MA request for mborsik

MA request for mborsik

Postby mborsik » Wed May 28, 2014 3:57 am

Hi,

I've been a reader of this forum since the start of last season, but this is my first post. I've had a skiing past of over 20 years, but only averaged 7-8 days a season. Started of course with TTS when I was 6-8 years old, but never received instruction later on. Managed to to get to a pretty reasonable level with traditional straight skis though, of course with the usual extension technique however. Then came the carving revolution, und my underlying weaknesses have showed themselves. Anyway, I was looking for a way for self-improvement and stumbled upon Harb's videos and blog, and this forum. I haven't yet purchased the dvds and the books as I was already well into the season (I live in Vienna, Austria now, so I manage to bring around 12-14 days together for a season), but I tried to collect as much information as I could from the forums. Anyway, long story short, here's a short video from me. It's on the men's superG/downhill WC course from Schladming, this section is average steep:



Boots are Head Worldcup RS110, the skis are 160cm Atomic Race SL, 2008 model if I remember correctly.

I leave the analysis to you there are obviously a room for improvement in a lot of areas. I only have one question in advance: can you see a potential problem with my alignment? I feel like I'm having a hard time with inside foot tipping, especially if I don't do a lot of CA. On less steeper terrain I feel like I can make a better CA job which then results in better edge grip and sharper turns, but as the terrain gets steeper, I tend to get out of balance. Also, I was having a very hard time to reproduce Harb's demonstration on flat terrain to achieve an intentional O-Shape at the initiation of the turns. I speak about the drill from 2:42 in this video:



Thank you for your kind responses and analysis, hope you're having a nice time during off-season!
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Re: MA request for mborsik

Postby Max_501 » Thu May 29, 2014 1:00 pm

Max_501 wrote:I've noticed a trend where skiers are working on carving before they have mastered inside foot management. This leads to a variety of symptoms that all relate back to the lack of inside foot management.

Work on 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.

Read the Free Foot Management section of Book 2 to be sure you know what to look for when working on this. 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.
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Re: MA request for mborsik

Postby theorist » Fri Dec 12, 2014 1:56 pm

I'm trying to practice my MA, so you're my next guinea pig :). [I.e., I'm not a PMTS expert, so take this FWIW.]

You seem to be falling to the inside at the end of most of your turns. To catch yourself, you're widening your stance (moving your inside ski so it's more underneath you) at that point in your turns, which puts you into the transition in a wide stance, which makes it harder to tip to initiate the next turn. The reason you're falling to the inside is insufficient CB (as well as CA). To correct this, I'd strongly recommend the hip-o-meter drill, as well the angry mother drill.

Once you get the balance sorted out, it will become easier to incorporate progressive tipping into your freeskiing. In the meantime, you can do tipping drills, such as the Super Phantom Max recommended, using less angulation, so that your balance won't be challenged and you can focus on doing the drill correctly.

Finally, I notice you're working very hard on flexing to release at the transition, and it seems you've succeeded at achieving this. But you may be working so intently on this that it's pulled your focus away from other key movements.

I hope this is helpful (more importantly, I hope it's correct).
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Re: MA request for mborsik

Postby DougD » Fri Dec 12, 2014 3:09 pm

As this was the OP's only post, it seems unlikely that he returned to the forum or followed any of Max's advice - if he read it at all. So this MA is strictly for a theorist! :wink:

For an MA, I'd just refer him to Max's post, which focused on the SMIM. I'd only add the following:
    1. The OP should buy and use ACBAES1&2, both book and DVD. Trying to learn PMTS from forum posts and random videos is like trying learn to swim like Michael Phelps by watching reruns of 'Flipper'. :lol:
    2. After mastering Book1, if the OP is unable to transition onto the LTE and link complete Super Phantoms (as recommended by Max) then an alignment issue is likely.
As Max noted, trying to carve before he masters basic tipping skills has already left gaps in his technique. Adding CA, CB and related, higher level drills before addressing a more basic level SMIM risks doing more of the same.
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Re: MA request for mborsik

Postby mborsik » Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:38 am

I'm still here indeed, thanks for all the advices. I'll educate myself further about what's been said here, and get back to you if I have specific questions. Also, I'll probably order the books:)
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Re: MA request for mborsik

Postby h.harb » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:03 pm

A true command of the sport of skiing involves the ability to perform balance turns and lay-over side cut turns. The side cut turns are useful on groomers and race courses. Balance turns are required for all mountain skiing, like bumps, powder, steeps and crud. Same movements, but different emphasis on the Essentials. More tipping in the Balance Turns and can be done with less speed, like a Bullet Proof short turn.
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