 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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No but it helps to get through the European lift queues. 
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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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No, the best skiers make it look effortless and only get aggressive when they have too...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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erica2004, I find it helps me sometimes - not that I'm that good.
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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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Hmm, i’d say to be a good skier, no. To take it to the next level and be a great skier, yes. Lack of aggressiveness is a criticism often given to me on high end training courses. On the last course i did (with skimottaret), there was little i was told to do in terms of making changes to the way i ski, more a case of adding to - i.e. to try to be more dynamic and aggressive.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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not all the time, but it is needed in your kitbag sometimes skiing "on eggshells" is required, other times aggressive skiing.....
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| beanie1 wrote: |
| To take it to the next level and be a great skier, yes. |
I would agree, and I don't think it is something that one can change.
For me, it is whether in a split second decision you would typically choose to go faster or slow down.
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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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Depends on what's 'Good' 
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GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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lookiong at it the other way, I don;t think you can ever be a good skiier if you;re passive. you need to put in the appropriate amount of effort
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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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Depends on the conditions and context.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR |
I often find that a good growl can help put you in that aggressive mental state to attack the slope and snow.
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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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My opinion roughly reflects that of beanie1.
You can be a very good, cruising recreational skier without recourse to aggression. To "take it to the next level" as beanie1 put it, you need more of everything: inclination, angulation etc etc. Quite often that takes some hard, forcefull skiing, not to mention balls to do.
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Poster: A snowHead
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You need to be able to dominate the skis sometimes, which can require putting a lot of energy into your skiing. If you call that aggression, then, yes to be a good skier you need to have the capacity for aggression in your skiing. But mostly it is timing and sensitivity for the snow & terrain which will raise your skiing to the next level.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We can also ask the question: physical or mental aggression?
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If I'm stood at the top of a hard looking slope and start skiing it timidly, I tend to fall over and get into a mess. If I stand at the top of the same slope and give myself a good talking to and set off aggressively, I ski it much better. Then again, I probably don't know what a good skier looks like. I think I'm good. I suspect an instructor, or anyone who vaguely knew what they were doing would disagree. 
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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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No
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| beanie1 wrote: |
| i.e. to try to be more dynamic and aggressive. |
Two very different things. Dynamic - nearly always (although when you get sufficiently good sometimes art can conceal the art); aggressive - only when necessary.
Aggression can frequently be the trigger that gets the required dynamism, but then can get in the way of control. I'm very rarely criticised for being insufficiently aggressive, but when I try and calm it down, unfortunately the dynamism goes as well  .
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| Quote: |
If I'm stood at the top of a hard looking slope and start skiing it timidly, I tend to fall over and get into a mess. If I stand at the top of the same slope and give myself a good talking to and set off aggressively, I ski it much better.
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I agree timid is not good. But the alternative can be positive and dynamic, rather than aggressive. And it's perfectly possible to be aggressive and useless - you see 'em all the time, using way more energy than they need, flinging their arms about....
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pam w, That's the word 'dynamic'. I think you need to feel strong in your core too, if that makes sense.
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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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| Quote: |
If I'm stood at the top of a hard looking slope and start skiing it timidly, I tend to fall over and get into a mess. If I stand at the top of the same slope and give myself a good talking to and set off aggressively, I ski it much better
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I see this too. Timid did me no good at all. Once I developed the attitude that there was no-one else going to get me down the slope except me so I better get on and sort it out things went much better.
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| Quote: |
I think you need to feel strong in your core too, if that makes sense.
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Perfect sense. If I'm feeling a bit scared and intimidated I actually feel the need to relax, rather than get "aggressive". And I find the best way of doing that is music. Turn in time to the music, that does it. But definitely with that core strength - as in dancing, rather than thumping someone on the nose. I dare say that to jump off cliffs or head straight down the Men's Downhill you need adrenaline, but for the sort of ordinarily scary run that worries us normal punters, I don't think adrenaline is a help.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| olster wrote: |
| If I'm stood at the top of a hard looking slope and start skiing it timidly, I tend to fall over and get into a mess. If I stand at the top of the same slope and give myself a good talking to and set off aggressively, I ski it much better. |
I wouldn't class that as aggression but having the courage of your convictions, i.e. commitment.
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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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Another new question... (which I think eng_ch has essentially just touched on, in a roundabout way). Is a "good skier" someone who is technically proficient, or someone who has decided to get down something at the edge of their ability... 
We seem to have drifted towards the latter. If we are talking about getting a grip and attempting something new in a positive, rather than timid manner, then we could class any third day skier attempting a blue run as a "good skier".
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Tue 28-10-08 21:22; edited 1 time in total
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skisimon, we're talking about the first, i was anyway.
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You know it makes sense.
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Is aggressive the wrong word? Should it be committed?
What do you mean by aggressive?
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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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beanie1, it's what I thought we were talking about too, but there seems to have been a little bit of thread drift.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mosha Marc, I think that's the crux of it.
For certain types of skiing, such as racing, I would certainly say that aggression is key, the speeds and forces involved require not only commitment and balls, but a very concerted effort to put power into the turns as appropriate to counter the appropriate forces.
Now I'm not an expert on off-piste, after all, I don't do enough of it, but I would have thought that aggression (as opposed to commitment) could be counter-productive in the deep and fluffy stuff.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| skisimon wrote: |
| Now I'm not an expert on off-piste, after all, I don't do enough of it, but I would have thought that aggression (as opposed to commitment) could be counter-productive in the deep and fluffy stuff. |
I think it varies with snow conditions. On the Friday at last season's EoSB the increasing temperatures meant that the afternoon snow off-piste was pretty sludgy in parts and was best skied by powering through it with a lot of force. On the same descent but a little bit further down the mountain the snow had a bit of a light crust which would support you but only if you skied it very gently; I found it was much better to ski this with a retraction turn to avoid breaking through the surface. Horses for courses as they say - a good skier will have a wide range of tools available, including aggressive and gentle skiing styles, and will use them appropriately.
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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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rob@rar, quite. I was just using fluffy as an example. I certainly agree that a a good skier will have a range of styles they can adopt according to the conditions.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes - being timid in moguls is not a recipe for sucess and we're not all blessed with being fluid and elegant but bludgeoning can be a practical technique.
I've skied with some very technically strong women who just don't seem to push it half as hard as they could. Must be because they lack the macho posturing/overconfidence gene
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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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May I argue semantics here? Are we using the word "aggression" as a substitute for confidence, competence and comfort? I'm sure it's as rob@rar illustrates, the knowledge and experience you gain dictates how well and how quickly you ski in the conditions. They expand your 'comfort zone' and obviously your confidence to ski over or through conditions that would stymie others.
Alternatively, are we using "aggression" to define the brute force and ignorance that so many of us Oestrogen challenged display whilst 'sur Bash'
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Masque, I agree with the OP, GrahamN and pam w, who all used the word "dynamic." This is to be contrasted with poddling along on auto-pilot, which won't generally cut the mustard, except perhaps on a very easy, wide, empty slope.
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Hurtle, it's probably just semantics, but isn't it possible to be dynamic (which to me means constantly changing such things as balance, direction, flow) while skiing gently?
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rob@rar, erm, yes, I guess so.
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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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erica2004, no but you probably do to be a good racer, big difference between the two
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D G Orf, I think racing is the activity where aggression probably does have a place.
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FAQ
Unfortunately I get it the wrong way around far too often 