piggyslayer wrote:Lisa, BigE,
I have posted some comments about energy leak thread on the "Harb Carving is like Snowboarding" thread. I apologize for that again. I should not have commented Epic discussion on non-epic forum.
But since you are here, just my curiosity, can you tell me why nobody in the whole thread even mentioned things like:
1. Ski with your feet
2. Do not ski with large muscles.
3. Use LTE tipping to control turns with minimum impact on kinetic chain
4. Relax leg/hip muscles when tipping
5. Use narrow stance
These are all obvious energy savers.
This stupid forum software! I wrote a HUGE response to this and was told INVALID SESSION and LOST ALL THE CONTENT! Boy am I pissed!
The short and skinny:
I was focussed on levels 1 and 2 of the pyramid Lisa posted. (4) comes close. Relaxed leg/hip/torso is the best way to ski. Period. There is an uncertainty principle involved -- the more forcefully you hold your center of mass still, the less you are sure of it's location. Why? Feedback.
You will get more feedback from a supple body than a stiff one. I used tossing an apple from hand to hand to vs holding it stock still in one hand to guess it's weight as an example. You use more semi-rigid muscles to weigh the apple when tossing it back and forth, so you have more feedback sources.
Similarly, if you hold your center of mass stock still, you won't know exactly where it is, consequently, your body will not know early enough which way to move it. Result: energy leak.
You need to remain relaxed and supple -- just between concentric and eccentric contraction. That's the point between the muscle contracting and lengthening. This is the best balance point, and you can only really develop functional power if you are well balanced.
Stance width varies. It's pretty much set once you are properly canted/aligned. I still have not seen a definition, except that in general, too narrow is boots touching -- although mine often do touch in the moguls.....
Skiing with large muscles vs. small ones has many causes, including technique, fear ( psychological and touched on ), even too stiff boots. No new level 1/2 things here.
IMO, skiing with the feet is a given.
Also, IMO, the bulk of energy is leaked at turn completion/transition, by holding the edge too long, and/or making a slow transition. Not being able to make a quick transition usually means lack of agility/coordination or simple laziness -- all of which are lower in the pyramid.
So, must I tip LTE not to leak energy? I say no. Tipping LTE is but one way to get the body properly organized in the turn over the skis. I'm sure the debate of cross-over vs cross-under would be similar, but ultimately, IMO, ALL these issues wrt energy leaks boil down to level 1 and 2 items -- agility/balance/coordination/flexibility/strength/confidence.
Hope this helps!
Cheers