quite understandably this post got lost in the inside leg extension section, so i've decided to give it a home of its own, as an answer would make a big impact on my skiing. I'm quite eager to get this technical hitch sorted before december when the local race clubs get into gear. any suggestions appreciated.
at the end of the hintertux camp there were too goals for me: flex more (legs too straight, angles only from the ankles, so i wasn't getting big enough angles to hook the skis up) and eliminate push off from the stance ski.
for my first 3 days of the season, i decided to approach the flex problem by actively trying to flex and use gentle bumps to trigger this later in the day, and to solve the push off, the weighted release and the mini javelin.
harald expressed some reservations about using the WR without a coach, but i'm glad i went ahead with it for two reasons: it showed up a balance/alignment problem on the right leg, and also showed me just how much you have to flex to get the angles. and how quickly. (skiing some gates also made clear the necessary speed and timing of transition). i took care to follow WR exercises with strong counter in normal skiiing so as not to end up banking turns.
what i found with attempts to balance on the LTE of the stance foot and eliminate the push off is that as soon as i make one foot the free foot, i feel the need to support myself with the stance foot. perhaps from playing sports where strong push off is required this is just automatic for me, but now you have me thinking that perhaps i wasn't flexing enough in these slower speed exercises. certainly the wedge entry is more noticeable in a lifted free foot phantom move, and when i release to begin my first turn down hill at the top of a run. perhaps once i'm into the run i flex more and it occcurs less.
on my last few runs i felt i used less push off when i focussed on the bases up the hill and letting the CM fall over the downhill edge of the skis. presumably the flex used here along with the general letting go meant that i didn't seek stability on the stance leg as actively. or maybe i was moving too fast to feel the wedge entry and it was still there.
where all this is going is this:
1)do you ever find that flexing and bases uphill drills with strong counter eliminate push off more effectively, or should i be working longer on LTE exercises such as the mini javelin, WR and the wedge breaker turn drills? (obviously what works for the individual works, but i'd be interested in your experience of coaching many students).
2) if it is usually a case of drilling (and here the obvious answer is 'whatever it takes', but maybe you have some ideas), what proportion of drilling to free skiing do you typically recommed (e.g. a whole morning only traverses and javelin, free skiing interspersed with javelin every other run, a whole day javelin no free skiing, 3 days only javelin). i can do the drills ok but find the skill transfer elusive when i go back to free skiing (even with focus on those SMIMs). generally with new movements it takes me time to incorporate them, so i may need to tailor any suggestions to my needs, and throw in some dry land in the boots, but i'd just be interested in what sort of program you'd suggest.