Matt wrote:Don't you guys contradict yourselves when you first say that you should not rely on feelings and then that you should feel in balance?
I don't always feel in balance when I am working on new movement patterns.
Balance isn't a feeling. It is a state of equilibrium. We don't talk about feeling in balance, we talk about *being* in balance. In PMTS it is binary. You are either in balance or you are not. Objectively, balance is pretty easy to evaluate. I'd imagine that if you thought back on it, you could probably associate your feelings of being out of balance with something concrete, such as falling onto the inside ski, ending up with the tip of the ski in the air, falling down, moving some body part excessively and/or unnaturally to keep from falling over, etc. Can we stop the thread drift now please and let this return to MA?
Speaking of which:
zd, your analysis is accurate. You currently change edges by rolling the new stance foot to big toe edge first so you can push off to get onto your new edges. So instead of a release, you have a stem (albeit well disguised). If you want to make progress with your skiing, your first priority should be to develop a release (which is accomplished with flexion and tipping). As long as you are extending at transition, you will be unable to tip. Because you extend to change edges, you end up flexing late in the turn. Because flexion is a releasing movement, it causes you to lose edge grip, which is why your tails slide out at the bottom of the turn. That also creates a vicious cycle where, since you've lost all of your turn energy that would have helped you release, extension ends up being the most attractive way to get into the new turn. Additionally, flexion moves your balance back. If you were properly coordinating it with a release, this wouldn't be a problem, but because it is happening in the wrong place in the turn, it results in your fore-aft balance being disrupted. If you were releasing properly I doubt that you would have an issue with being aft.
If you want to address these issues, starting with Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 2 from the beginning will help you develop a proper release. That said, if you are really motivated to become a great skier, starting with the green progression in Expert Skier 1 is the way to go. You'll develop tipping skills from the beginning, begin to learn what it means to transfer balance, begin developing one-footed balance, and learn a rudimentary release. All of these things are the foundation of the skiing that Expert Skier 2 develops, and it is well worth taking a full step back to develop your skiing from the most basic of movements.