turn to push against the ski/snow, it is quite another to use your muscular strength to push against the ski. You use more of the latter in your skiing, and less of the former due to issues you experience with the BTE.

Does LTE tipping of the inside foot continue throughout the turn? Most of the time. No. See comments made above.

Does the weight shift go to the LTE during transition? I don't understand this. No. Go back to the weighted carved/brushed releases. There is a distinct transfer of balance to the LTE just before the new stance ski is rolled to the BTE. If you don’t feel it, you’re doing it wrong. This is not a requirement of every turn, but is definitely something that you should demonstrate in some turns as it is necessary. You do not demonstrate this.

Is the skier balanced over the outside ski? Yes. No.

Is there a pole touch and how is the movement and timing? Undisciplined. Good enough for now.

Is the pole touch a no swing? Mostly. I’m satisfied with the arm/hand/pole movement for now.

Alignment - watch the skis and knees carefully - does anything look like it needs to be tipped in or out? No idea. I have not ruled out alignment issues yet. I haven’t spent a lot of time nit picking it yet, but I is possible that some [note, some, not all] of your balance issues are in fact related to alignment issues or the toe out stance of your boots. If the opportunity ever presents itself I would buy a traditional set of boots and set them up properly.

My overall assessment is that you are extremely aggressive and athletic on your skis – something common for those with a racing background, but your skiing is still based on the execution of movements. Those movements are not complete, nor are they linked together into a full package yet – meaning you do not flow seamlessly from one movement to another. Movements are executed individually and mechanically, without a lot of regard or consideration for why they are executed – meaning you’re skipping some of the most critical pieces in order to show quick improvement.

This is where I go all the way back to stance ski balance that comes out of the beginner PMTS progressions. This will teach you a high level of balance and you will learn to not execute a turn without establishing it first. Right now you are executing your turns without ever establishing it. You’re trying to execute movements at a high level without the most critical piece of the puzzle in place. It is like trying to build a high rise building on a swamp instead of bedrock. The building will topple without a sturdy foundation. With your current ability, if you were establish stance ski balance, your level of skiing would sky rocket.

That should be enough to get you started.
Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.

www.youtube.com/c/heluvaskier
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Re: 2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby skifastDDS » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:19 pm

Thanks everyone for the analysis and reality check. This gives me a clear picture of what needs fixing in my skiing and how to get there. As always, "maximum ski information, minimum BS."
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
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Re: 2013 Carving Compilation - SL and GS

Postby Matt » Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:56 am

Impressive development with the small amount of skiing.

To me it seems that you are flexing too much for the amount of rebound you generate out of the skis.
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