 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Fastman (and anyone else that wants to chip in of course), You linked to the cross over, cross under and cross through vids on your glossary in the other thread and I've looked at those vids myself before. Now, I am clearly not at a stage yet of being able to get to grips with their subtle differences (though I can see the differences on the clips) so I guess this question is a bit of idle curiosity. To whit: the videos made me wonder which is the best sort of transition (and I bet there are others too) and why/when would you use one over another. Also, are they the sort of things that a skier makes a conscious decision to do or would they just arise naturally when they were needed as a skier went down arun?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Megamum, good question.
Often it's just a matter of personal preference as to which transition a skier (who has the ability to transition in various ways) chooses to use. There are, however, specific differences that makes each more suited than the others in various situations.
The CROSS THROUGH transition is a quicker transition, because your Center of Mass (CM) follows a straight path of travel from one side of your skis to the other. In the CROSS OVER transition, the CM rises as it crosses the skis, taking a longer pendulum shaped path of travel. When a quick start of a new turn is important, CROSS THROUGH is the way to go.
CROSS OVER is nice when you have the luxury of taking your time starting the new turn, and are looking to ski in liesurely fashion. In CROSS OVER, the new outside leg (the leg that's going to be bearing the bulk of your weight in the coming turn) gets extended very early at the beginning of the new turn. That provides a few important benefits.
1) It provides you with a moment to relax, with a long and strong leg, before the forces begin to mount as the turn progressses. It's a nice rest period that the severely flexed legged CROSS THROUGH transition does not provide.
2) Exending the new outside leg during the CROSS OVER transition gets you fore balanced very early in the new turn. That's because extending the knee moves the CM fore. This is a very important benefit for the leaning skier, because achieving and maintaining centered or fore balance is a major challenge for a good percentage of learning skiers. It's one reason I tend to teach the CROSS OVER transition first.
3) The CROSS OVER's early extended new outside leg provides great feel for the initiation of the new turn. That's because extending through the transition maintains solid pressure on the new outside (uphill) ski, allowing you to feel the entire process of the ski rolling from uhill edge, to flat, then up on its downhill edge. That awareness of exactly what the ski is doing allows you to be very precise and clean in beginning the new turn. Because in the CROSS THROUGH transition the legs are doing the opposite, flexing, wieghting of the new outside ski is reduced, and the feel of the edge therefor becomes vague. Also, you can roll onto a edge much more controlled and precisely when your standing tall then when your legs are flexed.
It's for all the above reasons I start people off with the CROSS OVER transition. The more dynamic and skills dependant CROSS THROUGH transition can be learned later, once all the principles of a good turn initiation and balance are solidly in place.
As to CROSS UNDER, it's generally combined with a pivot, when there's just not time and space for an arc to arc transition. It's done by adding a bit of edge angle, right at the end of the turn, and letting the skis cut under the body explosively. Quite fun and useful, but learn CROSS OVER and CROSS THROUGH first.
Here, I'll post the link again to the video clips of each of these 3 transitions, to save folks the trouble of having to search out the other thread to find it.
http://www.yourskicoach.com/YourSkiCoach/C.html
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
In answer to the last bit Of Megamum's question ...
I think it varies from one person to another, as do all the questions about how much people consciously think about what they are doing when they are skiing.
But generaly, the better you are at anything, the less you have to think about it.
When I am free skiing, & not playing with something in particular, I don't think about it very much.
If I think about anything, it is what I want the skis to do.
That is probably because, for me, it is an acquired skill , whereas if I am working on something it is still in the practice phase.
I'd probably use a Cross Over in medium to large turns on piste, gradualy becoming a Cross Through as the radius of the turn reduces.
I'd use a Cross Under to get out of trouble or in easier bumps for fun
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
