As some of you know, I've gone down to New Zealand in August for the past three years to do the Advanced Course offered by the Rookie Academy instructor training program. What has always attracted me is the first-rate quality of the coaches who are there (e.g., Jonathan Ballou, Reilly McGlashan, JF Beaulieu, Tom Gellie, and others). What struck me this summer is how, despite their backgrounds and growing up/coaching in different parts of the world, their technique focuses are now basically the same and totally compatible with those of all the other coaches there. Jonathan noted the same thing. He recounted how, when he first started attending the Interski conference over 12 years ago (ski instructors from around the world meet every four years to share information on technique and teaching methodology), there were distinct differences in understanding and teaching ski technique. At the last conference, these differences had largely disappeared. Although images and exercises differ from coach to coach, the underlying philosophy is now fundamentally identical.
Some of my main takeaways from this August:
· Balance, edging skills, and pressure management have become the primary areas of emphasis.
· Rotary skills are explored, but are not of primary importance.
· Flex to release is the default go-to in transition.
· Effective counterbalancing/angulating over the outside ski is vital.
Last year, I posted a diary of my three weeks there which I'll repost below (some nice photos!). For those who have not read it, it may be a good introduction to this year's takeaways that follow.
https://www.pugski.com/threads/instructor-training-in-new-zealand.5607/
Now for this year...
The fundamental focuses were the same, with some clarification and expansion. I'd never skied with Tom Gellie before and found his background in kinesiology very helpful. Every movement and activity was grounded in an accurate understanding of how the body actually works. Every progression built on the previous one until all parts of the body were contributing to an efficient and harmonious whole. Very exciting feeling when it all came together in varied terrain!
The notes that follow are the focuses that resonated the strongest with me personally. When I incorporated them into my skiing, I could feel a noticeable difference and improvement. You may well have questions or need clarification about some of them. If so, please ask!
· Everything starts down low, in active, supple ankles. To optimize balance and joint functionality, minimize tip lead. Keep pulling the inside foot back throughout the turn so it's right under you and right next to the old outside foot at transition.
· Make the transition with lifted, flexed feet (or, just try relaxing/tipping the old outside foot; see what works best for you). Before starting downhill, immediately reverse angulation (tip the feet, point the boots and knees downhill; reverse the angulation of the hip). Connect the pelvis to the new inside femur as one unit and open the pelvis to point downhill first. (That was a new one for me. It worked.) Femurs and knees will follow (very effective in bumps, by the way).
· Simultaneously, and before the skis start downhill, create a new platform early using subtle ankle movements. Move with the skis and allow them to travel for a time in the direction they were pointed at transition, then roll over and press the inside edge of the new outside ski into the snow and immediately engage it. This need not be harsh, and speed can be scrubbed by letting a lightly engaged ski drift out, start downhill by itself, then sharply engaging the edge when direction change is desired (think World Cup drift, then edge engagement to direct the skis around a gate).
· As the skis start downhill, immediately focus on the inside half of the body. Start by sliding the new inside foot back (you can add a lift of the inside tail to help tip you forward). This inside-foot slide back continues up the body into lifting the inside thigh/hip and the entire inside half of the body pulling diagonally ahead (the outside half of the body is down and back; the outside pole tip can even glide along the snow toward the back of the outside binding to ensure functional angulation).
· "Elbows are connected to hips." Maintaining a consistent space between them, tip both together in diagonal alignment to the slope of the hill. Feel the inside rib cage lifted and stretched ahead (JF's "suspension") to increase angulation out over the outside ski, allowing the centripetal force of the hill to push back against the rolled-over outside ski. (Tom had us do a "tipping-airplane-wing" exercise during the shaping phase wherein the inside arm is straight, lifted, and stretched out ahead, while the outside arm is tipped down and back. The activity of both arms is mirrored by the hips.) To take this into skiing, the inside half of the body continually lifts up and ahead while the outside half goes down and back.
· During the shaping phase, feel the uphill edge of the inside ski pressing into the snow and matching the path of the outside ski. Gently press the uphill side of the inside boot along the sixth-toe area into the snow to increase the feeling of "two footedness." (Another new one for me.) The result is better balance on both feet and both skis feeling connected to the snow with responsive ankles. In addition, excess pressure is not imposed onto the outside ski (all extremities are relaxed and supple; the core should be engaged).
· In medium- and longer-radius turns on groomed snow, don't be afraid to aggressively pull the hips diagonally uphill across the skis with a super-short inside thigh (inside ski tip in the snow; closed ankle, knee and hip) and a virtually straight (but not locked) outside leg. As the hips pull across the skis, they can actually tip down toward the snow on dynamic carves; it feels like your weight is actually uphill over the short inside thigh. Add upper-body angulation to counterbalance. ("Go outside to move inside.") Feel the pressure back from the hill against the tipped outside ski directing it.
· A moment after the skis start downhill (or after starting down the front of a bump), pull the feet back (you can try this more with the inside foot and with that heel lifted) and pull the hips ahead. It's a feeling of slow-motion, effortless freefalling that keeps the ski boots and center of mass 90 degrees to the hill and plants the tips in the snow.
· As you start downhill, displace the tails wide to actually face the sides of the trail in the shaping phase. Tails "tick tock" out wide from planted tips that travel very little. (Another new focus that sounds weird, but actually works brilliantly.)
· Feel a definite "collision" back from the snow as the edged outside ski turns toward the fall line. Use that collision force back from the hill to create angulation as a result of the force of the snow pushing back, then allow the skis come back under you. Side note: Jonathan had us do an exercise in which we lifted the new inside foot completely off the snow at transition to start the turn, kept it off the snow as in a traditional one-footed-turn exercise, then we added a sharp, additional lift and aggressive inside-ski slide back halfway through the shaping phase. Very effective in reinforcing effective counterbalance and ending the turn with the tail of the outside ski engaged. It also helped us feel what it's like to use the entire ski and to tighten the radius at the end, which leads directly to...
· Add more edging at the ends of turns toward the tail of the outside ski (tip boot cuffs and knees uphill) to tighten the radius. Use clean, brief, powerful edge in groomed-snow short turns; less edge and scrub the snow with a sliding outside tail in ungroomed snow and steeps. Be sure the outside ski is gripping the snow at all times and you're angulated out over it.
· Use the whole of the outside ski through the turn: Engage "binding to tip" to start; "toepiece to heelpiece" in the fall line; "binding to tail" to end.
· All movements are "dimmer switch" smooth and progressive. The outside leg is always supple and has some flex, never braced.
Hope that was of interest!
Best!
Mike
Some of my main takeaways from this August:
· Balance, edging skills, and pressure management have become the primary areas of emphasis.
· Rotary skills are explored, but are not of primary importance.
· Flex to release is the default go-to in transition.
· Effective counterbalancing/angulating over the outside ski is vital.
Last year, I posted a diary of my three weeks there which I'll repost below (some nice photos!). For those who have not read it, it may be a good introduction to this year's takeaways that follow.
https://www.pugski.com/threads/instructor-training-in-new-zealand.5607/
Now for this year...
The fundamental focuses were the same, with some clarification and expansion. I'd never skied with Tom Gellie before and found his background in kinesiology very helpful. Every movement and activity was grounded in an accurate understanding of how the body actually works. Every progression built on the previous one until all parts of the body were contributing to an efficient and harmonious whole. Very exciting feeling when it all came together in varied terrain!
The notes that follow are the focuses that resonated the strongest with me personally. When I incorporated them into my skiing, I could feel a noticeable difference and improvement. You may well have questions or need clarification about some of them. If so, please ask!
· Everything starts down low, in active, supple ankles. To optimize balance and joint functionality, minimize tip lead. Keep pulling the inside foot back throughout the turn so it's right under you and right next to the old outside foot at transition.
· Make the transition with lifted, flexed feet (or, just try relaxing/tipping the old outside foot; see what works best for you). Before starting downhill, immediately reverse angulation (tip the feet, point the boots and knees downhill; reverse the angulation of the hip). Connect the pelvis to the new inside femur as one unit and open the pelvis to point downhill first. (That was a new one for me. It worked.) Femurs and knees will follow (very effective in bumps, by the way).
· Simultaneously, and before the skis start downhill, create a new platform early using subtle ankle movements. Move with the skis and allow them to travel for a time in the direction they were pointed at transition, then roll over and press the inside edge of the new outside ski into the snow and immediately engage it. This need not be harsh, and speed can be scrubbed by letting a lightly engaged ski drift out, start downhill by itself, then sharply engaging the edge when direction change is desired (think World Cup drift, then edge engagement to direct the skis around a gate).
· As the skis start downhill, immediately focus on the inside half of the body. Start by sliding the new inside foot back (you can add a lift of the inside tail to help tip you forward). This inside-foot slide back continues up the body into lifting the inside thigh/hip and the entire inside half of the body pulling diagonally ahead (the outside half of the body is down and back; the outside pole tip can even glide along the snow toward the back of the outside binding to ensure functional angulation).
· "Elbows are connected to hips." Maintaining a consistent space between them, tip both together in diagonal alignment to the slope of the hill. Feel the inside rib cage lifted and stretched ahead (JF's "suspension") to increase angulation out over the outside ski, allowing the centripetal force of the hill to push back against the rolled-over outside ski. (Tom had us do a "tipping-airplane-wing" exercise during the shaping phase wherein the inside arm is straight, lifted, and stretched out ahead, while the outside arm is tipped down and back. The activity of both arms is mirrored by the hips.) To take this into skiing, the inside half of the body continually lifts up and ahead while the outside half goes down and back.
· During the shaping phase, feel the uphill edge of the inside ski pressing into the snow and matching the path of the outside ski. Gently press the uphill side of the inside boot along the sixth-toe area into the snow to increase the feeling of "two footedness." (Another new one for me.) The result is better balance on both feet and both skis feeling connected to the snow with responsive ankles. In addition, excess pressure is not imposed onto the outside ski (all extremities are relaxed and supple; the core should be engaged).
· In medium- and longer-radius turns on groomed snow, don't be afraid to aggressively pull the hips diagonally uphill across the skis with a super-short inside thigh (inside ski tip in the snow; closed ankle, knee and hip) and a virtually straight (but not locked) outside leg. As the hips pull across the skis, they can actually tip down toward the snow on dynamic carves; it feels like your weight is actually uphill over the short inside thigh. Add upper-body angulation to counterbalance. ("Go outside to move inside.") Feel the pressure back from the hill against the tipped outside ski directing it.
· A moment after the skis start downhill (or after starting down the front of a bump), pull the feet back (you can try this more with the inside foot and with that heel lifted) and pull the hips ahead. It's a feeling of slow-motion, effortless freefalling that keeps the ski boots and center of mass 90 degrees to the hill and plants the tips in the snow.
· As you start downhill, displace the tails wide to actually face the sides of the trail in the shaping phase. Tails "tick tock" out wide from planted tips that travel very little. (Another new focus that sounds weird, but actually works brilliantly.)
· Feel a definite "collision" back from the snow as the edged outside ski turns toward the fall line. Use that collision force back from the hill to create angulation as a result of the force of the snow pushing back, then allow the skis come back under you. Side note: Jonathan had us do an exercise in which we lifted the new inside foot completely off the snow at transition to start the turn, kept it off the snow as in a traditional one-footed-turn exercise, then we added a sharp, additional lift and aggressive inside-ski slide back halfway through the shaping phase. Very effective in reinforcing effective counterbalance and ending the turn with the tail of the outside ski engaged. It also helped us feel what it's like to use the entire ski and to tighten the radius at the end, which leads directly to...
· Add more edging at the ends of turns toward the tail of the outside ski (tip boot cuffs and knees uphill) to tighten the radius. Use clean, brief, powerful edge in groomed-snow short turns; less edge and scrub the snow with a sliding outside tail in ungroomed snow and steeps. Be sure the outside ski is gripping the snow at all times and you're angulated out over it.
· Use the whole of the outside ski through the turn: Engage "binding to tip" to start; "toepiece to heelpiece" in the fall line; "binding to tail" to end.
· All movements are "dimmer switch" smooth and progressive. The outside leg is always supple and has some flex, never braced.
Hope that was of interest!
Best!
Mike
Thanks for posting
