 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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MissRibena, Everyone is the same. Think about kicking a football, playing tennis etc.... What you can do is to keep focussed on you left leg, what does it do, or how does it feel, that is different to the right one ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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MissRibena, I'll give an answer that belongs in the equipment section:
What sort of boots do you have?
Have you had any/many adjustments done to them to get them aligned correctly to your body?
It may be a question of technique - in which case instruction is the answer. It may be alignment - in which case boot adjustment is the answer. And it may well be a mix of both.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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MissRibena, I have a weaker turn to the left when my skiing is not going well and a weaker turn to the left when mountain biking...
let me know if you find the answer!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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MissRibena, Like everyone has said we all have a weak side and I would add that dry slopes are great showing up your weaknesses, on snow they might not be quite so evident. I just try to practise more on my weaker side than the stronger one but that obviously hasn't worked 'cos I've still got a weak side ! 
Once you go back onto snow everything will seem a bit easier - that doesn't help now though does it ..... I'll just leave now.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Rob Stanford, one of Warren Smiths instructors has an interesting take on this. He noted that when skiing one footed or making pivot slips from a standing start I turn better to the right more often than to the left. I'm very right footed so I thought this odd.
However Robs theory is that because I've played football and rugby nearly all my life; that my left foot has become better at balancing my body - as it's usually planted on the floor whilst my right is in the air kicking the ball or the odd opponent.
Strangely as the speed picks up I feel my yurn to the left becomes better than the turn to the right - perhaps a confidence thing?
Food for thought.
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I've never found any correlation between strong skiing side and whether the skier is left or right footed, however I do tend to agree with the point above that if you kick a ball with your right foot it is in fact your left leg which is stronger in a 'balancing and supporting your body while it makes other movements' sense.
In reply to the OP, without seeing you ski can't really help. You can focus on what both turns feel like and try to feel the difference, however many skiers (even some pretty good ones) simply don't have this level of body awareness. Nothing will beat a professional having a quick look, but don't let them fob you off. Yes there is generally a 'weaker' side and yes generally this will catch up, but there will be some difference in the movement patterns which can be addressed. If anything I would suggest trying not to get too fixated on it as this can exacerbate the problems...!
Enjoy
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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.
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Practice turning on one ski at a time, with the other one off the ground in the air.
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Not only do we all have a weaker side, but I also tend to ski better on more difficult stuff. I think it's to do with knowing you need to concentrate when it's difficult, it's easy to get complacent on easier stuff
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don't often feel qualified to comment on the Bends the Knees forum but this was/is my problem too as I'm very right sided in everything, horseriding and skiing being the two activities that have really given me 'issues' and tend to be overstrong turning left and weak turning right
Two things have really helped. Really good instruction from our Easiski foucsed on the underpinning problems, not just 'getting the turn' including plenty of one legged skiing and various other contortions and an insert down the outside of my left boot beautifully crafted by CEM out of redundant bits of foamy stuff he had kicking around which basically stops my leg caving in where the inner thigh muscle is disproportionately stronger than my outer thigh muscle - Don't know how it works, but it does.
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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.
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Thanks everyone. I'll definitely bear the boot thing in mind as I intend buying new boots at Christmas (previous pair a too-big disaster).
And I will do my best not to get too hung up on it as I did wonder yesterday if I was deliberately slowing/heading for flatter bits to turn on the bad side which I think makes it even harder to get the turn right. It doesn't help that himself was reared in the Carpathian mountains and is a really good self-taught skier who can't really explain what he's doing but 'just does it'. 
Thanks again
Rebecca
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MissRibena, To put it very simply (apart from the already good advice you've had above) your strong leg wants to do both turns! If you mainly fall on the flatter sections that would suggest you're leaning in on the turn (on to the stronger leg), and that you pass the 'point of no return' from the vertical point of view. You could try actually lifting the inside ski off the ground as you turn (best only to lift the heel if you can manage that), then, when you can do that OK, put the inside ski back on the ground but pretend it has a little 1mm hovercraft cushion under it. Hope this helps.
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You know it makes sense.
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easiski - thank you so much for posting that because I think that sounds like what i'm doing. Now that you say it, I'm pretty sure I'm focusing on the bad leg but at the last minute my good leg decides to help out. I will watch out for that and try your suggestion.
Thanks again
Rebecca
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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MissRibena, where abouts in ireland are you, if you are looking for boots i may be able to direct you to a man who can sort you out... other than the boots it sounds like a bit of strength / flexibility training required on one side of your body to iron out some of the inconsistancy
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Poster: A snowHead
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CEM, I'm in the midlands near Athlone. Is that any good?
I do go to the gym 3 times a week but I do everything equally (or maybe I'm even subconsciously working my good side harder than the bad side)! I don't have too much faith in the people in my gym to know what I'm talking about - do you have any exercise suggestions by any chance?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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MissRibena, Thanks for posting this have found it really useful and easiski, another useful drill to practice. So many lightbulb moments and things to consider.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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A small thing that I found helped me was to avoid always starting off on my good side, also a good exercise is to have someone (an instructor) at the bottom of a slope telling you when to turn, this has a couple of benefits, it stops hesitation (on the weak side) plus keeps your head up, and looking down the slope.
Its likely that it will never go entirely, but awareness is a good start.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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MissRibena, the one guy that i know is good is in Belfast...so a bit away, if you want his details send me a PM...anyway exercises, best thing to do to start is to do all the exercises you do for your legs with independant legs ie do the right leg then the left rather than both together, lower the weights and up the reps on legg extention /leg curl, do ultra slow squats either standing or leaning against an exercise ball consentrate on keeping the centre of your knee over your second toe, this will build up all the muscle around your knees [ultra slow speed is what makes this difficult] when you can do 50 on both legs start doing them one legged starting at 15 and working up remember ultra slow and feel the burn
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I always have my friends with this problem focus on always stopping on the weak turn and not on their strong turn. 99.9 percent of skiiers stop on the strong turn but if you focus on making your weak turn as pretty as possible when stopping it will improve your weak turn.
It's harder than you think, everyone stops when they are getting tired, so stopping on the weak side and making it pretty is a real challenge, have fun. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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MissRibena when you work out in the gym you may try doing ski specific excersises in front of a mirror. Health clubs usually have those floor-to-ceiling ones. Without looking at yourself it may be difficult to acheive "symmetry" of movement. I think generally one of the biggest obstacles in learning or improving technique is that we can't see ourselves actually skiing...
good luck!
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MissRibena, yes, definitely better to turn to one side or the other. I find if I don't I go straight on.
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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.
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In my case I prefer a right turn to a left turn. This coincides with my preference for side-slipping; I prefer and always opt for side-slipping with my left downhill ski leading. When I slid down an icy slide as a child again my left leg would lead; I would never have attempted the alternative. I have not tried snowboarding but again the preference would be for left foot leading (regular or goofy?). My own reasoning has a "fear" element in that I have the "sub conscious" thought that my right leg would be the one to help me out if I hit trouble so this is the one better positioned beneath my body in the left leg lead with my body angled against the direction of travel. I feel I would be less safe with a right leg lead if things turned nasty!
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FAQ
) If I fall, it's into the mountain usually, which is at least easy enough for getting back up. 
