Please Correct My Posture

Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:52 pm

Hi all,

I apologize for the poor quality. I will try to film one when it's bright.

Anyhow, I understand that something doesn't look right with my turn but can't quite point my fingers on it.

What is wrong?

1. backseat and sometimes A-frame
2. too much bending?
3. arm position? (inside arm too high? although Essential says keep the inside arm up in some exercises?)



This is a picture comparison against Harald's demo. My arms are out of position; hip is back. I'm also counteracting too much?
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby MonsterMan » Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:23 pm

What is wrong?

1. backseat and sometimes A-frame
2. too much bending?
3. arm position? (inside arm too high? although Essential says keep the inside arm up in some exercises?)


1
"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: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:41 pm

Thanks Monsterman. I realized I had been using my back instead of abs for support. As result, my hip was back even at my home base position.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby MonsterMan » Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:55 pm

Did you have a look at this thread?

http://www.pmts.org/pmtsforum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3158

There is not one turn where there is not a massive re centering move through transition.

Have another look at the essential for/aft videos for exercises and exaggerate them until it is obvious on video.
"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: Please Correct My Posture

Postby chrisw » Wed Jan 26, 2011 9:58 am

That's a good idea how you placed a photo comparison of HH beside yourself. Helps quantify on where you are vs ideal.

I just re-watched the Essentials Fore/Aft DVD this past weekend and it was a very helpful reminder of how active and forceful
the pull backs need to be. I think I had gotten lazy with the pull backs and concentrated on these a lot. Felt better but no video to confirm.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby Ken » Wed Jan 26, 2011 9:55 pm

Look at still #7. How far is your inside foot ahead of your outside foot? Try to keep your toes even (can't be done, but try).

Your arm positions look contrived. Be more natural, flexible, fluid in your arm positions. Your arms should be about where they'd be if your were automatically balancing yourself walking on an icy surface. Yes, the outside arm drops back & down, and the inside arm high & forward, but those are fluid movements, not stiff positions. All good skiing starts with the feet. Get your feet/ankles/legs/hips/etc. in the correct movements in that order and things work much better.

Is your inside foot light enough on the snow? The weight on the inside foot should be 10%, or 5%, or 2%, or something like that on the hard snow you're on. FLEX ( and continue to flex more and more) that inside leg more. You should be balancing on one skinny steel edge, the inside edge of the outside ski. There are no positions in good skiing, there are just movements. At the same time you need to continually, progressively, smoothly tip the free foot more and more and more, flex the inside leg deeper and deeper and deeper, and pull the inside leg back strongly all the time.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:13 pm

Ken wrote:Look at still #7. How far is your inside foot ahead of your outside foot? Try to keep your toes even (can't be done, but try).

Your arm positions look contrived. Be more natural, flexible, fluid in your arm positions. Your arms should be about where they'd be if your were automatically balancing yourself walking on an icy surface. Yes, the outside arm drops back & down, and the inside arm high & forward, but those are fluid movements, not stiff positions. All good skiing starts with the feet. Get your feet/ankles/legs/hips/etc. in the correct movements in that order and things work much better.

Is your inside foot light enough on the snow? The weight on the inside foot should be 10%, or 5%, or 2%, or something like that on the hard snow you're on. FLEX ( and continue to flex more and more) that inside leg more. You should be balancing on one skinny steel edge, the inside edge of the outside ski. There are no positions in good skiing, there are just movements. At the same time you need to continually, progressively, smoothly tip the free foot more and more and more, flex the inside leg deeper and deeper and deeper, and pull the inside leg back strongly all the time.


Hi Ken,

Would pulling the inside foot back make me ski in a more upright stance? I find that I'm constantly sitting down (confirmed by video)



I suspect that there are other fundamental errors I'm making beside not pulling my free-foot back. Is there any exercise to force myself to ski more upright?

Thanks!
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby MonsterMan » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:25 pm

Have another look at the essential for/aft videos for exercises and exaggerate them until it is obvious on video.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:12 am

MonsterMan wrote:
Have another look at the essential for/aft videos for exercises and exaggerate them until it is obvious on video.


Thanks MonsterMan! I will focus on fore/aft for the remainder of the season and verify improvement with videos. :)
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby Max_501 » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:08 am

Have you spent time working on the Super Phantom and also Javelin drills?
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby jepoupatout » Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:50 am

Hi Nickia, it would be interesting if you could post another video with medium turn. Could you commit yourself to complete your turn (to face the wood at the end of each turn), on those video you asked for MA it was only quick directionnal change. When you complete your turn it built up pressure on your outside ski and you have to keep the CA long enough to keep the ski tracking on the snow. It give you also more time to position yourself ,to feel the movement.
It also help to develop the long leg and short leg.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Wed Feb 02, 2011 12:10 am

Max,

I haven't practiced either exercises but I will try them this weekend. I will start with two-foot pullback on slow traverse.

jepoupatout,

I will try to record another set of medium turn videos after I practiced pullbacks.

Thanks everyone! It's so important to record yourself skiing to verify your performance. Without timely external feedbacks, one might continue to reinforce bad habits. :D
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby Max_501 » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:48 am

Take a little break from the rapid short turn carving and work on the Super Phantom.
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:28 pm

Max_501 wrote:Take a little break from the rapid short turn carving and work on the Super Phantom.


Hi Max, thanks for the tip about super phantom. I think it'll really help to maintain the free-foot edge while flexing the stance ski to release!

I have 3 major breakthroughs in the past two days.

1. I realized I have to maintain free-foot tension in a turn to maintain tipping angle and pull-back. I can really feel the soreness in my hamstrings now! Before this realization, my free foot was literally "free" and dangled there. I would enter a turn with tipping but quickly lose the tipping because I didn't know I was suppose to maintain tension in the free-foot.

2. I finally understand the concept of flexing to release. I can see Harald flexes his stance ski to release and tip. Awareness is the first step to learning.

3. I have been stuck in the low position in my turns because I didn't know I was suppose to lengthen after the transition. I don't know the correct terminology but I can feel the slight lengthening of (body? legs? not sure which) at the beginning the turn. After the "lengthening", I feel like I'm not crouching anymore until I get to the end of the turn.

My current routine:
1. uphill leg traverse (preparation for super-phantom and weighted release)
2. 1 footed release (practice lifting and tilting)
3. Phantom turns (practice lengthening of at the beginning of each turn so I won't be stuck in the low position)
4. Pull-back traverse (fore-aft)
5. Pull-back turns(fore-aft)
6. Carving traverse (focus of maintaining free-foot tipping and pull-back tension)

Thank you everyone! I can't wait to ski next week. :)
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Re: Please Correct My Posture

Postby nickia » Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:31 pm

The following are filmed Feb 05, 2011 which are before my revelations. You can see I'm crouching too low and extreme A-frame on the left ski. From Feb 05 and on, I skiied 4 more days and they were spent on practicing OFR and other exercises that were recommended to me.






The following is filmed on Feb 13, 2011. I didn't spend any time practicing this kind of fast turn as advised. I used this turn for filming purpose to see if I'm still crouching. I learned a lot since Feb 05 but they are not reflected in this videos. The biggest revelation is my left leg was not aligned because I wasn't standing properly. My weight used to be on my ankle instead of evenly distributed up to the left hip. I was not able to balance and traverse on the left uphill ski before I "aligned" my left leg. I spent 18 hours on practicing left turns and I could finally hold an edge. I can't quite do it in free-skiing yet but I'm taking it slow.


I won't be able to ski for two more weeks because I'm going away to somewhere really really hot so hopefully I'll have a new perspective when I come back. :D
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