Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

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Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby Solo » Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:45 pm

Although it would be very familiar to most of the members of this forum, I still want to say my big "thank you" to Harald Harb and his PMTS system.

When I was a kid, I was practicing Nordic skis, skating style. (That's probably why I have this BTE lock)
But I was wondering what it would be like to go downhill from big slopes.
With a school friend we were reading the Joubert's book, but of cause little did we know.

Later on, when I finally started Alpine skiing, after some fast initial progress and fun, I was very confused and frustrated.
Unconnected pieces of information were not making too much sense, and the famous Ron LeMaster's book added even more confusion.
As I started on some second-(or third?)-hand straight (but soft) Head RS combination skis, I was mainly skidding and stemming and rotating like mad. At the same time I was always trying to counter-balance and counter-rotate, which seemed to me natural enough. The boots were some old Lange ZR or something, stiff as hell, but there was a direct connection to the skis, unlike those rental boots with 50 flex index.

As I was playing tennis as well, I was thinking about the "efficient" and "elegant" way to ski, and not to fight the skis or terrain.
At some point in time I got myself a pair of shaped Volkl 320 skis, and something started to tick in my head, that now it is possible to turn
by just putting the skis on edge and let them flow... But I had no idea how to do it correctly, and there were too many contradictions in the "bag of tricks", no system. As it was pointed out numerous times in this forum (I am still on page 3 and working my way through), I am more of a thinker, than a copier, so having a good explanation is better for me. Ideally one should have all three: explanation, display and feedback from the instructor.

Low and behold, few weeks ago I was directed to a YouTube video of a certain Harald Harb explaining how to put the ski boots.
I have to say that I was always struggling while putting on my Lange WC120 boots, but as they seemed to fit nicely my narrow leg,
I could stay the whole day in them without problems.

I was shocked by the video, that the way I was putting my boots was completely wrong! And the way the should be put on was extremely easy,
once correctly explained. Of cause I was just stupidly pulling the cuff in front...

Low and behold, I started to look around for more videos from Harald, and finally discovered the Site, the Blog and the Forum.
Ordered the #1 book. Read it. And the puzzle started to assemble! Finally I had a book which was a first part of a clear and concrete system,
with detailed explanations, pictures, drills, etc. And most of my skiing problems started to make sense to me.

I have the usual list of bad habits/deficiencies:
- little or no tipping of inside/free foot
- little or no flexing
- too extended stance foot and A-frame
- release through leg extension and not by flexing
- back-seat riding due to the lack of flexing of the feet under the hips
- swinging pole plants
- no effective speed control
- bump hate
- etc, etc.

But now I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the fun of the modern skiing.
Ordered other books and videos.
Made myself a slant board and started practicing.
Instead of going fast and "useless" around the slopes, started to practice tipping and Phantom move on greens/blues.
Joined the forum.
Removed the forward lean shims from the back of the boots to have more upright leg position.
Need to make a video for MA.

For the time being I have to stick to my present gear, Elan Amphibio WaveFlex 12 and Lange WC120s,
knowing that it might not be the best combination for PMTS.
Maybe I will change them to Head skis and Head boots, but cannot do it right now financially.

As far as I can tell there are no PMTS instructors/camps in France, but the Hintertux is not to far away.
But maybe there are some PMTS skiers around the French Alps, Geneva region?

So, thank you so much again Harald, that you are showing the occasional recreational skiers the way out of confusion and dead-end habits!

And now back to the slant board, books and drills, and some fun on the slopes :)
Oleg.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby MonsterMan » Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:14 pm

You do know there is poison in the Koolaid Oleg?


Welcome.

Advice: sell the wife/girfriend/boyfriend and get to Hintertux this year. It will save you a year.
"Someone once said to me that for us to beat the Europeans at winter sports was like Austria tackling us at Test cricket. I reckon it's an accurate judgement." Malcolm Milne
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby ToddW » Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:52 pm

Oleg,

As MonsterMan said, don't waste time. You'll regret it later. Here are your two European sources for hard-core PMTS exposure:

Jasper Heinsius of Portes Du Ski in the Netherlands ( http://www.portesduski.nl/ and http://pmts.nl/ ) sometimes teaches ski weeks in the French Alps. He is a strong PMTS skier and has coached at the Hintertux camp before. His contact info is on his web pages.

The Hintertux Harb Ski Systems camp is great fun if the dates and price work for you. You can register at http://harbski.com/ (I'm travelling to 'Tux from the US in April for the 3rd time because I like this camp so much.)

Too bad you fell for the poison. The best antidote is even more PMTS.

Todd
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby h.harb » Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:00 pm

Thank you for posting your story. This is what we have been trying to do, show people there is a way to skiing that works. I really appreciate this communication, it demonstrates we are out there and PMTS is working.
Today my You tube videos reached over 1 million views. I never thought that would happen. In 5 years we might be at 5 million.
Thanks, Todd, Geoff and Oleg, you made my day.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby Solo » Fri Mar 01, 2013 3:26 pm

Yes, thank you all again!

Well, I know, the sooner I visit the camp the better, but just simply cannot afford it this year.
From the description on the site it looks like Hintertux camp is for more "experienced with PMTS" skiers, not for PMTS beginners like me.
Correct me if I am wrong.

I'll try the self-education approach first, even if it is not 100% effective.

And I hope that PMTS virus is of the same addiction quality as Alfa Romeo or Ducati virus :)

Have a good skiing weekend!
Oleg.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby MonsterMan » Fri Mar 01, 2013 5:03 pm

Some of us are also Alfisti!
"Someone once said to me that for us to beat the Europeans at winter sports was like Austria tackling us at Test cricket. I reckon it's an accurate judgement." Malcolm Milne
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby jclayton » Sat Mar 02, 2013 5:45 pm

You surprise me Monster , I thought you were into " Cubic Inches " .
skinut ,among other things
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby h.harb » Sat Mar 02, 2013 6:29 pm

If it's Italian, it's got to be Monster, Ducati.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby Solo » Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:39 pm

MonsterMan wrote:Some of us are also Alfisti!

Yes, and Australians made the Giocattolo...

As for Ducati, I don't ride motorcycles, just was impressed years ago by some guy who was selling his Ducati,
and he wrote in his message, that "the bike is in good condition, but there is catch: you will not want to ride any other bike but Ducati" :)

Anyway, enough offtopic.

Today I confirmed for myself yet another time that talking and understanding is not yet actually doing,
and that doing correctly the PMTS movements takes time.
But hey, I still have time until they give me the free ski-pass on French slopes at 76 :)

Have a good snow,
Oleg.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby MonsterMan » Sun Mar 03, 2013 4:15 pm

I had a drive in a Giocattolo about ten years ago. What a beast!

But I still love my 2l Alfetta GTV.
"Someone once said to me that for us to beat the Europeans at winter sports was like Austria tackling us at Test cricket. I reckon it's an accurate judgement." Malcolm Milne
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby blackthorn » Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:50 pm

This is my first post. (ever on any forum.)

I am planning to put up some video for MA soon, but rather than clutter that thread I felt I should start here.

Firstly I would like to acknowledge Harald and Diana. Thankyou both. Next - Jay Peterson, video at his website showing Lake Wanaka brings locality for me living in New Zealand. And then for the regulars who post on PMTS forum giving their time for analysis of videos etc. I won't name names as I would likely miss someone out but you know who you are. Thankyou all.

I am Harald's age, a keen recreational skier, 8-10 days a year. I thought that if I just got a bit fitter and
stronger my skiing would improve, but I now realise all it did was enable me to ski the same just for a bit longer. None of the old problems changed.
I am an old edgeset, rise, and swivel skier from the 70s, and very aware of it. I can carve on easy slopes. I saw some of HH's videos on the net and liked what I saw. I have purchased ACBAES 1 and 2, pus videos, and Performance Free Skiing video. The Phantom turn was a revelation, and then the rest. So now I am hooked.

I can do most of the drills reasonably well on easy slopes except "white pass" turns and I think this is very telling.

I think that I mainly have to reprogramme my skiing technique, plus improve my skills. So I plan to start again at the beginning - Book 1, Book 2, Essentials ( when will this be an e-book? )

So for the kiwi summer it's slant boards and dryland exercises, and wait for winter.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby skijim13 » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:02 am

Blackthorn, I suggest you purchase the essentials book and videos, there are many details you will miss without them. A key essential that needs to be developed is tipping, without this skill none of the other parts of your skiing will work well. I learned to ski using TTS movements where tipping was an not an important skill it, it has taken both wife and I a long time to develop this skill. One of the things we realized while working on our PMTS skills was that we needed to improve our balance and flexibility of our upper and lower body. We now have added additional flexibility and balance training to our daily workout. Harald has a great book called “Ski Flex” on this topic.
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby Max_501 » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:49 am

skijim13 wrote:A key essential that needs to be developed is tipping, without this skill none of the other parts of your skiing will work well.


If the reader is verifying results and doing the drills then they should have developed good tipping skills by the end of book 1. Essentials is terrific but it assumes you have already mastered balancing over the stance foot covered in the earlier books.

In fact, book 1 starts with a detailed tipping progression (see Pages 15 - 23)!
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Re: Yet another "thank you" to Harald Harb

Postby blackthorn » Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:38 am

Thanks for these replies. I will indeed purchase what has been suggested. I had
planned to post video but I don't think it will help much. I suspect at this point it is all up to me and there will be no short cuts. Start back at the beginning, and rebuild/reprogramme/upskill.

Having done off season preparation, I plan to spend my first days this season back on the flat slopes doing this. I will avoid free skiing for a while while I try and extinguish old habits as much as possible. I will then try and spend the first part of my skiing days practising before heading back off into areas I enjoy most - steep(ish) crud, - if only it was powder more often.

To a certain extent, the way my video shows my skiing, is very similar to the way it feels to me when I am doing it. This is reassurng as I think I will be able to sense when things change, but I am aware there are traps in this. People of my boomer generation don't spend their time taking videos of each other. Maybe an occasional lesson might help - but then, that's another story!
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