TDK's newest video on carving

[Steve]

Tom was very active on Epic Ski and a founder of the now defunct Skier Village.

 

[hrstrat57]

I’m a big fan of rule no 1

thx TDK6

Missed this one @Steve Thx for posting!

 

[jt10000]

This is so helpful to me as newish skier. Thanks.

I wish the place I ski most weeks had a longer "bunny" slope.

 

[jt10000]

I miss skiing so much already, and can't replace it with riding due to the covid-19 crisis.

I really want to be on snow improving. Sigh.

 

[Steve]

Look around 11:50 at the racer. Active arms, way more than what you see in the "perfect turn" skiers.

 

[Scruffy]

Look around 11:50 at the racer. Active arms, way more than what you see in the "perfect turn" skiers.

Can't compare; the slalom skiers is using arms to clear gates. You'd need to look at that skier free skiing.

 

[4ster]

Look around 11:50 at the racer. Active arms, way more than what you see in the "perfect turn" skiers.

Can't compare; the slalom skiers is using arms to clear gates. You'd need to look at that skier free skiing.

 

[François Pugh]

A great video by TDK. He really knows what he's talking about (translation we agree ).

 

[François Pugh]

Nice short radius turns.

 

[Steve]

Nice. Near the end as speed picks up the outside hand stays right over the outside tip. I've studied Mikaela free skiing and see the same thing. The arms are moving, and near the end you can see a little punch even to complete the turn.

 

[4ster]

Well done TDK (Tom), & Chris has some real chops!
Simplistically building on the basics in a well presented and easily understood linear progression for carving.
All drills & concepts I have employed & endorsed for years.
I would definitely want this in any instructor, coach or students library.

 

[Bad Bob]

Always enjoy seeing Dave Ryding ski. Excellent demonstrator (and a pretty damned fair slalom racer too).

 

[JESinstr]

Tom was very active on Epic Ski and a founder of the now defunct Skier Village.

Don't know if it is connected but Rick Schnellmann hosts a facebook group called Skier Village.

 

[razie]

Look around 11:50 at the racer. Active arms, way more than what you see in the "perfect turn" skiers.

Looks like he's trying to skate and make up speed on the flats there, lost the speed just before the slope flattened out.

Overall, I don't think it's that simple - for instance, carving black runs is not just 1 more drill... so, while the 4 drills are not bad by any means and I do agree that flexing is a big issue in progressing to carving black runs and he's presenting some important concepts, I'm a little confused as to the purpose of the video...

there is no counteraction really in the demos and he does not present counter except a brief mention during one of the drills, without which there is no carving a black run with speed control.

I don't see clean carving of any steeps there, other than Ryding - maybe in the one with the big turn? There's some stivoting demo... but so it is a collection of skills and demos and concepts but it doesn't look complete or coordinated towards the goal of getting a skier through the 3 levels...?

 

[François Pugh]

Looks like he's trying to skate and make up speed on the flats there, made a few mistakes just before the slope flattened out and lost speed.

I don't think it's that simple - for instance, carving black runs is not just 3 more drills...

Simple? Yes. Easy? Not so much. Clean carving blacks and keeping speeds within SL ski speeds is very difficult.

 

[4ster]

I don't think it's that simple -

no it’s not but this is a nice start.

 

[Jjmd]

I don’t understand why he advocates extending and rising up in slow speed carves. It seems counterintuitive and inefficient as when one extends during the float it takes away from tipping flexibility and creating necessary angles. You would not want that type of extension to become a default pattern for your skiing, be it hard pack or loose snow.

 

[4ster]

I don’t understand why he advocates extending and rising up in slow speed carves

I agree that this segment seemed out of place to the framework & context of the rest of the video.
I think he may have been trying to contrast the difference between a crossover/inside leg extension & crossunder/retraction transition (movement pattern) .

It is also interesting to me to see how TDK's concept of skiing has evolved since the days when he posted in the Epicski forums .

 

[Skitechniek]

Because at slow speeds you are not light/weightless/floating during the transition and will end up in the backseat if you flex. Which is why you should not learn a beginner how to flex imho.

You need a certain level of performance in your turn in order to perform flexing corrrectly. That level of performance is not there if you are going slow.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Because at slow speeds you are not light/weightless/floating during the transition and will end up in the backseat if you flex. Which is why you should not learn a beginner how to flex imho.

You need a certain level of performance in your turn in order to perform flexing corrrectly. That level of performance is not there if you are going slow.

This depends on what you mean by "slow." If you mean almost not moving, as on the beginner learning hill, yes, it's difficult to gain enough momentum to result in the body toppling across the skis when one flexes the new inside leg to release. Teaching an extension release to beginners going super slow works much better.

But if you mean slow-ish on blues or greens, I'm surprised that you would say flexing to release does not work at such speeds at all. It does. Momentum carries the body across the skis when the outside leg is flexed, and the new turn happens quite nicely. Yes, the CoM will be momentarily behind the feet as the skis shoot outward in the top half of the turn, but those skis do catch up with the body without any issue, and in my experience the skis are not heavily weighted through the top of the turn anyway. This is not a situation where the skier is in the back seat because of lack of skill, nor does it take any particular correction movement to get the skier non-aft. It just happens as the skis come around. Such flexion turns are a good thing to teach intermediate skiers who wish to move downhill at moderately slow speeds. IMO they are as ready as they ever will be.

Is a flexion release hard to teach to an intermediate who is used to extending and pivoting the flattened skis? Yes, it is. But that's because the embedded habit persists so strongly, not because the new movement pattern won't work at slow-ish speeds.