Do you have to be aggressive to be a good skier - discuss -

A snowHead

Mosha Marc, I don't think so:

case 1: crossunder turns with CoM in fall line requires extension to side -> away from snow plane direction of CoM travel.
case 2: absorption of moguls requires extension of skis into trough -> away from vertical plane direction of CoM travel.

BTW there are several instances I didn't include in the list of Q's above.

One possible interpretation of 'energy/assertive/aggression' and even 'dynamic' skiing is variation in balance point, effort expended therefor.

Have you seen any of the 'fractal' balance thinking? Small balance motions identical to larger ones, just nested therein, and so forth?

I am tempted to bin all 'aggressive', 'assertive', 'dynamic' skiing language in favor of 'anticipatory' and 'forward thinking'.

A snowHead

Extension into a trough I can see. In a turn, the ski stays put and you move. No?

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Mosha Marc, yes.........and no. Depends on the circumstances (think verticale?).

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GrahamN, Ah, see your point.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

AAAAAAAAAAGH Shocked

Captain, we're being drawn into an anal crevasse and the engines canna take it . . .

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comprex, it cannot be described technically, as I said above it's for skiers who are already skiing technically well, but want to take their skiing to the next level. The first word i chose was agressive, but people mistook that for confidence or wrecklessness, so i changed that to energy.

I agree, wet snow not the place for it, which is what I said above - the place for it is pistes of medium steepness, where it's all too easy to cruise.

I'm off on a training course this week, so will see what the trainers have to say, and how often i'm told to "be more aggressive"!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

beanie1, I was told repeatedly that "more aggression" was what was needed to get my skiing up to APSI 2 level(ISIA)...... I think I would probably have that X factor part now(although I've not skied with those particular trainers to find out).... However I'd not say I'm skiing more aggressively.... more that a certain hesitancy/lack of fluidity/poor use of energy has been slowly coming out of my skiing.... Now that I can feel what they may have been wanting I'd say I consider it differently - not the way I thought when they told me "aggressive" (which I would have said I was incapable of).... Now I think I'd be pretty capable of the "attitude" they are after... If I could just get body well for a bit I might even be able to get some of the other bits going...

After all it is free

comprex, For me this is more about giving the body and brain a shot of revitalization when you're flagging from a day of skiing hence the growl. It also works for jumping into a nice hard black, the growl helps with the confidence so you don't do the jump in and fall down due to lack of confidence.
Skied Targhee many a time with heavy crud and after a while I'm tired but still having fun and don't want to quit hence the attitudinal growl. It's not about the style it's about mental frame of mind and trying to juice it up.

Th OH was quite frightened at Lake Louise one time skiing whiteout conditions on a cattrack, and was snowplowing, her skills are solid intermediate but her fear had her back to basic beginner, at that point she needed a good growl to change her attitude/aggressiveness/energy/faith in her self.

OK. beanie1, pinhead, little tiger, thanks for being patient with my questions.

One more, if you don't mind?

Is "aggression" or "the growl" or "energizing one's skiing" more, less, or exactly as necessary at the end of each season as at the beginning?

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comprex, I should imagine it depends on how much you've skied during the season and how good the late snow is! No, if it's like last year!

pinhead, I get very frightened people to shout 'wheeeeeee' or something like it when going faster (in a safe place where they're going to stop anyway of course). I find it helps them a lot, although they feel very stupid at the time! Shocked

All this is only a way to take your mind off the fear/tiredness or whatever. Not rocket science is it?

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easiski, I thought it was stupid too, but, it works and thats with 70-80 days seasons.

.comprex, I though about this more in trying to express what I'm saying and with the groomed/piste run, the difference for me would be from going to standing on top of the skis balls of feet and heel perfectly balanced, to more pressure to the front of the boot and forward lean to the whole body posture by just a couple degrees, pushing those hands out front.

As to your last question it still for me is more of a late day thing or when I find I'm skiing in a neutral position and know I need just a little more ^&^%$# whatever that is we've been trying to describe to kick it back up that extra notch to dominate the skis and the run versus the other option when the slope and what all get in the way and dominate. So some times it's more early season bit mostly it's an as needed reserve all season long to help finish the day without the collapse or silly mistake that takes more energy to pick up after than the extra little push to ski it with ?&^%. Twisted Evil

snow reports

I didn't realize how much more energy I use skiing fresh tracks than I do on piste till I hurt my knee ligaments in a crash the year before last. I skied a smooth red piste afterwards and was OK but as soon as I tried to ski off piste every turn was agony. But skiing an easy run, even quite fast, was less painful than walking though I dare say I was using an unemphatic technique instinctively. The doctor said I shouldn't have skied with it like that and strapped my whole leg in a fairly rigid sheath (I got 2 seats going home to accommodate it).

snowball, which ligaments?

You know it makes sense.

I had been convinced it was ACL again but it turned out to be medial.
The specialist I saw a month later to see if I could ski again also reckoned I had ACL insufficiency since there was a slight instability in the joint. That has made me slightly nervous about doing jumps since.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

snowball, Spent all of Jan, Feb and most of March skiing piste in 2000 after tearing an ankle, every time I tried to ski anything without grooming I would retweak the ankle and it was back to the smooth, very long season but boy could I ski those groomed runs fast. Best part was all the alpiners who could not believe a tele skier was moving faster than them lap after lap, I just couldn't ski anything but piste.

A snowHead

ok, by skimming through the posts, I see someone has already said my answer....

I need to be mentally aggressive, yet relaxed and 'flowy' physically.

A snowHead

wbsr, decent one sentence summary.

I notice I haven't said what my definition of 'mentally aggressive' might be. My apologies. It has two parts:

Thinking and forming the intent to move far ahead (in time) of the current body position.
Forming firm intent to move without vacillation through self-doubt.

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Tnx. Needs a bit of jewelers' rouge to polish it up perhaps.

I'm not sure it would cover all easiski's examples either.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Back from my course, not once told to be more aggressive. I was however told to be more "positive" on the ski at the start of the turn, and to build up my speed tolerance. All semantics if you ask me!!

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I may of missed it and picked up on something already said

but just my 2p's worth im not an good skier but i find on piste you need to be in cotrol not agressive theres so many things going on i try to keep it flowly and in character helps me and other slope users understand my plan,

then off piste/black runs totally different ball game not as many novices and this is where i feel you can express yourself, man up and be agressive.

i remeber two years ago double diamond black in breckenridge, got to the top of i suppose the second big part of that run, it was mightily steep and thats where i think you have to be agressive and just attack otherwise ull be cautious ski within yourself and no improvement gained.

so going back to the majority of posts as with anything skill orientated in life if you dont push yourself you wont get better

and a bloody good COME ON, QUICK SHOUT DOES WONDERS FOR THE MENTALITY of you and your group. (self belief)

Help!!

Do you have to be aggressive to be a good skier - discuss -

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