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Help me improve please [video]

 davidmt83
davidmt83
Guest
So I'm back from Kitzbuhel in Austria and I'd like to think my skiing has come on a bit since I last posted a video - if anyone has any pointers though on how to improve that'd be welcome. Thanks


http://youtube.com/v/b42X00alxVo

And just for fun here's my last post / video from 2016:

https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=124581

And the one before from 2014:

https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=114925
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
OK. I'm going to reply as nobody else is.

The good news is that you look like you're becoming comfortable on skis and there's a quite a bit of room for improvement, with much of it not needing more than a little bit of changing and practice.

Overall, your stance and turns look a bit static and forced, there's probably too much weight on the inside ski during the turn (and a bit of an A frame), and you tend to push the outside ski out and round during the turn rather than letting the skis do the turning for you.

I'd say you're really at the stage where a bit of good instruction is not only a good idea but probably essential if you want to make decent progress and avoid these bad habits becoming second nature.

So keep it up and get some lessons. A good instructor will help you sort out your faults quickly and should lead to rapid progress. If anything, I'd say you're probably at the stage where an instructor would love to get their hands on you because of the progress they could help you make.
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 davidmt83
davidmt83
Guest
Appreciate the reply, thank you. What's the ideal for instructor lessons, one on one for half a day for a week say? Or is that too much and classes a more appropriate option, or just a few days of one and one and see how I'm getting on? Are there particular resorts you'd recommend or is it pretty much anywhere?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I agree with what @olderscot, said about get some lessons to help with technique, perhaps on your next holiday a half day 1-2-1 to give you some stuff to work on and then mid week again with the same instructor.

One technique thing that I think I will suggest is to look where you want to be going and what the terrain is doing between where you are and where you want to be, turns slow you down (sometimes quite significantly) and then almost immediately you're polling to get to where you want to go to, whereas had to just let the skis run a bit you'd have got there without polling.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Get your hands forward
Stop rushing the turn (turn much slower until you are pointing down the fall line)
Once you have done 1 & 2, stop being a fanny and go faster.
ski holidays
 davidmt83
davidmt83
Guest
Don't hold back on that advice! Very Happy
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
+1 to what was said above especially about getting proper instruction. Type of instruction will depend on what you can afford and how much you want to improve. Class lessons will be cheaper and less strenuous but you'll develop more with private lessons or a small coaching group; albeit there will be a cost associated with that and they'll work you hard (in a good way). You're at a level where you could go to most resorts and have a perfectly enjoyable time but if you want to progress then it will need that expert input. My only comment as I'm not an instructor is to loosen up your upper body and use your poles to set up your next turn.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'm not sure that I can add a great deal to what has already been said:

- You are at the "Stem Christie" stage ie. Start the turn with the skis in a small Plough and then bringing them parallel at the end.

- A bit more speed and the use of rhythm...along with the flattening of the unweighted ski, will allow the skis to gradually remain parallel (centrafugal force) This should not be forced.

- Turns should be a more gradual C-Shape...and not a hurried Z-Shape. Skiing with rhythm, means the end of one turn runs seamlessly into the start of the next ie. S-Shapes rather than a series of hurried turns connected by a traverse.

- A lot of the time, your hands are almost in your pockets....they should remain in your vision at all times.

- Have a look at the Darren Turner videos, showing how to transition from Plough to Parallel.

- Once you have a clear idea of what you are aiming for, get Instruction to help achieve it.


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Tue 12-03-19 14:40; edited 2 times in total
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 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.
I'd say half a day (4 hours) of private instruction at a time is probably overkill. You'll get an awful lot done in a two hour session and a few of those during the week with practice in between would be a good starting point.

We have some good instructors on the forum and I'm sure they can advise on the best session length.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@davidmt83, at your level I'd say group lessons were a better option than private lessons. I think you'd make more progress over a week of group lessons than you would in a more limited number of private lessons that you could get for the cost of a week of group lessons. That assumes you end up with a good instructor rather than someone who is just going through the motions, so maybe ask for ski school recommendations in whatever resort you plan to ski in.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
As for most people you have a weaker side - in your case left footed turns to the right - which is particularly noticeable at the start of the video where there is a big hesitation before you find the new outside ski (left foot). Whereas a lot of your right footed turns slip in quite nicely. As a focus I would think about getting balanced on the ball of your left foot a bit earlier and patiently steering the ski around in a curve, you could experiment with a bit of leg extension so that you are pressing the ski into the snow at the start of the turn to make the initiation a bit more positive.

As others have said get some lessons, the best format will depend on what you prefer but I would try and leave yourself plenty of time to free ski and practice. The new gen ski clinic idea, for example, works well for people who can already get around the mountain but there would be lots of other options. Spend some time working out what you want to get out of the sessions and then research who can best provide this and go to the resort where they are based. There is lots of knowledge on this forum if you need specific recommendations.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Quote:
...
for most people you have a weaker side - in your case left footed turns to the right ...


I had exactly that problem. You have to really focus on that side for a while and fully completing that turn.

Whatever you do with for left turns, try and replicate it for right turns, with an equal, if not more (no harm exaggerating to begin with) pressure to get it dialled in. You'll notice a big difference in performance once you get it right.
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