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Don, Jennifer–Day 4

Final day – good all round improvement…

Jennifer is holding together a large number of changes and this is producing a flowing, smooth skiing with well shaped turns. The skis are pivoting nicely where necessary and the dynamics are greatly improved – with good supporting coordination from the feet and legs.

Don is smooth and has great timing – with a good deal of control over speed. Pressure is good and early on the uphill ski, with a slight pivoting action. Sometimes the lower ski is allowed to flatten by releasing the adductors and allowing the knee of the inside leg to move into the new turn (photo) – causing a slight stem. This is linked to a stiffening of the lower leg and leaving the foot too far behind (push it forwards during all the turn). The best way to deal with this is to hold that lower foot on its inside edge all the way – don’t release it at all – ever!

Angulation

Jennifer asked about how to use angulation to ensure pressure on the front of the skis. We did the static “pulling” exercise – up on the balls of the feet – wedging the body against the front of the lower ski as I pulled her downhill. This was really just to communicate the concept at this stage – in reality there were more than enough other things for Jennifer to be working on!

Pivoting

Some time was spent on pivoting on one ski – standing on the inside edge of the foot and outside edge of the ski. Even five minutes doing this clarifies quite a lot. Skill is all about separating and refining muscle use and more detailed sensations.

Later on when we found some small bumps I demonstrated how the fronts of the skis would be airborne and how this applies to the pivot.

Carving

Today’s real effort went into developing the basics and understanding of carving skills. Part of the motive was to help Don to avoid flattening his turning ski (as in the photo) by developing awareness of holding the ski rock solid on the edge. For Jennifer the theme was more about avoiding rushing the start of the turn and letting the ski run. Carving takes time to develop – but like with pivoting, short and frequent efforts brings results.

Skating

We did some skating – transitioning into skiing – keeping the skating rhythm. This was so Jennifer would understand what the racers were actually doing and so she could see it correctly. Later on this was useful because I asked Jennifer to think about facing the body downhill as she projected her centre of mass over the skis into the new turn – and this is actually part of the skating action. Don has a very clear and natural skating timing already.

Don, Jennifer–Day 3

Working around the unseasonal weather…

Visibility was reduced with the snow and clouds so my principle concern today was with helping Don to overcome the anxiety this generates on steep terrain. Once Don tenses up the skis run away with him and “all is lost”!  I spent some time explaining how the “pivot” is “braking” skiing – designed to be able to ski in the fall line – body travelling directly downhill – without charging across the slope and picking up speed.

The key to skiing in the fall line is “sideslipping” – linking the sideslips – hence the “pivot”. Traditionally this is taught by pushing the tails of the skis outwards and “steering” by twisting the foot and knee inwards. Basically people are being taught to wrench the ski around – and probably eventually break their knees. This is also accompanied with strong hip angulation generate by keeping the shoulders facing downhill – eventually destroying the lower back (we had already looked properly into that aspect!)

Unfortunately the way to generate truly effective and safe pivoting is very counter intuitive – and a real challenge – but correspondingly rewarding. Even just having the right information – changing how you think about it – goes a long way. Modern carving skis really do cause people to miss properly developing the skills for “braking” skiing because the skis lock far too easily on their edges and run away with the skier. This is also why in racing GS skis are now not allowed to have a carve radius lower that 35m.

Jennifer patiently allowed me to assist her through a few supported pivots and we could see that she was getting the ski quickly jammed on edge and unable to complete the turn with any sideways motion. I explained here that it was essential to keep both skis downhill (relative to the slope) from the centre of mass  (keep the feet below you on the hill) all the time during the pivot. While this worked to some degree complications came in because Jennifer was collapsing her ankle, twisting her foot and knee into the turn. This is visible (stemming and twisting – steering) in the video clip despite a good improvement with pulling the skis into the turn.

Studying the pivot (link in the menu top of page) you find that it is all about getting the centre of mass to pull the skis inwards into the turn – not pushing outwards. Only the pelvis remains facing downhill – outside hip pulled back. Both Don and Jennifer had improved at pulling inwards for the video clip – but we still had some work to do.

Feet

Indoors Jennifer took off her ski boot and we looked at how to change the mechanics of the stance during the turn. First of all we checked what she was currently doing and sure enough the ankle was collapsing, knee twisting inwards, hip outwards, foot flattening by attempting to twist in. Shifting the weight to the heel and bending Jennifer could feel her muscles differently – the ankle going stiff, the muscles up the outside of the lower leg and the quads working by reflex. The ankle bends enough to touch the front of the ski boot – but now the boot is not taking over support – the leg strength is being used instead.

We next looked at the foot rocking on the heel – using the subtaler joint below the ankle. Jennifer could see the foot actually turns away from the turn when rolled on edge. This links to the adductor muscles on the inside of the leg – limiting automatically the inward movement of the knee. This links to pulling the hip backwards for alignment. Basically the entire motion pattern and support system changes – so it would be a huge change to her skiing and will eventually enable far greater control over just about everything – not just the pivot.

Meanwhile

Meanwhile to encourage Don to avoid his slight tendency to push his new outside ski outwards at the start of the turn I asked him to stomp hard on the ski before initiating the new turn – still on the uphill edge (as with a pivot) – and only then with full pressure on this ski begin the turn. Starting the turn from the top edge facilitates an element of pivoting and once this starts it’s easier to keep the pivot going because the ski hasn’t been pushed out and jammed on its inside edge. This certainly did allow Don to narrow his stance and generate a better pivoting effect and there was a clear improvement in control on the steeps. One the runaway accelerations are fully under control – the skis not systematically jammed on edge – then this deals with the problem of getting thrown onto the backs of the boots and skis.

Don, Jennifer - Day 2

Such a beautiful day  - for a fish !

Quad Burn

Defensiveness due to lack of confidence for skiing in poor visibility and mixed up snow conditions was causing Don’s quads to burn. The quads are really prone to this when your weight is even just a little too far back. I attempted a static “pulling” exercise with Don to get him angulated and feel the appropriate connection with the fronts of the skis – but he was uncomfortable and found the exercise awkward. With Don’s permission we will attempt this again when the sun returns.

Foot Forwards Technique

Attempting to help Jennifer to feel more at ease on a steep section I took a moment to explain and demonstrate how turn radius is tightened more efficiently by pushing the outside ski forwards than by stemming or pushing the tails outwards. This turned out probably to help Don even more – who then reprimanded me for not having told him this before. I think I didn’t mention it because of being worried it would put him even more in the backs of the boots – but in this case it actually had the opposite effect by preventing him accelerating off down the hill. In hindsight I can see how this is appropriate for Don.

Centred - Mindful Skiing

Don was making a bold effort to overcome his anxiety in the challenging conditions. To encourage this further I explained how centring your focus internally – inside your body – on anything from breathing to any of the relevant skiing issues such as the motion of the centre of mass – actively stops the mind from wandering off into “anxiety territory”.

Pivot

Due to the poor weather it was a useful time to do some exercises to enhance the overall understanding of technique. I tried – on sticky snow – to communicate the skill of “pivoting” and how it fits into the greater scheme of the biomechanics of skiing. The blog menu at the top offers a fixed page with associated video and explanations… (also with this link)  http://skiinstruction.blogspot.com/p/pivot.html

Don, Jennifer Day 1

It was great to find Don and Jennifer this morning – raring to get out on the slopes and to get going. Knowing there was a long day ahead it was important to keep everything calm and measured. First runs of the year are always wobbly and it takes a few to really find your feet again. I didn’t have to worry about when to begin to offer feedback because Jennifer began to ask questions by herself when she felt the need for it.

Dynamics

Jennifer’s question was concerning her need to lift up the lower ski to get into a turn – and regarding confusion about when to go up or down.

Problems in the turn transitions come specifically from not being clear about “dynamics” – the need to generate accelerations of the centre of mass. I stood downhill of Jennifer and asked her to push her shoulder against mine to feel the pressure on her uphill ski. She did this well and so it didn’t take long to pick up the idea of how to enter a new turn strongly with the pressure on the top ski. I chose this solution because I’d seen Jennifer initiating the turns on steeper ground by pushing the tails of the skis out – instead of moving the body into the new turn. The “step” was happening because the lower ski was being used as a platform in preparation for pushing the skis out. Changing this movement pattern to a simple active motion of the centre of mass eliminates the step. Don alluded here to a more advanced aspect of this – his patented “Getting out of your own way!”.

Timing

Timing comes naturally from this motion of the centre of mass – toppling into a turn is like a motorbike toppling into a turn – you go “down” into the turn – and then you come back up to complete the turn. This generates the correct pressure cycle on the skis and to fit body mechanics, muscle function and ski design. The pole use is just a light touch in the snow with the downhill pole as the body crosses the skis. This moment of transition causes the skis to be flat on the snow and the body perpendicular with the hill – while going diagonally across the hill – so the pole touch fills the gap in feedback to the body caused by the skis no longer being on edge – at an otherwise precarious moment.

Angulation

Part of the dynamics issues with Jennifer arises from being trained to face the shoulders downhill. This tends to cause the start of each new turn (on steeper terrain) to be rushed – pushing the tails out – to get them around and below the body. This is partly a psychological issue because the skier is facing downhill and referencing everything to the vertical – instead of running with the skis and referencing everything perpendicular to the slope.  My goal was to begin to break this habit by changing the issue of “facing downhill” to one of just facing the pelvis downhill. This is the “chi” application to skiing. We began with an exercise of statically standing across the hill – shoulders facing downhill and poles held across in front of the body. With the spine rotated this way the hip comes in front of the ribs and when loaded up with pressure (me pushing down on the poles) it’s felt in the lower back. If the opposite is done, turning the pelvis to face downhill while resisting a turning of the shoulders then under load the lower abdomen and core muscles contract by reflex to protect the body. I know that Jennifer is able to relate to her body so this is the appropriate approach to facilitate change. Due to the pelvis being adjusted immediately at the initiation of a turn it both facilitates and improves dynamics and prevents this rigid blocking of the body facing downhill. Pulling the pelvis into this position is described as pulling the hip joint – outside of new turn – back, which allows hip angulation to be increased and improved easily.

Don

Meanwhile Don wasn’t being completely ignored! In fact he was skiing well and smoothly so I was happy to let him be for the time being. Don’s only concerns were his arms falling down by his sides and dragging – but I explained that arm issues tend to be an “effect” not a “cause” and that we would have to identify the cause. Partly for this reason and also for issues of speed control on the steeper terrain I explained how the second half of a turn is a fight with gravity – so you have to increase angulation (and/or inclination) building up even more forces instead of giving in to them. The ski is trying to lift you up and out so it’s real work staying down and inside the turn – but then this shapes the turn and controls the speed (Actually it’s real work – but it’s even more work if you don’t do it!!!). Unsurprisingly this also helps place the hands correctly – because most of Don’s hand problems come from blocking the hip and skidding sideways at this part of the turn – instead of building a secure base and working the turn correctly. Immediately this brought an improvement for Don – but shortly after this we encountered poorer skiing conditions and tired legs – so quitting for the day was the best option!

Carving

We had a brief “carving” interlude as it’s important to develop this feeling and skill. Don’s rigidity at the hips and Jennifer’s “facing downhill” issues are causing difficulty in holding the ski solidly on edge for complete turns. This is very typical and common and by addressing this directly and working on it bit by bit it will change completely. The main point today was to “pull inwards” with the leg (outside ski) to prevent the ski from flattening when forces built up. I also had earlier explained that “centrifugal” force is an illusion – we are being pushed inwards not pulled outwards. We need to therefore also pull inwards to assist the ski. For Jennifer this is a very big change to make because she has been unconsciously pushing the ski outwards through the initiation of most of her turns until now.

Off Piste

Our brief excursion off piste was to begin to help Don to build up confidence. Once again this has to be tackled in small chunks – frequently – to let confidence build and changes emerge. The key here is dynamics – but with a slight delay in feedback – so just being aware that the feeling underfoot is modified and knowing not to tense up makes a huge difference. The goal currently is to progressively gain experience.

La Grande Casse

Mont Pourri, Mont Blanc and Tignes

Douglas

Video – Before making changes then After…

Clip 1 shows there is no use of dynamics and the ski tails are being pushed out to the side, unstable, weight back and twisting actions being employed.

Clip 2 shows all of the above eliminated and replaced with effective actions. Dynamics range will be built up from this base…

Douglas was initially skiing with limitations derived from classic ski instruction – not at all representative of his capabilities. In fact he is an exceptionally capable student – very quick in grasping difficult and counter intuitive ideas and very effective in adapting physically.

We followed a logical program focused mainly on dynamics…  Dynamics – Feet - Skating Timing – Angulation/Hip – Pole Use – Pivoting

The menu at the top of the blog leads to specific pages dedicated to the main topics…

Dynamics http://skiinstruction.blogspot.com/p/dynamics.html

Pivot http://skiinstruction.blogspot.com/p/pivot.html

The other menu links – “Beginners” and “Chi Skiing” explain some of the skating timing, feet  and hip use.

Dynamics

We used the standard exercises for dynamics and due to Douglas’s bike experiences this was easily understood and applied. Immediately he could feel the difference – moving the centre of mass instead of pushing the feet away and twisting. The goal was to eliminate all twisting actions. at this stage – but also to introduce the “toppling” into the turns to begin to develop the correct timing – down/up.

Due to poor use of the feet we soon stopped and removed a ski boot to work on the stance and feet. Initially it’s best to learn to stand on the heel – which allows the foot to be rocked on the subtaler joint (beneath the ankle) onto its inside edge. When bending – remaining on the heel – the anterior tibialis muscle (outside front of the lower leg ) tenses for stability and support and the ankle goes strong – placing the shin neatly against the front of the boot. With the foot rocked on the edge the upper leg adductor muscles are active pulling inwards and the knee is stabilised and made safe.

Actual “edging” is achieved not by this action inside the boot – but by the centre of mass falling into the turn – the use of the feet just accurate body mechanics to make it strong and effective. The forefoot actually turns away from the turn – not twisting into it. The shaft of the ski boot keeps the foot on its inside edge.

Perpendicularity was discussed regarding the actual slope and the need to use the ski to come up at the end of the turn. This completion of the turn provides stability for the turn transition – where the body goes through a “neutral” phase – skis momentarily flat when going across the hill – body passing over them but perpendicular to the momentary traverse.

Skating Timing

Timing was being developed just with the natural pendulum of toppling over and coming back up. Now we used skating directly downhill – bringing in the dynamics when speed was built up – converting the skating into skiing but with the legs still skating. Douglas struggled a little with this due to not being a skater – the fault being allowing the foot to twist at the beginning of each stride instead of rocking it. The ski tries to flatten foot quite aggressively – which is what forces the twisting on the unsuspecting skier. The purpose of this exercise is to get the leg actions in sync with the toppling to amplify forces.

Angulation

Douglas was shown the difference between facing the shoulders downhill and facing the pelvis downhill. Using a loading test with a ski pole held out across the front of the body the back was felt with the shoulders involved and the abdomen contracted reflexively when the hip led the movement. In each case the spine is twisted in opposite directions – and only one version protects the back. Douglas picked this up straight away and felt the difference. Generating angulation this way at the hip is also the key to eliminating unwanted rotation of the body. (Remember how I said to apply this in cycling!)

Pole Touch

When using dynamics skiing the (downhill) pole touch is when the body is standing up and goes through the “neutral” phase in the turn transition.

Pivot

Pivoting was worked on a little just to complete the picture of the main elements in skiing. The fixed page from the menu goes into full detail on the subject. The “take away” from this regarding dynamics is that the focus is universally “pulling inwards” – not pushing anything outwards. There is no centrifugal force to combat – the ski pushes us inwards – away from a straight line – and we need to help it to do that.

Conclusion

Feedback that came from Douglas was that it was far less tiring on the legs, less energy needed, felt more natural and right. Exactly what I’d have expected!
Foot – Leg – Hip – Centre of Mass !!!  Dynamic short turns focused on deliberately moving the centre of mass earlier.
Engage the uphill ski / leg strongly to push the body downhill at the start of each turn.
Work on extending the Dynamic Range – like we did for the video clip.

Cold Exposure

Water measured at minus 4.7 °C. Water can go down to minus 48°C before freezing – so I don’t know if this running water is really this cold or the thermometer needs calibration. Just a short dip in the water – very euphoric and warm feeling on getting out – back pains completely gone!

Tignes–First day back for the start of the new season…

Even skied some powder today – no queues, no wind, sunshine and great company…

Alex Giant Slalom, GB Children’s Champs, Tignes

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Alex – Off Piste Experience

Today’s Giant Slalom race was cancelled due to a large and unexpected dump of snow. Once visibility improved we exploited the opportunity for some off piste skiing – though nothing too adventurous. The video contains a clip of people negotiating Pisteur’s Couloir in Val d’Isere – that’s not us!

Off Piste exposes certain weaknesses in skiing technique and provides an opportunity to make progress… while really enjoying the mountain!

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Alex GS training and Wet Off Piste skiing

Alex bending the unbendable Dynastar GS ski!

Alex testing the GS skis off piste…

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Alex–Slalom

…another day in the office and useful experience gained… Regardless of circumstances Alex’s skiing at this age could only translate into world class as an adult. Competition is not meant to be easy!

THE GOOD…

THE BAD…

Borrowed 149 (Junior) Rossignols – right ski skidding on ice – impressive save!

…AND THE UGLY!

…spot the obvious equipment failure here…

… the problem here is not that Alex is being violently assaulted by two whipping plastic poles simultaneously – but that his Leki poles are (yes – unbelievably) not clipped into his gloves and the right one is about to fly away.   Skis and everything else would have probably worked on this run with melted snow. Racing is like that – one tiny detail can have a huge impact. 

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