How to improve skiing?

[alexz]

Thank you in advance for your advise.

 

[T-Square]

@alexz,

What type of analysis do you desire? Just want to insure you get appropriate and meaningful feedback.

 

[fatbob]

Bacon?

Sharks with lasers?

Ninjas and pirates?



Oh you mean how to improve your skiing?.....

 

[Bad Bob]

You might try a drill lifting your inside ski to increase the pressure and perhaps edge angle on your outside ski.

A nice day at Hood.

 

[Michael Kane]

Ski more

 

[alexz]

@alexz,

What type of analysis do you desire? Just want to insure you get appropriate and meaningful feedback.

What to do to be closer to PSIA-L3 skiing. Description, evaluation, prescription. Thanks.

 

[graham418]

Stay away from snowboarders

 

[Jilly]

OK, so I'm just a lowly CSIA 2, but I'm seeing from forced turns. Let's those Rossi go!! Agree with the edge exercises too.

Now you got me wanted to see if I have enough Avion points for OZ!!

 

[4ster]

Simple, make your turn to the right more like your turn to the left.
You tend to release edges & flatten skis with your hips

Which tips your mass to the inside & forces you to “push” your skis to a late edge engagement

Instead, learn to release & engage your edges early by tipping & steering with your feet & legs...
More like this...

...& less of this

 

[ToddW]

What to do to be closer to PSIA-L3 skiing. Description, evaluation, prescription. Thanks.

See an alignment specialist. Have him check your footbeds before he starts canting your boots. Technique won’t improve your skiing much until you get your boots tweaked.

 

[alexz]

See an alignment specialist. Have him check your footbeds before he starts canting your boots. Technique won’t improve your skiing much until you get your boots tweaked.

Boots and both insoles (in and out liners) are customized/adjusted with help of Dr. Happy Feet (= Kelly Timmons) to correct for asymmetric bow-legs . Probably not enough.

 

[Tricia]

Simple, make your turn to the right more like your turn to the left.
You tend to release edges & flatten skis with your hips
View attachment 49897 View attachment 49898

Which tips your mass to the inside & forces you to “push” your skis to a late edge engagement
View attachment 49899

Instead, learn to release & engage your edges early by tipping & steering with your feet & legs...
More like this...
View attachment 49900 View attachment 49901

...& less of this
View attachment 49902

This is where I'd start, but also the boot alignment looks off, but that could be due to circumstance out of your control, based on your comments about your boot guy and what he has done.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Think ski from the bottom up instead of the top down.

 

[JESinstr]

Simple, make your turn to the right more like your turn to the left.
You tend to release edges & flatten skis with your hips

Which tips your mass to the inside & forces you to “push” your skis to a late edge engagement

Instead, learn to release & engage your edges early by tipping & steering with your feet & legs...

Alex, you have improved a lot since you last asked for analysis. @4ster has pretty much nailed your current issues. You look defensive because as (4ster says) you end up pushing your outside ski. Just because a ski is on its edge does not mean you are guiding it into a circular trajectory.

I know I promote the "Get over it" drill but this will definitely address what ails you.
This is not an easy drill for many because it makes you proactively reposition your mass over the uphill edge of the new outside ski and then patiently and smoothly roll the ankles to the new edge early on, all at a relatively high rate of speed.


If you can expand your "movement envelope" to include proper execution of these mechanics, you will become a stronger and offensive skier. I am not advocating that you should always ski like this but when I spend time practicing this drill, my overall skiing improves.

Good luck.

 

[T-Square]

@alexz,

What I’m about to do is going to sound a little backwards but there is method in the madness. You are getting ready for level 3 skiing and teaching. As part of that you should be able to do movement analysis and come up with recommendations for any student.

Let’s start from there. Take a step back, look at the video you posted and do an MA on it. What do you see in the video? Just do the movement analysis for now, you can work on the plan of action later. Post your MA and we all can discuss it, then we can move on from there. It won’t be easy, but it will be beneficial.

 

[alexz]

@alexz,

What I’m about to do is going to sound a little backwards but there is method in the madness. You are getting ready for level 3 skiing and teaching. As part of that you should be able to do movement analysis and come up with recommendations for any student.

Let’s start from there. Take a step back, look at the video you posted and do an MA on it. What do you see in the video? Just do the movement analysis for now, you can work on the plan of action later. Post your MA and we all can discuss it, then we can move on from there. It won’t be easy, but it will be beneficial.

Sure I did MA myself before posting here, but the discussion is very useful to see what to keep focus on during this week training session. I passed Level 3 teaching exam in 2016. I will try to implement ideas of this discussion on this Tue, Wed. Thanks to all contributors, especially @4ster and @JESinstr.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Alexz, I've found a video of Eric Lipton (PSIA National Team) doing some turns with about the same radius as yours. Here is my comparison. Maybe this can be of use.

*I've edited this for greater clarity.

 

[karlo]

@LiquidFeet wrote "Torso upright, left new inside knee to shorten new inside leg"

To open up space, to allow you to do that, angulate at the pelvis.


As for the shortening of leg as pedaling a bicycle. Shorten that as the old inside leg lengthens.

As for the keeping the torso upright, think Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers, or Christine Baranski in the recently released Mamma Mia 2.

I love @LiquidFeet's movement analysis abilities. I would not have known where to start.

 

[Magi]

Thank you in advance for your advice.

@alexz Really solid L2 skiing. I see opportunities to improve all five of the alpine fundamentals.

Your knees are over-flexed much of the time, leaving you aft on the skis. Straighten out your knee out and reap a host of kinematic benefits (quads that can turn you and balance you instead of holding you up, better access to rotary from your femurs, better/more angulation all follow from this) .

Your lateral balance isn't precise enough - you tend to balance too far to the inside. Try to Level your hips out to create greater angulation, and make sure the first (only) thing moving is your feet under a stable pelvis.

Your first rotary movement is your upper body. Small movements of your hand/shoulders start every turn. Let the turn flow from engaged ski tips and leg rotation.

Edging can/should come more from angulation than you're currently using. Lean into the turn less, and stay over the outside ski more (Opening the knee joint will help with your ability to do this, as will leveling the pelvis out).

Managing the pressure created through ski snow interaction. Your flexion and extension are present but the timing is slightly off (This will manifest in a big way in moguls/variable terrain). Continuously keep your head and pelvis the same "distance" off the snow so that your pressure management is working with the forces you're creating instead of attempting to create forces (and pushing you inside).


Good luck on you journey toward L3. It's a biiiiig step.

 

[Monster]

An alternate concept - find skiers who are doing what you want to do. Ski with them, watch them, copy what they're doing. Ask them what they're feeling. It's very easy to get the thinking mind too involved. If you have the ability to mimic other peoples physical actions (which I think a lot of people do), you may be able to gain ground faster by monkey-see, monkey-do than by reading about it. Physical suggestion can be powerful. It engages a different part of the brain.