by h.harb » Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:46 pm
Controlling the arc and shape in a brushed carve, requires a high degree of tipping control, especially after foot tipping range is used up and the hip begins to fall more inside. Lateral balance, with lateral ankle pressure control is the key. The side of the ankle against the side of the boot is the movement that gives tipping the fine tuning needed for this event. In PMTS we talk often about ankle side loading to the boot. This enhances the tipping control and holds the ski on edge as needed when flexing the legs. Not all flexing is a used to release.
Flexing can be used to take slight pressure off the skis, so that tipping can be increased near the bottom of the radius. As we all know in bump skiing we often need to flex the legs without releasing an edge. If the legs are bending or flexing the only way to keep the edges engaged (hold edge angles) is to keep the ankles and feet tipped and engaged against the side of the boot.
It is for this reason we (at Harb Ski Systems) are so involved in developing footbeds that allow ankle articulation. Rigid footbeds lock the foot and ankle, taking away an important in boot function of foot and ankle. This is also the reason I keep telling skiers that tipping ability and proficiency comes before anything else. tipping with the feet and ankle gives a skier better control of balance and all different types of tipping ski behaviors needed, whether it be for carving, bushed carving or two footed releases.
Since TTS doesn't teach tipping at all, (they get edging from steering) they surely don't develop an approach using lateral foot, ankle articulation. These contributions to skiing are not understood or developed in TTS. Although the Austrian Ski School is a TTS, they do speak to ankle and foot use in skiing.
I call all this skiing, without foot and ankle, "boot top" skiing. The skier controls the edges with hip and leg steering movements. So the top of the boots are pressed against the side of the shin, when leg steering is supposed to tip the ski from that movement. In this approach there is little or no control of the skis on edge without driving the knee and dumping the hips. This is hugely limiting, keeping the skier either skidding or in Park and Ride locked carves. These are the things PMTS is always criticized for by the traditionalists; being limited, one dimensional and being an edge only skiing method. Funny coming from the crew that has limited understanding of tipping, ankle use and feet in ski boots, function.
I think we have a pretty good idea of what is limiting in skiing and it's not PMTS.