A concentrated 10 hours of lessons and still not happy - new video added

A snowHead

Another +1 for Inner Skiing, I am currently reading it.

A snowHead

Megamum, 'enthusiastic' . . . mmmmm, that doesn't mean you "dance" . . . I used to loath dancing (long and slightly weird story) but I've grown to desire to learn to get better. But dance , like skiing is not just knowing the mechanical steps but first it's the music in your head . . . the visceral . . . the meaning behind the phrase that 'dance is the vertical expression of horizontal intent' . . . all of that is inside your soul, you need to relax and let that part of you explore the world you have been hiding from it.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I think the dance analogy (and similar suggestions) is an unnecessary distraction at your stage of learning. You need to focus on developing some key movement patterns so you can reliably reproduce them in a wide range of situations, steep and gentle, hard snow and soft, high speed and slow. At the moment this is not happening so your core skills are not yet in place. No amount of psychological distraction is going to unlock those skills if you haven't developed them in the first place. Once you have developed them you can then find ways of skiing more fluidly (although I think that will just happen naturally as your skills improve).

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

rob@rar, exactly what I'd been thinking. The fundamentals aren't there yet. Too early to think about dancing.

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rob@rar,

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

After all it is free

Megamum, you could do as I'm doing and get some more lessons outdoors before winter. I'm off to a Confidence and Skills week with Easiski at the end of June. Hoping to maintain what skill I have over the summer Toofy Grin

. Although I'm sure I could improve my skiing indoors it wouldn't be so nice as being out on a glacier and I still (might) get a summer holiday in the afternoons!!

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Megamum,
Have you managed to get any practice in? you wanna get your moneys worth out of that camera wink

I've been to HH once, but hope to get there again this Sat, just fun skiing

If you consider 4hrs driving, £100+ lighter, black n blue hips n a bust lip fun rolling eyes

http://youtube.com/v/Jxbs1kkxEqM

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franzClammer, You are aware that there is an all day freestyle event on Saturday.

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franzClammer, Nope haven't managed to get to HH yet. Been very busy since the EoSB. There is a chance that I might get to Manchester Xscape later in the year once the football season kicks off, as occasionally daughter and I find ourselves abandoned in the area on a Saturday whilst the lad go to watch the footy. HH is LOT nearer, but requires a special trip. If I go to Xscape it kind of factors in alongside everyone else doing stuff which doesn't seem so self centred and mean as everyone gets a trip to somewhere special. That said I daresay HH will get a visit/s at some point and there is always the SH Christmas gathering which I often get along to there.

You're looking your usual 'at ease' self in the video Very Happy

, I envy your flexibility that lets your legs move from side to side under a relatively quite torso.

You know it makes sense.

I KNOW!!! Forget the skiing drills & enrol in Belly dancing classes....better costumes too ...sorted wink

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

A snowHead

A snowHead

Physics says to go "up" you have to push down.... so unweighting the skis by an up movement may no really be possible...

Either way if you soften or lengthen both legs (which you do in the vid) you don't start a turn but traverse. Independent leg action is what you need!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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I would recommend this book - http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Inner_Skiing.html?id=_cd_mAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

While it doesn't really focus on your technique, it does help in understanding the mental side to skiing. From what far more experienced skiers than me have said on here, this sounds like the main issue you have.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I learned the most about my skiing one day when I was on a really long shallow trail. It was about as steep as the trails that traverse the mountain but as wide as a green run. I set myself the goal of turning without having the turn slow me down. I did a lot of turns, experimented with angles and got a good feel for how skis behave as you move your feet and body.

I do most of my practicing on baby slopes, green slopes and trails, trying out pivot slips on trails or keeping my body pointed at a target at the bottom of the hill on the other slopes.

I'm still a beginner but in my experience it's more fun to learn on the baby slopes or even shallower. I pick slopes that I'm confident I could straight line but still be safe on and use an otherwise boring run to practice and experiment (skiing backwards is the current thing I want to learn Smile

).

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kfyh, Welcome to Snowheads!! That's a really good exercise. I do the same when I'm finding my ski legs and I get a good feel for what the skis are doing and how they react. Once I find my edges, blue runs became the most fun place to ski at speed.

As for skiing backwards: Twin tips help. You can start off with a snow-plough (pizza/wedge shape) backwards. If you look over your left shoulder, you will automatically turn right (vice versa) - not sure how it works, but it does. Then start edging backwards, like this guy..... Laughing

http://youtube.com/v/hDVKIu5UAGM

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

ALQ, there was a lady at CFe at the weekend that I spoke to. She was doing some backwards skiing that made me so envious - its something that scares me witless, but I did watch closely what she was doing, she told me that had taken a freestyle lesson and was practising, but I thought she was very good at what she was doing. She was using a drill where she extended the outside arm on the bend as she looked over the same shoulder.

After all it is free

Megamum, Next time you're on an empty green slope, try it the way I described...it's foolproof, a weird feeling and a really good laugh.
What I would really like to learn is to ski in ski boots...as performed by a slalom race coach in Tignes, while haranguing one of his teenage students and holding a huge drill!!

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ALQ, I have tried it (skiing backwards!! wink

) during lessons, and have always been encouraged to try it in a snow plough. I guess because the weight is not right the effect just drives the tails of the skis together and I end up sprawled on my face with legs akimbo in the very position it is difficult to get up from!. I think trying on a shallower slope with the skis slightly more parallel might be easier

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When I started attempting the backwards thing I too picked really easy shallow runs, and I still fell over quite a bit. It's like going back to being a total beginner again Toofy Grin

Stick with it though, a few goes throughout each day you ski and it does start to feel more natural, then you can venture onto steeper slopes. Now I can fall over on reds too rolling eyes

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pam w, We were told to look over our right shoulder (facing up the hill, while in a backward snowplough) to turn right as you head down the hill (so you go the opposite way to which your head turns). It just worked naturally for me...can't explain it. Give it a go next time you're on a green slope, just for laughs.

Megamum, the only issue with "skis slightly more parallel" would be that you'd pick up speed quickly and bottle it...going backwards definitely feels faster.

ALQ, I have no doubt that you are right, I guess its finding the right balance in between being so 'ploughed' that your skis clash together before you get started and being that parallel that they run away with you. Mind you it's like going forwards on skis, those that can do it make it so easy..............do you ever watch someone sking and doing something like a full 360 spin (with skis on the snow!!) or going backwards (my rotten kids can do both) and think that looks 'easy' yet, again it is sooo difficult to master.

You know it makes sense.

Megamum, Don't talk to me about 180s!! Crying or Very sad

On the very same slope we learned backward snowploughs, we tried 180s with skis on snow (= flat spin?). I fell over 6 times within 50 yards Embarassed

I just couldn't help but catch an edge and falling flat!! I got there in the end by cheating - leaning back and flipping the skis round. To this day, I have a phobia about doing 180s.

Have to say that your latest vid makes skiing look alot easier than your earlier vids (with very rigid turns)...a bit too easy, if you ask me ... have you been smoking FC's special vegetation? wink

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

ALQ,

I don't know what they are called 180 or 360, but the kids manage to ski down the slope and then kind of pivot their skis on the snow all the way round going past skiing backward and back on to going forwards position again - and they make it look easy!! I can get to facing backwards without too much effort, but somehow can't complete the turn and end up in dangerous going backwards land!!

I'm perhaps being a bit naughty, but I like watching that video https://vimeo.com/75698240 It gives me confidence that I might actually be capable of getting as good as I want to at this skiing lark which is something that I often had doubts about. Funnily enough it was actually commented on that I actually HADN'T had a errrr.......muscle relaxant

prior to skiing Laughing

A snowHead

Megamum, When myself and a mate started trying to spin we just used our poles to push us round the final part of the turn. After a while the pole use naturally dropped off as your body began to feel natural while pivoting.

A snowHead

Avalanche Poodle, great, mind you I think I must be doing something with poles already when I've tried it to not have ended up on my backside more often than I already have Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I bought my first pair of skis this summer, a pair of k2 sights. Tried them out during the MK Ski Test. I think they should be quite fun jibbing around the mountain and skiing switched. I've managed to spin around 180 and ski backwards in a straight line with a wedge. Next for me is the stuff ALQ mention, like looking where I'm going.

Megamum, I watched some of your other videos and I think your skiing looks nice and effortless. Curious to know if you have any goals for your skiing this coming winter. For me there's a bunch of basic tricks I want to try and learn. Nollies, Ollies, Butterring and Skiing Backwards.

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think for the skiing past the 180 mark, you have to remember that leaning down the mountain means leaning backwards. if you lean forwards, you'll end up in a wedge, and the edges won't let you carry on round.

or at least I think that's the problem I have.

will be trying to fix that in December, and also try to remember the skiing on the outside edge of the inside ski trick that Ronald showed me.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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I found that I fell going backwards a lot more when I did it half halfheartedly. When I went for it a bit more the edges seemed to engage, although when I did catch one at higher speed there were some right arse over tit moments snowHead

Help!!

A concentrated 10 hours of lessons and still not happy - new video added

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