Learning vs Performing

[BGreen]

JP, all due respect to BGreen, you don't need to read a book. I know all about the stabilization step.

Yeah, that was terribly unclear and I should have edited that. Stabilization and the book were two separate thoughts.

 

[john petersen]

Doby Man....that is some deep stuff...Im diggin it!.....

JP

 

[Doby Man]

Ha! Thanks @john petersen. While the magazine cover may be a joke, it is really about making the most of what is handed to us ... anticipatorily.

 

[L&AirC]

@Doby Man I reread your post (again). I'll admit it is a struggle with ADD. Got even more out of it this time around. Probably need 2 or 3 more times to fully grasp it. Love the cover shot too.

Keep chasing that Dragon.

 

[HardDaysNight]

If you don’t learn first, you’ll find it difficult to perform. Learning, especially in adults, involves cognition: what to move, how to do so, when and to achieve what result. Feelings are entirely unreliable indiciae of success. Students often report that they feel they have made great changes when, by video or skilled observation, changes are minimal or nonexistent.

 

[DavidSkis]

If you don’t learn first, you’ll find it difficult to perform. Learning, especially in adults, involves cognition: what to move, how to do so, when and to achieve what result. Feelings are entirely unreliable indiciae of success. Students often report that they feel they have made great changes when, by video or skilled observation, changes are minimal or nonexistent.

I agree with your point that it's imperative for a learner to understand their goal (and why it's a goal) in order to be successful. And I can agree with the underlying perspective that external cues are more effective than internal cues. But I would make a case in favor of the value of feeling in skiing.

A skier who knows what to feel can use those feelings to gauge their success or replicate past successes.
I can feel when I've moved too far in the turn too soon versus when my momentum moves across the hill to shape the top of a turn
I can feel if I've popped up in transition, versus when I've allowed a progressive transition by gradually shortening the new inside leg.
I can feel when I've held onto a turn for too long, versus when I've released and am arcing into the next turn.
I can feel the g-forces that tell me I have enough momentum to start adding a bit of hip movement.
I can feel when I'm on the sweet spot, when I'm falling forward, and when I'm falling back.
If I feel a grinding in my turns, or an inability to manage my speed, it's a good cue to think about my biomechanics.

Feelings can be good indicators of success. The challenge is to discover which feelings are "good", and which are misleading (such as railing on edge through the end of an arc, which may feel good, but is ultimately dead-end skiing). And yeah, when the feeling isn't tied to an external cue it may not be helpful (e.g. just bending through the end of the arc doesn't give you a sense of how much bend is enough). But if you tie your feeling to an external cue, it can work great. Some examples of feelings interacting with external cues:

If you're feeling chatter at the end of an arc (feeling-based external cue), that could be a cue that you need to be releasing a bit earlier into the next arc, OR progressively soften more.
If you feel a sudden change in pressure through transition (feeling-based cue), you may have popped up instead of gradually shortening that inside leg.
Feel moderate wind in your face (external cue) before starting your first shallow turns.
With your hands are on your hips (to give some sensory feedback), let the hips point toward the tip of the outside ski (external cue).
Feel pressure along the rear of the arch (external cue, footbed contact) through the end of the turn.
When going through transition, feel the skis flatten for a count of x seconds (external cue).

 

[razie]

I agree that external cues are better than internal cues, and I do also see the relevance of feelings, however, it is equally important to validate them, before relying on them to any extent, I think. They are often misleading, especially if not validated: too often we "feel" like X is good while it's not - so validate with coach/feedback or video, until you know the right feeling for X being good.

Here's a good one: do we feel the range of motion or just know it?