A thread for all MA

A thread for all MA

Postby h.harb » Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:10 am

Alex said:I didn't get any particular advice on a SMIM (or maybe I just didn't listen carefully enough?).


This is a reoccurring theme with some skiers. Our coaches are trained to ask each student what they are working on or are focused on before they ski on almost every run. Sometimes I am surprised when I ask a student and he doesn't know, which is often right after I showed them how and what to do. I've learned that some people take numerous days or even camps before they begin to process movements. It's like the brain takes a long time to interpret skiing, even when the movements are broken into small pieces. With PMTS it is so easy to isolate every movement. Part of the reason some people take longer to pick up on movements is they have never before thought about how they ski or they don't know what they actually do to ski. And that can be a good thing, they don't have to spend as much time unlearning.

I can't fathom how a slower interpretation learner could possibly work with TT, I can't even figure out how that's supposed to work.

When I ask my students what their one focus is for a run they give me a verbal response first and a stationary movement response via a demonstration back. I often get a verbal response like "Oh, I'm working on CA or releasing." for example, as an answer. I don't let that fly. Those are just catch-all terms, not movements.

I then ask, "What are you going to do with your body, what body part are you going to move first to achieve CA." Sometimes as a teacher I feel like a prosecuting attorney. As a teacher, you have to dig deep to get to the root of understanding. If you don't go through the steps, the student can go a long time without really understanding the skiing changes needed. And you as a teacher don't realize that's why the student isn't making progress.

However, even if it's sometimes tedious, this process will give students a much clearer understanding of their way to ski and move on skis, which will shortcut the learning time because you eliminate any confusion. In your mind and brain, you must absolutely be certain and precise about the exact movements the body should be making, you won't get the results you are after without it.

In a way that's why I don't let people get away with the pat answer, "I guess I just don't have it in my muscle memory".

That answer is a generalized mild excuse for not working out the movements for yourself in your own mind. Muscles don't have memory, scientists have yet to find brain cells in muscles. Everything starts with your thinking and what is in your brain.

My major job as a ski teacher isn't to teach skiing, it's to teach people how to learn. There are people who already know how to learn, I can identify them in the first few runs. They are focused and they watch the others in the group and study how and why they are being coached. If you can do that, it's a very powerful way to accelerate your learning. Every time you see your fellow student making a change, it's as if you get a bonus for your own learning. Especially if you paid attention to their movement instruction and feedback from the coach. If you do this you see the changes right before your eyes. And you see what works so you can use it in your own skiing.

PMTS camps offer so much more than just ski instruction, it's an education in learning you can apply to life.
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