Interesting, but I think it's difficult to separate the three at least for me. I need to hear who something should be done and why, then I need to see it and then I try to repeat what I see. So, I don't think I would be able to learn skiing using only videos or just by reading books, and one lesson on real slopes does way more for me than all the youtube videos and technical articles. But I like to have technical explanations too and definitely need a demonstration. I find that I ski much better and think way less when I have someone good to follow.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Definitely common sense but also I think instructors should be careful about the "we know best about how you learn this" approach. People definitely react to styles of teaching in different ways - some react better to the MTFU do it style than the ego cossetting " that's awesome" nannying and vice versa.
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Dave of the Marmottes, agreed, and people need also to be self-aware. I used to have trouble memorising stuff for exams, and for piano performances too, until I properly addressed HOW it was best for me to learn things. For instance, it was not until I had almost graduated from university that I managed to work out that I couldn't commit the printed word to memory 'photographically', but could do so with my own handwriting. Then again, I couldn't 'photograph' notes on the stave, but could visualise the moves my hands made on the keyboard. Fascinating stuff, the way memory works.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
never summer wrote:
...I find that I ski much better and think way less when I have someone good to follow.
+1
I think it's definitely a combination of methods coming together. You need to know what you should be doing while following and vids can be really useful IMHO.
On a recent trip, I had a bit of a breakthrough (to increase speed) and it was due to a combination of factors:
1. A few youtube vids to aid visualisation (see below) on how to do fast turns.
2. A few key things to think about ("push yourself down the hill", "look up you b***h", "stay forward you c**t")
3. Good instructor. I told him about my fear of speed and after a few days of the usual instruction n drills etc, he did the, "OK. We go top to bottom, non-stop. Follow me". All I can say is wow - I'd never skied better and faster with more control. Now I just need to practice it more, which for most of us is the hard part.
I find that I ski much better and think way less when I have someone good to follow.
Agreed, providing the person you're following is setting a feasible sort of speed and course. That's why the "follow me" school of ski teaching is not to be sniffed at. The person following right behind an instructor is getting a lot of value - providing they follow the line and the other aspects of the demo. The 10th person in the increasingly disorganised snake is not getting much out of it.
I particularly enjoyed following closely an instructor laying down the optimum (for me, not him!) fast carved turns. And, whilst I enjoyed it less, following an instructor's carefully chosen line through moguls, judged to perfection to stretch me a bit, given my modest skills in moguls.
On the other hand trying to keep up with a much more skilled (or simply more reckless) friend can lead to disaster....
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