Ski Instruction

ChiSkiing

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Gentle short turns with the "chi" use of the core. Pelvis only being countered to the turn - shoulder following the turn. Spine twisting in the direction of the turn.

Apart from the back pack swinging around in the slow motion shots it's hard to differentiate the movement pattern. There is an active involvement of the core muscles here and what can be observed is that the whole body is active - the upper body is not passive or "blocked" as is the usual requirement. You can see an exaggerated movement at the end of the slow motion sequence - the back pack swinging out corresponding to the upper body twisting in the direction of the new turn - to generate a twist in the spine as the pelvis twists in the opposite direction - countering the turn. This is not a "rotation" in the direction of the turn, it is an internal twisting - setting up the core muscles at the start of the turn and then maintaining it all the way through the turn.

"Chi Power" is coming to skiing!

2300ft climb - ChiRunning

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Went for a bit of a "recovery" run today - recovery from the flu that is. It's the first time attempting such a climb 2300ft over 8.7km all the way up to Granier. The climb took 1hr and1 minute - but this was with a relaxed heart rate and no feeling at all of tiredness or discomfort. The key to making this easy is 100% the ChiRunning technique - absolutely amazing. All the power is coming from the core muscles - practically nothing from the quads. It's first time over such a distance and time for about a year so I had take it easy. Also there was a niggle towards the inside of the left leg below the knee - but that was there from the cycling yesterday when I did the same climb in 35 minutes. The best part as that both workouts were in shorts and T shirts - it's so warm in the sun!

Centre of Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Oh well - a week lost to the flu! Guess it could have been a lot worse.

Rowdy was finally back on top of health issues and back to working on his skiing. On the positive side - despite the gap of three years or more there was a proper sense of continuation and no apparent loss of capacity.

The Rowdy Paradox

Rowdy is a real paradox to work with because almost every new exercise appears to really sort out the skiing - then afterwards the same old quirks just return again. Skiing is a holistic activity so this complicates things further as the overall motion that emerges is the result of many integrated factors all influencing each other.

Listing the main quirks (flowing turns - not fall-line skiing)

1 - Sink down and pole plant at the end of a flowing turn

2 - Up motion into the new turn

3 - Extra down motion in preparation for the turn completion

4 - Letting the body rotate at the end of the turn and the weight come back onto the heels.

5 - Letting the upper body remain in the vertical unintentionally as the skis plunge downhill

6 - Pushing the body systematically uphill instead of out into the perpendicular at the turn completion

7 - Pushing feet outwards in the pivot
8 - Inconsistent fore/aft control - sometimes too far forward or too far back

Why should these tendencies persist despite many exercises to prevent them? It appears to me that the common link here is Centre of Mass (CoM). The most important thing in skiing is the CoM and it should be used to control everything else. All of the extra or unwanted movements are at the turn transitions and they all interfere with the motion of the CoM - blocking either the exit from one turn or the entry to the next.

Centre of Everything
The point here is that while all of the individual actions are trained so that they support the motion of the CoM - it must not be forgotten that skier integrates everything by simply focusing on moving the CoM. The intention has to be to move the CoM - down and into a turn and then back up out of it - like a motorbike - but with rhythm and flow from turn to turn. While the actions of the limbs are part of this (they are part of the body mass) they should not become individually more significant than the overall pattern of motion of the CoM.

Rowdy tries to set a platform between turns or to gain security from a strong up motion. What doesn't happen is the flow of the CoM down towards the snow at the start of the turn. It's the smooth - mindful - passage of the CoM out of one turn or traverse and across the skis into the next turn that counts. This can be done with weight on any ski and body in any orientation and it will still be absent of all of the quirks listed above. You just have to stand on the leg that can support you best as the CoM moves naturally - nothing more - the skis actually do the rest.

The CoM is an both an abstract concept and a physical reality. It's abstract in the sense that it is used when calculating with Newtonian forces to simplify entire objects down to a single point representation. On the other hand it is a real thing because we can feel it and physically exploit it. Gymnasts spin and roll precisely around the centre of mass - they have to. All athletes exploit this either consciously or otherwise. The skier has to orientate all activity around this centre. Initially, during training all of the coordination being developed is "disconnected" - rock the foot, place the hip, tilt the pelvis, push the foot forwards etc. It's easy to lose sight of that fact that all of those are only supporting skills to help to move the CoM more effectively. The "conductor" of the orchestra should be the CoM itself - with everything esle trained to happen automatically in support.

When Rowdy is focused on completeing a flowing turn with good dynamics - bringing the CoM directly perpendicular to his skis - he then manages to block the drop of the CoM both downwards and forwards into the next turn. If he gets the "downwards" timing correct then he loses the forwards part - adjusting to the change in pitch and acceleration at the start of the turn. This could be linked to his motorcycling. Going into any turn on a motorbike generates a deceleration - but in skiing it's the opposite, there is an acceleration that must be anticipated actively with the CoM.

When Rowdy is focused on the start of the turn he gets the end/preparation phase muddled - it turns into a "platform" event often including an upper body rotation and a stem of the lower ski, extra downsink of the body, inappropriate pole planting, getting back on the heels etc.

The turn transition has to be seen as a single uncluttered event where the CoM passes across the skis. Visually - looking dowwards perpendicularly at the snow - the skis should appear to move from one side of your field of vision to the other. You have to realte to the mountain in the perpendicular and not the vertical.

Our natural state in outer-space is "free float". On Earth that does not change - we are still in "free float" except that our motion is being blocked by the "elastic" force of the ground. Correspondingly all we feel is this force beneath our feet - it's the only feedback that we have. Placing ourselves on a slope and removing friction then we return partially to "free float". This effect can be interpreted as components of gravity - one component converting into downhill acceleration and the other perpendicular to the slope. The effect is that you still feel "elastic" force under your feet - perpendicular to the ground - but at a level reduced in proportion to the steepness of the slope. The feeling however is exactly the same in every way to standing on flat ground - only reduced in strength. The point is that the only thing we feel - and feel consistently - is pressure through the feet. Our primary sensory perception then has to be the feet. Directing the CoM successfully depends on being connected with your feet - and how they are connected to the ground. It simplifies everything if you realise that you are effectively NOT on a slope - you are on flat ground - but with some "free float" returned - and the feet should reflect this as if you were on flat ground.

Centre of Power
Rowdy had ended up with a sore back early on during this trip so we looked straight away at how to deal with that. Recently through bringing ChiRunning technique into both cycling and skiing I'd spotted that coordination for all of the activities has to be changed in a similar way - radically.

The key to this change lies close to the CoM in the spine itself. Normally when a turn is made on skis the body coils up in the counter direction of the turn - so turning clockwise the body coils anti-clockwise from the feet up to the neck. Traditionally most of this "coiling" takes place in the hips - below the pelvis but some takes place up through the mid-section. This actually causes the lower ribs to compress in towards the pelvis. There is a "coiling" of sorts but without activating the core muscles in a protective manner. Often the goal is to keep the upper body as relaxed and tension free as possible - but this "relaxation" inevitably leads to lack of support and protection for the lumbar spine. It's just impossible to protect the back from surprise events.

To change this you have to use a different model. Imagine the shoulders and feet fixed and only the centre of the body able to rotate. It's like twisting a rubber bar in the middle with both ends fixed. There is a tension both above and below the centre. In this case the spine twists in exactly the opposite direction from before - but it is not apparent to the observer. In the photograph at the top of the page Rowdy is doing this actively and gives the impression of a classically angulated skier with a close stance - and the legs in good alignment. The main thing is that the spine is now twisted in the opposite direction and this opens the space between the ribs and the pelvis and tenses the core muscles in the process. This tensing effect then compresses the stomach area producing an "hydraulic sac" effect - distributing the load of any vertical shocks going through the body and also protecting against any shearing loads. The acid test on Rowdy was that despite starting the day almost unable to put on his ski boots there was no more back pain from skiing when working on this new movement.

The "rubber bar" analogy is only partially correct because it's like it's fixed in the middle and the ends are free to move at the start of a turn - then it's fixed at the ends and it's the centre that moves at the end of a turn.

The twist goes all the way up the lower spine right up to the 12th vertebra - the rib cage. This implies that upper/lower body separation is spread from the hip right up to the ribs - and not isolated in the hips.

There has to be an active search for the twist in the spine. We are so used to blocking with the core and trying to protect it - instead of generating power with it. This can be used to stunning effect in running - as per ChiRunning technique.

Short Turns
For myself, I noticed that in short turns it's necessary to use a pole plant almost in line with the ski, towards the front so as to keep the shoulders more in line with the feet. This makes it possible to separate and isolate the middle of the body. With a more open pole plant the short turns become completely confused with respect to the direction of twist in the spine. The relevance of this in slalom "breakaway" gates is striking. The gates are cleared with the outside arm - following the line of the skis - the hips to the inside. This trains the skier to twist the spine in the correct direction - the direction of the turn - not counter to it.

Skyped from Himalayas

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:08:00 +0000

Well I'm still staying indoors and recovering from the flu. The benefits of this is that the food bill has seriously dropped and I've lost several kilos of stubborn fat - weighing in at 66.4kg this morning. Shows how silly my previous acceptance of yoyo winter weight gain really was. Had a rather unique telephone call yesterday which came though on Skype - free of charge over the mobile phone - from a remote village in the Himalayas. Haluk is out there heliskiing at the moment - hopefully taking care of himself. Probably more danger from viruses in Val d'Isère than of avalanche in the Himalayas.

First bike ride of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

It was a nice sunny day - starting out below 0°C but warming up in the sun. The desire had returned to get out on the bike and feel the freedom of a long ride.

Preparing the bike was the hardest part because I left home three times having to return for things that I'd forgotten - like "water bottle", "heart rate monitor" etc.

In the end I had a bad headache and started the ride feeling under par. The headache transferred itself to the stomach and for a while both were hurting - but after about an hour the pains had all cleared up. This is why I prefer to be relatively active - skiing or cycling when ill. It's either the fresh air or the exercise that does the trick - not sure which. Regardless - it was a close call that it didn't all turn bad because there was obviously something wrong. For a few hours after finishing the workout I actually felt great - but then the problem progressively exposed itself. Some sort of stomach flu again! This virus seems to do a rapid closed loop specifically between the UK and Val d'Isère - and I seem to get it every time it passes through.

Leg Alignment

I continued working on the leg alignment and use of the twist in the spine. Ironically I'd first ever felt the mechanics of this when on the bike and then it transferred to skiing and only after that did it become really clear in running - where it all originates from in the first place (ChiRunning). It takes a real mindful presence to stay on top of the whole process and it easily degenerates when not attentive.

Route

Going over the Col de Tamié it was a bit chilly on the northern side and after passing the Abbey de Tamié there were lots of cross country skiers out in the fields. Further down I passed the short road up to the ski station at Seythenex and remembered how nice it was up there when visiting it for the first time last summer. It appeared to have excellent off-piste and was an attraction for local freeriders. There must be many unknown gems like this around.

Down in the valley on the other side of the mountain pass there is a long cycle path going most of the way around to Albertville - but it was practically unusable after the first few kilometres due to snow and ice that still hadn't melted. I persisted for a while and had a few frights because those skinny, slick tyres really don't want to keep you upright on wet, uneven ice - very dodgy! Eventually I had to walk on a section of ice and then get off the path and onto the road. The Speedplay cleats on the shoes had managed to fill with packed and hardened ice and getting back on the bike was very tricky especially with all the main road traffic blasting by inches away. Guess it's still a bit early in the year for this - but it felt great anyway.

Oh well - it turned out to be a proper flu. The fever built up steadily and then broke on during Saturday night. I didn't take any painkillers because they can lower the fever and it's the fever/temperature that kills the virus. Probably better to feel really bad for a short time and get it over with than to have it linger on. It was interesting that on the bike the symptoms disappeared - I'm curious if that is to do with increased CO2 levels in the blood from increased metabolism.

Mike, Alex

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:12:00 +0000

Alex having a go at slalom

Mike was still weak from a bug but still able to focus on developing technique - which was just as well because we were only really getting started when the fever struck a few days ago.

Our aim was still to increase hip angulation. Mike was painfully aware of his lack of progress in this area. It was clear to me that we had to persist with the issue as directly as possible until changes started to come through. Mike found it hard to relate to pulling back with the outside hip through the turn so I decided to try a different approach.

Leg Alignment

The first thing we looked at was leg alignment and the use of the adductor muscles. I showed how the leg re-aligns when the hip is pulled back and that pulling inwards with the adductor muscles does not cause the knee to move inwards (which forces the hip outwwards). This pulling inwards should be present at all times.

Leg Rotation

Standing on the snow with the skis off - digging the heels in and facing downhill I showed how one leg could be placed behind the body with the toes pointing outwards and then how the foot could be swung around in an arc coming in close in front of the body with the toes pointing inwards. The idea was to feel the rotation of the leg in the hip socket without the pelvis moving. Mike had a lot of difficulty at first just trying to prevent the pelvis from swinging around the movement was so alien to him. It is important to avoid twisting the foot in the direction of the turn - the leg is rotated by swinging in an arc not by twisting. Mike's stance looked better with the legs closer together.

Leg Rotation in Skating

Mike understood this model better than the previous ones. We then linked the process to skating. The skate begins with the toes pointing outwards and due to the ski making an arc the foot is brought back in front of the body in the same arc. Mike was feeling more of a rhythm with this action.

Hockey Stops

We did hockey stops to show that if the pelvis was allowed to rotate then the skier could not control a proper stop and would shoot across the hill instead. The hockey stop requires control over hip rotation, a sideslip and a lowering of the centre of mass. We did this on steep ground to make the consequences of the differences between right and wrong obvious.

Bumps and Pivot

When mike tried to do short turns he still had a tendency to push the leg outwards. This stiffens the leg and pulls the hips around and out from the turn centre. When he pulled inwards instead then he managed to not only control the pivoting much better but the turns were tighter and legs more flexed - due to the pulling inwards with the adductors. Most people want to push the ski away defensively but it has to be pulled inwards below the body to complete the turn. We used bumps to enhance the pivoting effect and worked on staying in the fall line in place of forward motion across the hill.

Short Swings

Earlier we had worked with skis off at jumping and swinging/rotating the legs beneath the body while keeping the pelvis still. The jumps had involved sending the centre of mass upwards and a smooth landing. Mike had distinct difficulty controlling his posture with his lower back at the same time as stopping the pelvis from rotating. Eventually we actually did some short swings in the fall line by jumping with the skis on. Initially Mike found the coordination for this tricky but he soon improved - using the pole plant and jumping off down the hill instead of vertically.

Carving

Close to the end of the session we applied the same principles of carving on a wide flattish section and this is where Mike started to understand the need to sink down into the turn to alter the edge angle of the skis and so increase and control the turning power. This happened immediately after seeing the video clip (shown above) with the limited range of movement. I showed Mike this video on the piste so he could identify that despite his own proprioceptive feedback probably giving him the impression that he was moving a lot the video would confirm that the opposite was in fact the reality. This combined with the carving where there is more time to feel things - seemed to encourage a clearer shift in perception. Once there is a proper function or purpose identified then perhaps it is easier make the body move through a more extensive range of motion. There was definitely a lack of physical awareness involved concerning the relative motion and placement of body parts - but combined with a lack of purpose there was little hope in provoking a lasting change.

It seemed clear that by the end of all those exercises that all of the above aspects had improved and that changes in physical, perceptual and intellectual understanding were all well under-way.

Mont Pourri in the background - sunrise

The river Isère - cold mountain water - the patterns in motion were mesmerising.

Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:28:00 +0000

Jannette was feeling a bit fragile after her big wipeout the other day - which was still quite a small wipeout by real standards. We discussed the way ageing can cause people to lose their sense of adventure and I promised to look up the words of Samule Ullman and his poem "Youth" which was made famous due to being the favourite of General Douglas McArthur.

Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort.

A man doesn’t grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us towards earth and turn us to dust before death.

You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and God. If one day you should become bitter, pessemistic and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man’s soul.”

I don't buy any of the "God" of "soul" stuff personally (I think we can explain things much better than that) but I get the idea and agree with the principles.

Jannette in the video was attempting to sideslip with her lower hip pulled backwards and her bottom facing uphill to generate some hip angulation. It was not happening. This is quite a tricky combination of things to do anyway - but this combination of skills is essential for effective pivoting. We had been working on the hips for a while so attempting to integrate that with sideslipping at this stage was not unreasonable.

Jannette had been actively rotating her shoulders into the turn so I explained to her that this was not desirable - just like you wouldn't want to do that on a bicycle either.

Upper Lower body Separation

Indoors we had looked at the function of the hips and spine when walking and outdoors had already tried to integrate this with pelvic tilt and postural control. The idea was to go directly to the main ingredient in unwanted hip rotation and build awareness from there. When using the static exercise of pulling Jannette downhill with my poles she went naturally into a strong countered position with her lower hip pulled back and lowering her bottom and centre of mass towards the snow uphill. This was just not happening at all in the turns and she needed to know this - and that it was desirable to do this to keep the body inside the turn as the forces built up that would unceremoniously eject her from the turn as they had done on the first day. Part of the work we did was aimed at feeling the twist in the spine as the shoulders and hips were counter rotated to each other. I've described this in previous posts this week so I won't detail it here.

Feet Forwards

I introduced the "feet forward" techniques without skis on - so that she could see the arc made by the foot when swinging a leg out to the side. The foot is not "twisted" but it follows an arc in the air - and then on the snow leaving a line when dragged on the surface. When pushed into the snow further then it needs to to pushed forwards and this is the sensation required when skiing. The outside foot has to be actively pushed forwards to make the turn more active. This also encourages hip angulation as it naturally varies the angle between the leg and the upper body. Additionally, due to the tightening of the turn by the more active ski there is less body rotation and so this also helps to prevent the rotation linked to lack of hip angulation.

Focus

During the session I mentioned a few time certain issues regarding the training of the mind. Focusing of the body - and continually re-focusing when you are distracted - trains the mind to focus but also shuts out all the unnecessary chatter. It's a form of relaxation as well as concentration. This makes mindful skiing - or any other activity - much richer and more valuable than a simple "disstraction" or pastime.

Running

In the evening I went out for a 12km hill run (7km climb) and was focused on the same upper lower body separation and actively using the spinal twist mechanisms. Whenever I felt tired during the climbing (400m vertical) I concentrated on the spine and it was impressive how much lighter and easier everything felt. My lower back had felt tired earlier on from working the core muscles in skiing, but they had recovered from that already and there was no discomfort in the lower back - or anywhere else when running uphill. The legs and body felt good all the way - there was no sense of heaviness or fatigue. Minimalist running shoes were used and a 1200 lumen Chinese head torch to blind oncoming cars during the descent in the darkness. Spotted two winter rabbits or hares in a field and noticed that their eyes reflect with a rich shade of amber.

Toes Down

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:08:00 +0000

I meant to mention another issue with regards to bumps and pivoting on steep terrain. There is a common piece of advice about pushing the tips of the skis down into the troughs of the bumps by pushing the toes down. This gives the impression that it just concerns bump skiing. In fact it concerns all pivoting - especially on steep terrain. When the skis are more or less across the hill the are almost horizontal - but when they pivot to point downhill they end up pointing down the gradient of the slope - anything up to 50 degrees. The dynamics ( motion of the centre of mass ) will be much less than this angle as both of the skis must remain downhill of the skier and on their uphill edges - so to accomodate the geometry the tips of the skis are best pushed actively downwards. They will fall downwards by themselves but rapid pivoting requires this to be an active measure. This doesn't mean getting on the back of the ski boots - it means bending the knees more. Normally it is best to ski with the toes pointing ulwards inside the boots - and the anterior tibialis alongside the shins being active - but this is an exception where pushing the toes down seems to be appropriate.

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Mike - Hip Angulation

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Slalom

Mike was sent through the slalom course today to establish a base time. The video of the slalom also helps to pick out his strong points and the priority areas to be worked on.

The initial sub 40s time was a good indication that major shoulder rotation issues had been well controlled. The second run where Mike decided to attack the course showed a limit at around 37s. The most significant limiting factor was a total lack of hip angulation and all the associated consequences. This had already been evident in the off piste yesterday but it was easy to show to Mike on the slalom video - and the results are inescapable in slalom.

Developing Hip Angulation

My strategy for working on hip angulation was partly dictated by terrain. There are several key issues to address and they can be approached in any order.

Compression Turns

From the top of the Tovière we began work on simulated compression turns on the flat. Compression is normally the result of hitting a bump at speed - the legs are compressed with the knees frequently hitting the chest. On the flat we actively bend to a very flexed degree to simulate this compression. Good edge control makes this relatively easy and that means pivoting from the top edges of the skis with strong pole support. The timing is no different from normal turns other than the fact that the down motion is extremely exaggerated. Most people are unable to relax enough at first to get as low as is required - so this is a great exercise for getting people to become aware of the tension in their legs and for learning how to greatly extend the range of motion. The turn is completed with a full leg extension - which in the case of skiing bumps will actually be an extension into a hole instead of pushing the centre of mass upwards.

The whole exercise is much easier if the feet are kept below the body on the mountain and the range of motion of the legs is built around a basic "seated" position. Using the pole for support - when the centre of mass starts to fall downhill it should be used to pull/swing the fronts of the skis into the turn. This pivoting action is aided by the tips and tails being in the air when actually on a bump. On a bump the pole would be planted near the apex and the skis straddling the upper shoulder. On the flat plant the pole directly down the fall-line from the heel. Make sure that the outside hip pulls backwards during the turn completion to prevent body rotation during the extension. The extension should be done with a sideslip and no velocity across the hill. Feet should be kept together to enhance the pivot - which can be done on both skis and to prevent the uphill ski catching on its inside edge too early in the turn. The "seated" position works as a reference only if the skier doesn't turn too much across the hill - and the combination of sitting and keeping the body and knees generally facing downhill guarantees the feet always being below the skier and the pivot happening very easily. This actually requires the acceptance of a certain elevated level of speed in the bumps and an effort to keep the hands and centre of mass forward as it has a tendency to fall defensively backwards - making a continuous rhythm impossible. The compression must be linked to proactive dynamics and not become a defensive blocking or braking action.

We didn't really get this far - but the aim was to increase range of leg motion and the ability to relax the leg muscles enough to achieve this.

Spine and Posture

After the compression turns we looked more directly at posture and specifically the hip issues that prevent hip angulation. Traditionally the shoulders are countered to a turn and end up remaining facing downhill, along with the pelvis. There is a tension in the body midsection that leads to a "winding up" which uncoils at the start of a turn. We looked at the issue from the perspective that this "winding up" is in the wrong direction for good body mechanics and back health. Basically the pelvis should be countered to the turn but the shoulders should continue in the direction of the turn. The difference is hard to see visually, but the spine twists in the opposite direction. Starting the next turn there is not so much an uncoiling but a core muscle impetus towards pushing the outside foot forwards and pulling inwards with the adductor muscles. This also realigns the outside leg so that the foot is on its inside edge and the bone structure lined up to take the load off the quadriceps. We worked on this for a while in pivoted turns

Indoors we looked at pelvic tilt and how this is achieved by only contracting the lower abdomen - not clenching the glutes. This still permits you to shape the overall curvature of your lumbar spine independently, but it keeps all the core muscles aligned and functional - protecting the back. Mike had a tendency to fall off his outer hip joint so I got him to feel how he could stand perched over this joint so that all the force went through it properly. The upper body needs to tilt forwards from the hips until the hip flexors start to function. This oddly gives a relaxed sensation. You then stand on one leg with all the force going through the one hip - then swing the body around while on this hip. This is what hip angulation is - when looked at from different angles and with the entire body inclined with dynamics.

Carving

We did some carving because this gives time to feel and adjust the body plus feedback is sustained and clear from the skis. Mike was able to generate more angulation than before but there was obviously work to be done because much of this is slowly acquired body awareness.

Hockey Stops

Another way to enhance the correct stance is through complete hockey stops. If the hip follows though then so will everything else and the skier will fail to stop. Hockey stops are a clear way to feel if the hip is being allowed to rotate through the turn or not.

We need to take this further though and pull the hip backwards to the extent that it generates a twist all the way up to the 12th vertebra at the bottom of the rib cage. This opens up the entire mid section and accesses the available power from muscles, tendons and ligaments. The aim should be to feel this counter rotation of the hips to the shoulders generating this feeling in the spine. This is an internal counter rotation - not something referring to the turn. The same counter rotation should be felt when walking, running or cycling - regardless of whether the leg extends in front (cycling, skiing) or behind (running, walking).

Winter Orchard

Christiane asked me to photograph the trees across the valley in Aime. She says it's like the trees in the foreground are an audience and the apple trees spread out in the field are in a ballet - some in couples and others alone. She even suggested that one was gay - but I objected to that. I'm not having political correctness interfering with my photography. Perhaps ballet dancers are often gay but I really don't want to start seeing gay apple trees.

Mike, Jannette

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:45:00 +0000

Jannette's first day back on skis started very gently - lulling her into a false sense of security - then we went off-piste.

Music by Blood or Whiskey - "Doors of Hope"

While Jannette was getting used to her skis again I asked Mike to focus on feeling the shins touch the front of the boots, feeling the point just in front of the heel and working on pivoting - which he was having more success with today. Slower skiing is a great opportunity to focus correctly on feeling new things.

For once this season the Off Piste was not wind packed and was light and forgiving so it wasn't long before we were taking advantage of it. Surprisingly Jannette was more at ease than Mike initially - at least when the gradient was low.

This was a day for taking opportunities so there wasn't much coaching going on - mostly guiding instead. I gave some advice for the off piste. Basically the number one thing is that dynamics always works so when in doubt use big dynamics. Number two is to take a lower stance - almost seated - so that the feet and knees are in front of the body. Sitting facing downhill will not cause you to fall backwards. If you don't believe this take a chair outside and place it facing down a steep hill and try to sit on it. This stance also encourages the feet to remain downhill of the body at all times so pivoting from the uphill edges is easy - even on both skis simultaneously (hence feet together for a two footed stance). Dynamics is still used with this sort of fall-line pivoting but the "structure" and support below the centre of mass is obviously organised differently than for forward flowing "inside edge" skiing.

The K2 Kung Fujas skis were also experiencing their first soft power snow and they were stunningly good at pivoting - the double rocker construction having a clear effect.

While I was waiting for Mike helping to sort out Janette after the wipeout I took a few photos of the surrounds. I hope that Janette took a moment too at some point to appreciate the value of being in the wilderness and away from the pistes and the ever present risk of being rammed by stupid snowboarders (why we all have to wear crash helmets now!). The first image below is the top of the Bellevarde - above the Olympic lift. The huts at the top are the start huts for the World Cup and Olympic downhill races - the hut on the right going down the Face into Val and the one on the left going down to La Daille. The second image is looking up the valley at the "Tour de Charvet" route. Image three is the "Face de Charvet" - spectacular when it avalanches - so I don't go there.

Mike

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Mike hasn't skied for a year but he appeared to be comfortable immediately on his skis. This is a strong sign that appropriate movement patterns have become more natural. It should only take an hour or so to completely re-accustom the body to accelerating on the feet if basic ski technique is correct. The pistes were in perfect shape for the start of the Parisian holidays (it's the only time of year they make the effort!) and visibility was good so I just skied in front of Mike, giving him an active rhythm and letting him warm up and enjoy his skiing for a while.

Leg Alignment and Core Use

The only technical thing I attempted to introduce at this stage was the pulling back of the hip - counter rotating the shoulders and pelvis against each other. Mike has a certain level of stiffness that has always characterised his skiing and this time I would really like to change that. Re-aligning the legs appears to be a sensible place to begin with this task. Normally in skiing the shoulders and hips are both in counter rotation in the same direction (against the feet and skis) - so if the skis are turning to the left the hips turn to the right and the shoulders even more - twisting the spine slightly in a clockwise manner (looking from above). Here I wanted Mike to pull back only the right hip (turning to the left and not the shoulder - generating an internal counter rotation between the shoulders and hips in the anti-clockwise direction (the direction of the turn). To the untrained eye the two look remarkably similar - even indistinguishable. Only the second stance activates the core muscles around the spine. Mike was able to feel that the right leg (turning left) lined up differently in the ski boot - pulling more onto its inside edge and taking the load off the main quadriceps.

Since making this change in my own skiing I've found that my legs just don't get tired any more. The difference is enormous!

Carving Introduction

After a break I started to introduce carving technique (through two edged traverses) to Mike prior to going to the Bonnevie Slalom Stade to introduce the rules of the race course. I pointed out that the weight could be moved over the "inside" ski because it was a static situation and once speed was introduced the turning effect of the skis would place all the weight on the outside ski automatically. Initially Mike had a lot of trouble holding the inside ski on its (outside) edge but he soon sorted this out. On the flat ground we tried some edge changes but Mike had a tendency to allow the skis to skid. The correct feeling wasn't yet properly established.

Dense clouds came in when we arrived at the Stade and visibility was terrible so we didn't stay there for long, making our way up to the Borsat instead.

Pivot Revision

At the top of the Borsat, on the bumps I checked Mike's pivot and although he could remember the theory it just wasn't really happening so we left it for the moment and just skied down to the wide flats where Mike could continue with his carving development.

Contact Points

Prior to carving I asked Mike to try to place his weight on a point just in front of the heel and also to touch the boot front with the shin. The idea would be to ski with awareness of both standing over this point of the foot and always keeping contact with the boot front - or at least trying always to return to this position. This was stage two of tackling the "stiffness" issue which largely comes from Mike's tendency to place pressure on the back of his ski boots. Initially I could see that he wasn't managing but half way down this run the stance in the boots started to look better.

Carving continued...

When attempting full carved turns Mike was overturning instead of just railing and picking up speed - until he understood that this was desirable. I explained that once he had some speed he could then lean in more with his dynamics and start to feel the powerful carving turning effect of the skis. Later on once there is more confidence this process can return to being a bit more proactive with dynamics being generated actively once again and the skis still carving.

Core Power - Skiing

We had to get down the mountain as we were becoming late for Mike's rendezvous. For this reason I just tried to provide a steady but active rhythm going down Santons. Mike struggled with the tight turns so this is something we will have to sort out soon. Meantime I focused on the core and managed to link my turns very effectively using the powerful core muscles and the tendons and ligaments around the spine to drive the outside ski forwards through the start of the turns. The Rhythm helped to strengthen the sensation. I could feel how natural and strong this was for the lower back and how mobilising it was for the spine - all the way up to the rib cage. It's quite hard to visualise the movement because it is abstracted straight from running technique despite the foot being displaced forwards instead of behind the body. Ironically at the bottom of the descent I came across Chris Harrop who was really not looking very well. He told me that last week his back "went" and that he had to cancel all of his bookings. He was now skiing very defensively and slowly off-piste and not looking too happy. I guess that underlines the need to address the "core" with some respect.

Core Power - Running

After returning home I pushed myself out the door for a run despite having no desire or motivation - other than a belly that is starting to grow again. I focused completely on the core muscles and trying to tire my hip flexors (psoas) and abdomen instead of the leg muscles and looked for the twist of the spine the same as it had felt in skiing - so that the tendons and ligaments would generate a strong recoil mechanism. Basically the power felt literally like it was coming from the spine. After the 1000ft ascent there was the harsh descent on tarmac. Sometimes this gives me a little bit of sciatica, but this time I clicked with another aspect of the spinal activity. The lower abdomen do have to pull up and inwards at the front because this allows the entire spine to twist strongly all the way up to the ribs. Normally my spine is too flat so I prefer not to pull up at the front - but with the rotation of the spine it became clear that this "pulling up" fits - and there was no hint of sciatic pain. The "pelvic tilt" has to be part of a dynamic process. This is a remarkable sensation and absolutely not comprehensible when static. The previous best time of 39'06" was reduced to 37'49" yet the run felt like it was less effort than when the previous time had been set and I wasn't so active with the core muscles or spine.

Alex, Tariq, JJ - Joydip

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Alex, Tariq, JJ

Slalom
The day began with a warm up run through the half pipe and then straight over to the slalom while it was both empty and in good condition. Tariq didn't really want to do slalom after the hard conditions yesterday but I persuaded him to have one run because I was sure he would beat his previous best time - and he did - reducing it to 38.87 seconds from 39.31. He was very happy to see the improved time. If we had continued there he would have improved even more but because the other boys were not ready for slalom we stopped after the single run. Today was the last day they would be skiing so they needed to really be putting to good use all they had been learning and not spending time doing exercises.

Bumps

After the slalom we had a good ski down the larger half pipe at the side of the Vert piste and then went up the Tommeuse chairlift and onto the big bumps on the Val d'isère side of the Tovière. The idea of the bumps was to develop the pivot. Tariq had already worked once on bumps and had learned well so he was quite comfortable - managing to keep his skis close together below his body on the mountain and pivot well. For JJ and Alex this was new and predictably difficult. I demonstrated how the tips and tails of the skis were in the air so the ski could pivot more easily than usual, but explained that it is scary pulling the skis in beneath your body as you slide down the bump - your instinct tells to to push them away instead. You have to work to train yourself to do the opposite from your defensive instincts.

Off Piste

After the bumps we proceeded onto a long off-piste excursion. JJ - who was still sick and had now missed two days was hanging in there. This was a long and proper off-piste trail but with absolutely no avalanche risk. The snow however was varied and sometimes quite deep - but by using their dynamics and "feet forward" techniques the boys managed without any trouble, including negotiating the trees and some steep traverses.

Carving

After the hot chocolate break I decided to make things easier for the final part of the morning and to teach a little carving and higher speed skiing. Saturday is changeover day so the wide and gentle pistes of the Grand Pré were empty and perfect for learning to carve and go faster. We started simply with rolling the feet and making double edged traverses across the slope in both directions. The aim was to hold both skis on the edge and "rail" them without allowing any sideways slipping. Once on the flattest part the skis were pointed downhill instead and linked turns were made. This has to be done at first on very flat ground so that there are no problems with rolling from one set of edges to the other. Once this skill is mastered then it becomes the basis of modern racing technique. We used the slightly steeper slopes lower down to ramp up the speed and the boys really liked this.

The final run down Santons was really nice because the snow was in excellent condition and there were hardly any people. Alex remained close to my ski tails all the way down but we were able to go a bit faster than yesterday and without stopping all the way (except for a moment when Tariq dropped a pole. Tariq and Alex had both really improved during the week and JJ did well to hang in there at the end not slowing things down one bit for the others. JJ had a good go at the carving exercises and was definitely picking up on some technical stuff despite all his troubles with illness this week.

Joydip

Joydip had (predictably) managed to extrapolate his previous coaching into a form of Kamikazi plunge down the nursery slopes into a large "do or die" stopping turn at the bottom. This is what often happens when coaching is not continuous at this very early stage. Every day you see individuals of all ages bombing straight down the nursery slope and crashing into something at the bottom. The only thing they all have is common is the absence of any responsible coach. Joydip however was clearly making the basic dynamics work and was enjoying that - at least when he didn't wipe out.

Pivoting

I decided it was time to teach Joydip about "pivoting" from the uphill edge of his turning ski. I physically supported Joydip though several pivots so that he could begin to develop a feel for it - then supported him skiing with the pivoting by physically manipulating him into each turn as he held onto a pole. We went up higher on the village chair and I physically supported him sidesipping down the steep part so that he could develop the feel of having both skis on the uphill edges and bringing them close together parallel. The exercise was all about learning edge awareness and control - plus getting used to sideways motion. Gradually Joydip also became more aware of which leg he had to stand on while generating dynamics and that being on the inside edge of a supporting ski during a turn was sometimes simply not desirable at the start of the turn. This is really a function of how much forward speed you have. If there is no forward speed - just a sideslip - then the turn begins from the uphill edge and the ski will not change edge until pointing straight downhill. Joydip was making rapid progress and had his turns more or less under control by the end - especially when adding the "push forwards" with the outside foot in the turn - plus he was thinking about the whole process differently. Pushing the outside foot forwards tends to increase the pressure beneath the foot as the ski tightens the turn - so this enhances the dynamics without having to resort to "transferring weight" to the outside leg by moving the wrong way with the body.

Alex, Tariq - Sam, Max, Ed (Off Piste)

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:34:00 +0000

Alex, Tariq

Preparation

On the way up the chairs on the Face de Bellevarde I reinforced Alex's the understanding and awareness of his inner dialogue - and the need to use his imagination to his advantage. We had a good discussion on the subject on the way up and Alex could understand the ideas. Consequently, despite some very challenging circumstances that he would face - there was absolutely no complaining or negative signs at all from him all morning. We discussed things openly during the morning and Alex was able to prepare himself well for anything that came his way and use it to make himself stronger, more confident and more self-assured.

We started off with a run down the mini half pipe during our warm up run then went straight over to the slalom training area. The aim here was to introduce Alex to steep terrain in a highly controlled environment and to give both Alex and Tariq some more technique to use.

Feet Forward

Removing the skis I showed the boys how to pivot on the heel of the inside boot while pushing the outside one forwards along its inside edge and leaving an arc inscribed on the snow. The "forward pushing" is an extremely important aspect of ski technique and essential for coping with steep terrain in a controlled manner. Both boys got it quickly and so we then tried it with the skis on. Asking the boys what difference they felt it made they both answered correctly that it tightened up their turns - something I hadn't told them in advance. This feedback confirmed to me that they had managed to do it successfully. The second time down the steep slope Alex was able to stay right behind me even though I deliberately closed the turns tightly.

Black Run
After the second descent I told Alex that he had just skied a black run for the first time - so he could see that there really was nothing to fear and that he was very capable because he had skied it well. We then watched Tariq go through the slalom a few times and get within 4 hundredths of a second of his previous best time but in much harder conditions. The "feet forward" changes to his technique were helping. From there we had a long ski down to La Daille, through the big "half pipe" and then down a red run with Alex behind me working on dynamics, the use of the feet and pushing forwards.

Confidence
From the top of the Bellevarde we went properly off-piste on steep terrain and there I filmed both Tariq and Alex making good controlled turns. Both were focusing on dynamics and had no problems dealing with the variable snow conditions and terrain - even though the steepness and wildness could have been very intimidating. Alex agreed to apply his positive approach to dealing with descending in the Santons (where he had previously been the victim of a bad collision with a careless skier from above) and by now this was in fact a technically easy descent for him to cope with. We took a controlled line calculated to stay clear of any poorly controlled skiers funneling down the gully, with Alex close to the tails of my skis all the way. Alex showed that he not only could ski well but that he could rise above his fears and not be controlled by them - by preparing well in advance both physically and mentally. I don't think that any of this was easy to achieve - in fact it is a big achievement. Alex grew in confidence - as a person as well as a skier.

Sam, Max, Ed

Today was off-piste guiding. Due to a big change of temperature during the day our afternoon off-piste would have to be on north facing slopes for avalanche safety. We started by skiing down Danaides (off the top of the Solaise) where there was some powder and into the Le Lavachet couloir.

From Le Lavachet we went up the chairlift and skied down towards the road beneath the Signal cable car - once again finding power just below the avalanche barriers. We then took the lift system up to the top of the Signal and went into Le Grand Vallon - traversing across and skiing a smooth face down to the traverse over the shoulder and the exposed face all the way down to the river Isère. The snow was only good at the very top - and then again down at the river. In between the snow was crusty and variable - but interesting to ski. We went right down to the avalanche filled river and then climbed out over it onto the road to ski back down to Le Fornet.

After refreshments we went back up to the top of the signal and then traversed right around to Les Vallonnets - climbing over the exposed rock on the ridge. The only technical advice I gave included using a more seated position when the snow was bad, finding the maximum pressure or apex of the turn more to the side instead of down below (instead of dumping off all your speed at the same point as where gravity is at a maximum) and pulling back the hip on your support leg with a twist of the spine (hips and shoulder counter rotating against each other) to align the leg and remove the strain from the quadriceps.

Local inhabitants... "bouquetin" - a wild mountain goat.

Alex, JJ - Fiona, Ian

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Alex, JJ

Picking up the pieces

The two boys returned after a day of rest and were both completely thrown off with the poor visibility when skiing in the clouds. I knew that JJ was still likely to be weak and fragile, but he was clearly straggling behind more out of habit than anything else. This problem was largely dealt with by putting him directly behind me when skiing and not letting him slip off the back and descend the mountain at his own pace. Alex was full of unnecessary fears and concerns covering everything from collision to visibility - so we had to address that directly.

Face de Bellevarde making a shadow

Mind Training

While we resumed exercises in skating, sideslipping and pivoting - all with a view to eliminating the snowplough tendencies and develop useful skills in place - the main theme of the morning was about dealing with fear and how to train the mind. (In the video Alex does a good pivot from the uphill edge on his left foot. JJ is practically parallel in skiing and Alex is much more parallel when he skis behind me.)

Physical skills are trained into body memory so that when a specific situation arises we act in an appropriate manner. Without progressive skill development over time then acting this way would be impossible. It's very strange that people don't realise that the mind is also subject to programming and that given a specific situation the mind will respond according to its programming.

Physical skills are lodged in the body in such a way that we are not aware of them. If you are trained to play a musical instrument you can pick it up and play without even thinking about music. Your conscious mind can be completely elsewhere. Most of our behavioural programming is lodged in the unconscious mind in a similar manner - and this often surprises us and catches us out. We need to program our behaviour every bit as much as our body. This begins by recognising that there is programming to be done.

Alex has a fertile imagination but the little voice inside his head is randomly selecting all sorts of directions. Fear is NOT normal - it is a suggestion that grows in the mind - if allowed to. It grows until it paralyses the body and the mind itself. Alex needs to use his imagination to reinforce his strength - not to break it down. Constantly feeding yourself with negative views of yourself will guarantee negative behaviour when under duress. The mind has to be trained with respect to positive outcomes through visualisation using all of the senses - seeing, feeling, hearing, proprioception - and in full awareness of the purpose behind this. Once fear takes hold and the unconscious mind gets going - no amount of "self control" will stop it. Only the mind prepared and trained in advance will cope.

We began Alex's mind training immediately. JJ followed this all along - but he seems to have a pretty positive inner dialogue going on already. On a practical level Alex responded well on being told to focus on the feelings in his body rather than than what he could see. Part of strengthening the body-mind connection is through "sensing" the body - attentively observing what you feel. A strong body-mind connection centres and grounds a person - strengthening their sense of identity and confidence.

Fiona, Ian, Alex

Fiona had been traumatised eventually in ski school group lessons and decided to drop out.
Ian had been traumatised 20 years ago or so and had dumped skiing for surfing.
Little Alex, age 5 had been traumatised in group lessons immediately and dropped out - very wisely!

Skating

We began by stepping the skis in a circle - opening the tips, diverging the skis and then closing them together again. I showed this by putting a pole in the snow behind me and using it as the centre point of a circle that I'd make with my tails always close to the pole. This exercise was chosen because everyone here would have a strong tendency to converge the skis into a snowplough shape and I wanted to work directly against that tendency.

Fiona and Ian had a lot of difficulty in controlling the skis, feet, legs and body in a manner that would make this coordination possible. For Ian it was partly a case of excessive unconscious muscular tension and for Fiona it was partly lack of awareness of the necessary mechanisms. For both there was a strong reflexive reaction against standing and sliding on one leg - which rendered skating much more difficult. Little Alex was actually doing quite well but his skis were really not sliding at all unfortunately. Skiing is really an evolved form of skating. It is essentially a "one leg" at a time activity - like running - and "two-footed-ness" spells trouble. The more the skills for basic skating are developed the better the skier will progress. Even when a good skier is apparently on two feet - the body is oriented through one leg only - except when straight running.

Adductors and Centre of Mass

Skating requires awareness of the adductor muscles on the inside of the legs - and so does simply holding a ski on its inside edge. The shaft of the ski boot running up the leg is always trying to pull the knee outwards and allow the ski to flatten on the snow - so the adductors are required to be active to counter this. To simply skate forwards the body has to fall forwards between the skis and then a leg stepped forwards to compensate. This is an elementary way to start to become familiar with the active role of the centre of mass and the use of the legs for ski edge control. Skiing is really just a prolonged falling of the body inwards - sustained by the ski itself bringing the skier back up.

Feet

After a while it was clear that Fiona didn't really understand what to do with the feet - so we stopped for a while in a café for me to show this with the boots off. The boys went through the same lesson on day two so all of the details are covered in the blog for that day.

Dynamics

We ran through the basic static exercises for dynamics (shoulders etc.) which are also detailed in previous pages of the blog this week. Ian was progressively relaxing and controlling his feet better so as to support his movements with the centre of mass. This led to some reasonable parallel turns at the end of the session. He remained uneasy on his left leg and exhibited a strong upper body rotation into the turn when standing on the left leg - a problem simply caused by feeling less confident on the left side. Fiona in contrast was quite successful on her left leg but was practically completely unable to move her centre of mass into the turn when standing on her right leg. This problem is usually caused by searching for constant security over the right foot and not wanting to "fall" over to the left. The interesting thing here is that by working towards the correct mechanics it is possible to clearly identify any technical issues that crop up.

Tariq - Joydip

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:25:00 +0000

JJ had finally succumbed to his fever and was forced to stay indoors against his wishes. Alex had not slept all night for worrying about the imaginary "threat" of skiing down a black run - which was not on the agenda -and could not be persuaded to ski voluntarily. Tariq then ended up with one-on-one coaching.

The weather was foul but with the direction of the wind this meant that the slalom training area would be sheltered and so we headed straight there.

Tariq

Slalom

Tariq was quick to understand the rules of how to use the slalom so there was no time wasted there. The only instruction he was given was to use dynamics and to see each gate (poles) as the centre of the turn he would be driving his centre of mass down and inwards towards. In only four runs on his own he managed to reduce his time by 4 seconds from 44.15 to 39.31. We had made breaking 40 seconds the target. After his first run I told Tariq to make an arc coming in closer to the poles - but not to take a straight line to the pole - and to fight to keep his body down and into the centre of the turn during the second half of the turn when the forces build up and try to bring him up and out of the turn too soon. Tariq responded correctly and became significantly faster.

After the slalom we went up to the Tovière to warm up with a hot chocolate and to study the video. Tariq could see how much he was stuck on the back of his ski boots and how difficult this was making things for him. Outside the wind was fierce enough to have blown over practically anything that wasn't tied down...

Leaning against the back of the boots.

Good dynamics here.

Legs too far apart.

After the hot chocolate we went for a long ski right down to the bottom - working on using the feet and touching the front of the boot with the shin. The pressure was to be just in front of the heels and the feet had to rock in the direction of the turns. I explained to Tariq that when a bicycle turns it's because the front wheel changes direction changing the shape of the bicycle. Likewise it's the front of a ski that controls turning so if all the weight is at the back it's much harder to turn. Tariq felt an improvement in control with this. So far everything had been about "dynamics" and racing turns - so when at lower altitude and sheltered by the trees I found a place where we could focus for a while on pivoting skills.

Bumps

In the bumps Tariq was forced to keep his skis much closer together - not just because of pivoting but because the steepness of the bumps makes it practically impossible to ski with the legs wide apart. Despite the steepness Tariq was able to swing the front of his skis inwards beneath him on each drop from a bump. When placed on the uphill shoulder of a bump both the tips and tails of the skis are in the air so the ski can pivot much more easily - but it takes nerve to pull the ski in beneath you instead of pushing the heels outwards.

Off-Piste

Tariq skied down the steepest parts of the Face de Bellevarde black run without ever realising that it was supposed to be difficult. That was the case until we deviated off-piste and he found a large "drop off" - where he promptly dropped off head first down the hill. Luckily I was not far below so was able to recover the skis. The hidden desire to swim in the snow displayed itself again on our second foray off-piste - this time caught by the camera. Brave Tariq climbed back up by himself to recover his ski. His fall in both instances was mostly caused by apprehension and leaning back against the boots again.

Skating Rhythm

We worked a little on skating - and relating the dynamics to skating rhythm - independent use of the legs and linking the power of the push up with the dynamics at the end of the turn. Tariq had a good natural feel for this.

Joydip

Joydip had not been out on skis again since his first venture two days ago but we were able to pick things up where we had left them without any bother.

Relaxation

People think that relaxation is easy but it's often hard work - you have to make yourself relax. Joydip's skis were still slithering about when he tried to grip for skating and his coordination was not consistent so it became pretty obvious that the real issue was tension.

Joydip was trying to balance against the back of his ski boots and tensing most of his muscles in the process. Focusing on relaxing muscles and carefully, attentively feeling the movements of the legs gradually allowed the coordination to improve.

The standard solution for this situation is to jam the skier into a defensive snowplough and forget about everything else. For me it was extremely important to avoid any temptation to introduce the snowplough - it was effectively banned. Gradually Joydip started to relax and move with more confidence - first mastering the button lift and then both skating step turns and parallel turns though rolling the feet and moving the centre of mass. Unfortunately I missed filming his last ascent where he went a bit higher and did a perfect parallel turn at speed, bringing it to a controlled stop at the bottom. Not a snowplough in sight.

The first descent from sightly higher up the hill had Joydip being left behind in his boots with the acceleration so I explained how to adapt to this. It's absolutely NOT a question of "leaning forwards". Standing on the flat you are vertical to gravity and you feel the reactive (elastic) force of the ground at 100% through your feet. If the gradient was 45° then by standing perpendicular to the slope only 50% of the force would be felt under the feet - and 50% would be converted into acceleration (eventually balanced by wind resistance). The point is that although you are now tilted at 45° and not vertical you feel exactly the same in every way - except that the pressure under the feet is reduced. You don't "lean". Whether you are in space or on the Earth you are effectively in a state of "free float" - and only the elastic resistance of the Earth interferes with it. It's too late to get into Einstein's relativity for tonight though.

Alex, Tariq, JJ - Sam, Max, Ed

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:29:00 +0000

The weather forecast for today was snow! ... and they trust computer modelling to predict our climate?

Alex, Tariq and JJ

Feet

Today the boys started off with an indoors lesson on using the feet. I asked Alex how many bones were in a foot and he answered correctly "26". There are also 33 joints and over 100 muscles and tendons. Over a quarter of the bones in the body are found in the foot - so in general we seriously underrate the importance of the feet.

Collapsing Ankle

First of all the boys, standing with feet hip width apart on a carpet in their ski socks, were asked to bend their ankles. They all allowed their knees to collapse forwards. This becomes disguised in a ski boot and instead of standing up people lean on the boot and stop using the legs properly. For this reason they often then end up next leaning on the back of the boot still looking for something to hold them up other than simply standing up.

Strong Ankle

The easiest way to strengthen the ankle is to stand on the heel with the forefoot on the ground but all of the weight passing through the heel. Instead of the ankle collapsing the only way that you can now bend is at the knees and hips - resembling sitting down. The muscle in front of the shin - the Anterior Tibialis contracts and the ankle goes strong inside the ski boot.

Rocking the Feet

The ankle joint is a hinge and only goes up and down. Beneath the ankle lies the subtaler joint and with this joint the foot can be rocked laterally. This is the required motion for skiing so the feet can be rocked from edge to edge corresponding roughly (not all all the time) to the edges of the skis. This action is easy to feel when standing on the heel bone. If the ankle is allowed to collapse then it becomes impossible to rock the feet and the knees get pushed into a twist from side to side which can become very dangerous for the knee ligaments.

Centre of Mass

Rocking the two feet onto the left edges causes the centre of mass to move to the left. I explained that the centre of mass is a point that we learn to use in sports. We spin or roll about this point - but it is not a point fixed in our body and moves around as we change shape. It's like the point of a pencil - not part of us but we can feel where it is when using it.

Adductor Muscles

Linking the foot to the centre of mass we find the adductor muscles on the inside of the leg - those could be called the "skating muscles". They allow us to pull the leg inwards. When rocking the feet onto the left edges it's the adductor muscles of the right leg that become tensed - pulling inwards.

Magic Point below the Foot

The ideal point below the foot to stand on is just in front of the heel. Like the centre of mass this is not a part of your body - it's a point to aim for. This is like a centering point for the foot and you always try to get back to it - and the boots help you to do so if they are any good.

Carving

Soon after we had warmed up skiing I introduced the boys to "carving" running along the edges of the skis - by using the rocking of the feet and motion of the centre of mass. They all did it very well and so it is captured here on video...

Skating

We worked on skating and improving skating skills and using skating to project the centre of mass towards the inside of the turn.

Sideslipping

Prior to attempting pivoting again we worked on sideslipping and using the centre of mass to control the sideslip and the angle of the skis against the snow.

Pivoting

I assisted each boy though a controlled pivot. The skier had to hold onto a pole for support and I'd guide him physically though the maneuver. Tariq caught on to the principle whereby through pole support (using his own pole planted in the snow) he could get his centre of mass downhill enough without changing the edge of the ski and then pull the front of the ski smoothly inwards into the turn while it remained on its uphill edge.

Assessment

During the morning JJ was lagging behind all the time and regressing back to his defensive snowplough and practicing the inappropriate coordination that I was trying to draw him away from. I constantly nagged at him and gave him a hard time - but nobody told me that the poor little mite was suffering from a fever and temperature! He was incredibly brave to just be out there and he never complained once about anything. Alex was becoming more parallel in his skiing all the time as dynamics progressively replaced his snowplough and Traiq was adapting very quickly to new coordination.

Sam, Max and Ed

Sam, Max and Ed are all strong skiers but with the typical limitations imposed though traditional ski instruction. They were filmed before changing anything and then we worked a little on dynamics before entering the slalom course and skiing a little off-piste.

Ed displayed the most natural movement pattern in general and I later found out it was because he had thought about it for himself - with a little help from "Top Gear". His basic timing was correct. On the more critical side his stance was excessively "two footed" and with a strong tendency to get caught on the back of the ski boots. The skis tended to be allowed to run out to the side to get on their inside edges - resorting to pushing them out to the side in shorter turns - which he tended to avoid.

Sam

Sam looked stronger when the turns were a bit faster and he could get more forces from the skis to play with. His weaknesses showed up much more at low speed. Basically the upperbody was being kept motionless and the skis were passing underneath the body. This was causing the hips to fall into the center of the turn - the skiing to be two footed and reactive - instead of proactively controlled by the centre of mass or active use of the legs. In short turns once again this led to a pushing out of the ski to get onto the inside edge and and blocking of the body facing downhill so that the skis could be forced around and below the body again - leading to a reversed timing (up/down).

Max

Max had the most pronounced two footed "heel push" with short turns - to the point of commonly ending up on the inside ski and risking falling over on anything icy. The static-ness of the upperbody was similar to Sam - also blocked facing downhill to an inappropriate degree - so as to be able to push the heels out.

Basically we have a problem here stemming from educational brainwashing that all skiing is done on the "inside edge" of the ski and that you have to face down the hill and immobilize the upperbody - to stay in "balance". This is reinforced by the use of carving skis which give very strong feedback from the inside edges - overwhelming all other aspects of skiing.

Dynamics

We started by working on dynamics - through the explanation and exercises on to practice and into slalom. With this understanding flying in the face of everything the boys had ever heard before quite a lot of questions had to be addressed and a lot of explaining given - which is fine.

Slalom was introduced as a technical exercise to show the sort of work required to extend dynamic range. The skier's limit is nothing whatsoever to do with "balance" but everything to do with his ability to fall further and further over before the ski overpowers him and brings him back up out of the turn. The end of a slalom turn is especially hard and so great athleticism is required to hold the centre of mass down low and inside the turn to keep the turn tight and effective. Sam demonstrated that he was currently the strongest skier at 31.78 seconds, with Max at 33.79 and Ed at 36.79. A good racer will manage between 21 and 22 seconds. Objective feedback like this backed up with intelligent guidance is one of the most effective ways to change your skiing level.

The dynamics were then taken off-piste for a short run in tricky snow. The only modification I mentioned was to use a "seated stance" to keep the feet and knees in front of the body. "Sitting down" would make you fall backwards on the flat - but facing downhill this is not the case. Dynamics will save you in tricky snow no matter if everything else goes wrong. We had worked briefly on the dynamics of getting out of a turn - like a motorbike being brought up and out of a turn. For this we had tried "hanger" turns where you stay on the outside ski through the whole turn transition and almost enter into the next turn on the same ski. This is a critical part of dynamics to master for off-piste because most people when tense actually do the opposite and hold back -not using the "lifting up power" of the outside ski to strongly finish the turn and commit to the next one. The turn is finished when the body is going across the hill perpendicular to the mountain with the skis flat - and this is part of a dynamic process so it cannot be sustained for more than a fraction of a second. This position is called "neutral".

Carving

We had a very brief attempt at carving. I used this to introduce rocking of the feet and the use of the adductor muscles. Both Ed and Max had trouble feeling the adductors when pulling the legs in - because they are so used to pushing outwards instead that this tendency even managed to overwhelm the "pulling in" exercises. This was the exercise when the skier pulls the ski tip against the resistance of my pole stuck in the ground. Eventually I had to go straight to pulling the knees together before they could identify where the adductor muscles were. Carving at low speed itself was predictably not a problem - only Ed surprisingly losing grip as speed increased a little - probably due to the feet being too close together for this type of skiing.

Skating

We had a brief attempt to show how skiing is really a form of skating and how correct timing uses the same muscular actions and rhythm. The "down/up" timing of dynamics - falling down into a turn and being lifted back up out - and "down/up" leg action of skating compliment each other. Finding the resonance is a bit like bouncing on a trampoline. If there is no use of the legs with this timing it's a bit like stopping a trampoline from working by going against the resonance. Skating itself is just a falling of the centre of mass between the legs and diverging skis. When this falling is exaggerated then the ski goes more on edge and starts to turn the skier - eventually removing the need for the skis to diverge. A real slalom racer skates straight down the hill and that's why he appears to "face downhill" with the upper body. Sam managed to connect with this quality to some extent.

Pivoting

Having identified the role of the adductor muscles in carving it made the introduction to pivoting very much easier. As with the boys in the morning I assisted each one though a pivot and then let them try for themselves by using their own poles for support. Pivoting is for "fall-line" skiing - a braking form of skiing for descending without travelling across the hill. It's useful for skiing bumps, steep off piste in deep snow, couloirs and anywhere that it's necessary to control speed when going straight downhill. The key to this is to keep both skis downhill of the centre of mass for security and to initiate the turns on the uphill edges - the edge changing taking place when the skis point directly downhill only (in racing it's when the skis are pointing across the hill). The pole support permits the centre of mass to move downhill without the edges changing and then the centre of mass pulls the front of the skis into the turn. The addutor muscles also help this process and the foot of the uphill ski can rock onto its inside edge while the ski boot keeps the ski on the uphill edge - this facilitating the use of the adductor muscles. I showed how this could be done on either ski or both skis and it was only the relationship between centre of mass and edge control of the ski that mattered. This is why many people ski off piste with a two footed pivot - although most "two footedness" in skiing is detrimental because it is not done for the right reasons. Pivoting is when skiing with the feet together is acceptable - that's why elite bump skiers have their feet jammed together. Carving and inside edge skiing is when it's best to have the feet apart so that the inside edges are more easily accessed.

I explained also that the "motionless" upperbody in short turns is an optical illusion. During any short arc the body is being propelled across the hill. If simultaneously the centre of mass is projected down into a turn then this cancels out the movement across the hill and gives the appearance that the body is held motionless and that the skier only uses his legs. Because instructors do not understand the principles and mechanics of Newton's second law (mechanics of disequilibrium) they are completely unable to comprehend what is really going on. It's easy for a trained eye to spot who actively uses the centre of mass - but impossible for the untrained eye to see it.

Alex, Tariq, JJ and Joydip

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Minus 17°C and clear skies meant a cold morning guaranteed. The clear skies over the Rocher du Charvet were captured here in this early morning spectacle...

Tariq, Alex and JJ were quickly out the door in the morning and ready to ski - except that somebody had forgotten to give Alex skis - which upset him a bit. Never-the-less I offered him a piggyback lift all the way down from Legetaz to the Intersport shop in town to get his skis. This meant a rather disorganised start as the others had to follow regardless of their levels. Skis sorted out we then headed for the chairlift up the Face de Bellevarde because the queue for the main Olympique chairlift was enormous. This was again not ideal beause I didn't know how the weaker skiers would cope with the short connecting path across the face to the second lift up to the training area plateau. All went well though and we were soon up there and able to go for a warm up ski. It takes a run or two to get used to sliding after not being on skis for a year so it's best just to warm up by skiing for a while before trying to learn anything new.

Video of the boys skiing prior to changing anything...

Skating
Despite being at slightly different levels the boys were all able to ski on anything up to a red run standard - with JJ falling over frequently at this stage but compensating for that with a positive attitude. The first thing was to try to to get everyone skating. Correct muscular coordination for skiing is related to skating and so any exercises involving skating will help. Snowploughs use the opposite and wrong coordination so the idea is to replace ploughing with skating. Alex started off with slight problems on his first skating moves and immediately shook his head in despair because he couldn't do it. I told him straight that there was no pressure to get this immediately and certainly no reason to get upset or frustrated because skills can take a lot of work and practice to develop. You certainly don't give up and shake your head immediately when you can't do something - on the contrary, that's when you concentrate and get to work to change things. We skated around turns on very flat ground just to get the feel of it for the moment.

Dynamics
After a hot chocolate and warm up we went straight into dynamics. Prior to explaining anything we sideslipped down a steep section and I was really trying to use this as a means of training the boys to drop the snowplough stance. Placing the uphill ski into the snowplough position turns it into an unwanted accelerator - while in the parallel position close to the lower ski and beneath the body on the mountain it remains on it's upper edge and acts as a brake.

Not wanting to use physics to explain I described dynamics (Newton's second law) in terms of a "Magic Wall". Using an exercise where the skier pushes his shoulder against mine (where I substitute for the Magic Wall) the skier can feel the pressure on the appropriate foot when pushing against me. Pushing the right shoulder against me the pressure is on the left foot. Alex knew that to turn right he needed pressure on the left foot but when he tried to do this on his own he moved his body to the left - over the foot. This is also how Alex skied in the above video and how he would have been taught in ski school. I showed that pushing against my shoulder or the Magic Wall meant moving the body the opposite way - in the same direction as the turn. The Magic Wall is invisible and only appears when moving forwards - on each side of the skier. The more you believe in magic and the harder you push against one of the walls the more stable you become and you turn in that direction. Basically your job is to fall over - in the direction of the turn - and the ski will bring you back up. The ski is stronger than you and it generates this Magic Wall that will always defend you if you commit yourself to "falling over". To enhance the dynamics we had a run in a half pipe which the boys definitely enjoyed. Here in the half pipe the banking of the sides helps to encourage the "falling over".

From the top of the Tovière (2695m altitude) we could see Mont Blanc which at 4810m is the highest mountain in Western Europe. Skiing down all the way to La Daille we were working on the Magic Wall and trying to reduce the tendency to snowplough. When working directly with dynamics increased speed actually helps so I was encouraging slightly higher speeds when possible. The boys were good at following my line which is set to encourage control of speed though turning instead of braking. Tariq was the strongest and most experienced skier but Alex probably learned and improved the most during the first session. JJ seemed to have a bit of trouble listening and with the brain/body connection - but that just means that I need to help him more in that direction for the time being.

Complete Beginner
Joydip had apparently tried skiing for one hour at some point in the past. I told him to forget that and we started at the very beginning. The start was delayed however because somebody had taken his skis by mistake so we had to go and get some more from the hire shop in town. This was a good choice to start from the beginning because it gave an opportunity to build up some fundamental skills which would otherwise not have come naturally to Joydip. Walking around on one ski at first Joydip fell over consistently when we tried to slide a little - but after about 20 minutes that stopped happening. The body adapts rapidly to accelerations if given a chance.

Skating was definitely alien to Joydip so we sidestepped up the hill - but at first the skis were still slipping away and despite identifying the edges of the feet and adductor muscles on the inside of the legs grip just wasn't there to be found. It dawned on me that each time joydip wanted to move he first placed his centre of mass directly over his foot and flattened his ski. He was trying to get the power of the leg instead of using gravity to just fall. This flattening of the ski caused it to slip away from him. When stepping or skating we have to grip with the edge and let the body fall to the side ( inside between the skis when skating). This is an interesting issue because the whole of skiing is just a development of this basic action. You can see in the video that Joydip eventually developed a good feel for this movement.

After climbing up the hill Joydip had to use the poles for a "bull fighter" turn and then straight run down the hill. Interestingly he was quite comfortable with straight running and didn't resist the accelerations. On his final descent I told him to just lean very slightly to the left and he would turn left and right to go right. This small motion of the centre of mass is enough to make the skis work - and he got it first time.

Henri - Second Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:55:00 +0000

Down to business today. Henri knew a good chunk of the theory and had a good grasp of the physical actions involved - but putting it together and making it work is another story.

Clip 1. Carving introduction
Clip 2. Improved dynamics - but still very static
Clip 3. Trying to be more aggressive but not getting there due to the piste being narrow - defensive and static
Clip 4. Breaking through - getting faster - natural down/up rhythm - better dynamics

Holism

Skiing does not resemble something mechanical like a car. Car mechanics are linear and predictable. If an important part of the car breaks then the car won't work at all. Skiing is holistic which means that it will work even when parts are missing or wrong and that it's not necessary to have everything functioning for it to work. This allows you improve progressively and to focus on one thing at a time - plus this removes any undue worry about not doing things as well as you would like to. Another aspect of this is that the final product is always rather complex and unpredictable - a bit like baking a cake with an unknown recipe - reflected in the fact that every human being is different. The final product is "more than the sum of the parts" and that is why it can never be completely explained directly in terms of parts. We can however, with experience, work out what parts to work on to bring around certain results - but more often than not the system reveals to us it's own solutions before we actually understand what the underlying problems really are.

We went for a brief forage off piste to let Henri see that his dynamics would work there - and that it wasn't necessary to be perfect at it. Any improvement in dynamics will help and because the ski loads up like a trampoline in deeper snow - lifting you out of the turn prematurely if you are not aware of this - then this is a great way to improve and increase your dynamic range. You have to hold your centre of mass well inside the turn and try to err in that direction - because the most common mistake is to be taken by surprise by the "lifting up" power of the ski and to get pitched out of the turn instead. Henri did well off piste for the first time.

Later on when Henri was struggling with increasing dynamics on the piste and I had to decide on a strategy I was confronted with this "holism" problem. Would Henri's rotation make increasing dynamics impossible or would my gut feeling that he just needed to be more aggressive work despite the rotation? Impossible to say. Given the limited time available I decided to push Henri to be much more aggressive - to REALLY try to fall down into the turns and not hold back - and to increase speed to help with generating forces. The great surprise was that when he did this - not only did it work very well, but the body rotation disappeared. That was an outcome that couldn't be predicted - it was unique. Normally rotation gets worse as a defensive reaction.

Exercises

Dynamics part 2

We worked through some of the skating exercises from yesterday after warming up. I wanted Henri to properly step up onto his uphill leg during the final skate in each turn - so that he would commit 100% to the leg (and hip) that he would be standing on for the next turn. This was to counter his tendency to crouch down onto two feet instead of stand up strongly on one leg. The up motion would come from the lower leg and then the dynamics executed while standing strongly on the upper leg. The fact that the upper ski was on the top edge is irrelevant. Turns can begin from either edge. With this skating step turn the push up is difficult because it is against gravity and the forces produced by the skis - so it has to be very deliberate.

The next stage is to use the push up more dramatically - instead of going against gravity - going with it! I had Henri jumping up when on his uphill edges going across the hill and trying to land on his lower edges going into a new turn. This is an another way to make the legs active and coordinate the powerful up-lifting effect of the skis with the use of muscle power and appropriate movement of the centre of mass.

The reason for these exercises is to develop the last part of the turn where the body has to come back up out of the turn (think motorbike). When making flowing turns with forward motion the turn transition (from one turn to another) requires that the skier goes through a phase where the body is perpendicular to the slope with the skis flat on the surface and sliding across the hill. This actually means coming up and almost right over into the next turn on the lower ski. In racing a large percentage of turns are actually started on the lower ski.

Getting the turn completion correct guarantees a good start to the next turn - but it can be scary to commit to that degree at first - until you know that it makes you bomb proof!

Carving

Henri really needed to increase his confidence moving at higher speeds and nothing is better for this than learning to carve. Once a skier can hold a ski carving on it's edge then the feedback received is much more solid and clearer - plus the accelerations (linear and angular) are a whole magnitude greater. This accelerates learning because the number one key to learning is feedback.

Henri got the idea of standing on two edges, rocking his feet and moving his centre of mass over the inside ski (and weight when static). He had some resistance to letting the skis run along their arc and in the video you can see that once there is some speed the skis are allowed to fall off the edges - not so much for pivoting but more for braking purposes. Henri did get the basics and understood the goals plus he did become faster. This has to be done on relatively gentle and wide, empty slopes.

Dynamics Resistance

There wasn't a lot of time to get a result with Henri and his inexperience of sliding sports meant that he needs time to adapt. I could see that his attitude on skis was defensive - controlling speed through braking rather than pure turning and choice of line. This defensive strategy is learned. To try to provoke a rapid change I explained to Henri that skiing is all about accelerations - about really trying to fall over - about speed. This is what brings it all to life and counter intuitively this is what generates real security and control. Henri had understood the theory of dynamics yesterday - but not the spirit of it. It was time to change that. When Henri really tried to fall over and accept the speed - then the magic started to happen. The last clip in the video sequence shows a very natural timing - which "happened to" Henri - instead of him trying to make it happen. He looks like he is skating and the turn transitions are good - this is no accident. Henri was starting to replace his braking strategy with dynamics and starting to ski.

Running
There wasn't time to work on upper/lower body separation and on how the hips move and spine twists - all protected by the active core muscles. Likewise there wasn't time to work on Henri's desire to improve his running capacity. The following link ( Ed Pirie ) is a free pdf format ebook written by one of the greatest runners in history - and he gives some very good technical information. More important information still can be found in the book "ChiRunning" by Danny Dryer (search on Amazon). Dryer in my opinion is extremely insightful and accurate. It should be relatively easy to make the changes advocated by Dryer when young - and could make the difference between a sporting future that lasts a lifetime or one that terminates early though chronic wear and tear injuries through poor mechanics. Speed is just a side benefit!

Henri - First Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Initial Assessment

Herni has a little experience of skiing but has only been taught ineffective standard concepts. Henri's stance was comfortable and generally perpendicular with the mountain and not relying on his ski boots for support - showing that he had no negative issues regarding dealing with accelerations. The weighting of the outside ski in the turn was causing him to try to move the Centre of Mass in the wrong direction (correct direction as far as his previous teachers were concerned.) This would cause him to skid sideways at speed and to worry about catching the inside ski on something. In addition he was tensing his feet and pushing against the outside sidewall of the boot in order to throw his skis sideways - effectively standing on the wrong edge of his support foot. The overall effect was to make him rapidly very physically tired.

Mont Blanc in the background.

The video shows Henri skiing first of all without changing anything - then with some tentative dynamics added (in the right direction) and finally with some skating step turns.

Dynamics

The session began immediately with an explanation of dynamics and a few standard static exercises. Herni was given an explanation of statics and dynamics - separate branches of mechanics. Standing statically the way to get the weight over any foot is to move the centre of mass above the foot. This is how "pressurising" the ski or "transferring weight" is normally taught in skiing - but it is wrong. Henri pushed against my shoulder with his shoulder to the right so that he could feel pressure on his left foot - then he accelerated his body across a gap (on the right) - against my shoulder so that he could feel the pressure from the acceleration and then sustain it when against me. My body just substitutes the forces from sustained angular accelerations provided by the ski once moving forward. Repeating the exercise slowly moving to the right to bridge the gap Henri could feel the weight then going onto the right foot as the centre of mass passed above it. This difference in effect between static (or constant) motion and acceleration has to be understood very clearly. Skiing requires us to work with accelerations. After a few exercises using dynamics when sliding diagonally downhill and creating turns uphill to stop, we rapidly moved into complete turns and then linked them together. I explained the mechanics with crude reference to Newton's laws - more information on which can be found by searching within the pages of the blog.

Henri immediately felt much less tiredness and stress on his legs than he normally felt when turning. The dynamics were allowing his body to function more efficiently already.

The Feet

Henri mentioned that his feet were very tense - from a grasping action inside the ski boots. We went indoors to work with the feet and stance correctly. I removed both boots so that my feet could be seen but Henri only needed to remove one. I showed how standing on the whole foot can lead to a collapsing of the ankle during flexion and a vulnerable twisting of the knees from side to side if they were forced sideways. The simplest way to make the feet and ankles strong is to stand on the heels and then flex only the knees and hips. This activates the anterior tibialis muscle in front of the shin and makes the ankle strong and supportive. Many people lean on the ski boot for support but this is wrong - the leg only should support you - the boot is only to help you to maintain your stance and push you back into place. Henri was shown how the subtaler joint beneath the ankle permits the foot to be rocked - and how this is accessed by standing on the heel. Holding the toes up also helps to counter the tendency to curl them downwards in a grasping/grabbing action. Rocking both feet to the right the centre of mass also displaces to the right - connecting the centre of mass to the feet - the feet also represent the edges of the skis. The leg of the foot on it's inside edge experiences a tightening of the adductor muscles (skating muscles) on the inside of the leg. Going outdoors we immediately employed the rocking of the feet on a gentle gradient. Herni had no problem integrating the action of the feet.

Combing the Feet and Dynamics

Next stage was to combine the rocking of the feet inside the ski boots, with the dynamics - all working towards the centre of the turn. This was tricky for Henri as he has already developed the habit of doing the opposite of all of those things. I explained how it is a natural emotional response to want to stay upright and to throw the skis outwards - an inappropriate emotional response unfortunately reinforced by his original teaching. Additionally this tendency is reinforced by the illusion of "centrifugal" force throwing you out of the turn - a force which simply does not exist. Henri now had to make himself challenge all of those things and work in a very counter intuitive manner instead. Everything moves "inwards" towards the centre. While most people are desperately trying to remain upright on skis the aim of the skier should be to fall over - laterally. Bicycles work on the same principle - when the centre of mass falls over the bike responds by changing shape and undercutting the trajectory to bring the cyclist back up. Skis do the same. Bikes lose grip when they go over too far - but a skier's grip increases exponentially as the edges bite. The real problem for a skier is increasing the range of falling because the skis are so powerful that the prevent the skier from getting very far over. In essence the skier's job is to fall over and the ski's job is to bring the skier back upright. The ski is the stronger partner - much to the complete surprise of most people.

Skating

Henri was able to skate correctly so we worked a little at being able to skate across a hill - getting onto both uphill edges. It was a bit tough for Henri to start turns with a skate - except on very flat terrain - but this is normal to begin with. We progressively worked downwards from three skates to two and eventually one during the turn. The aim is to move the centre of mass always inwards and to develop the use of the skating muscles and independence of the legs. Skiing is essentially a one legged activity. Henri has previously learned to rush the start of his turns to get the skis around and below him - this being completely inappropriate. It's hard to switch from that to skating and taking time over the start of a turn. Eventually speed should be controlled through choice of "line" and direction - not through braking. Completing any single turn leads ultimately to a stop.

Timing

Skating has a rhythm and timing. The rhythm is obviously leg to leg - but less obviously this has to be made to last longer on each leg to come into resonance with the skis. Dynamics - itself generates timing. Picture a motorbike dropping down into a turn and coming back up out of it - the centre of mass goes down and up - it has to. Skiing is exactly the same in this respect and the connecting of turns creates a stabilising rhythm. Slalom courses are set out to specific rules so that rhythms are maintained and broken to strictly determined patterns.

Combining Skating with Dynamics

Henry was able to start to identify the sense of rhythm and timing from combining the skating with dynamics - falling actively to the inside of each skating stride. This is hard to do at first but we worked up to it progressively. I asked Henri to skate aggressively and in an accelerating manner directly downhill (shallow gradient) and then to do one turn to stop with dynamics. Skating aggressively was necessary to prevent the tendency to unconsciously go defensive and push the tail of the ski outwards in a braking action. Eventually Henri was able to stay with the skating and dynamics together well enough to feel the rhythm.

Pivot

To finish with we started to look at pivoting from the uphill edge of the uphill ski. I wanted Henri to realise that inside edge - from snowplough to racing - was NOT what skiing is all about. I supported Henri through his first pivot and then he straight away learned to use pole support - lifting his lower ski off the ground and and using the pole planed directly downhill from his heels to support his weight and prevent the ski from flipping onto the inside edge too soon. This is difficult because it requires pulling the ski sideways with the adductor muscles into the turn - and this is the opposite of pushing it outwards - which Henri is used to doing. I demonstrated to Henri the effectiveness of this sort of pivot and he was able to see the difference between this and "pushing out". Henri was shown how to use the lateral support of the boot to stand on his uphill ski on the uphill edge and let the foot inside the boot rock onto its inside edge - without the ski changing edge. This allows the adductor muscles to work and for the ski to slip into the turn more easily. This type of turning is how bumps, couloirs and any direct fall line skiing are all tackled - keeping the skis below the body on the mountain at all times for security and always skiing on uphill edges. The moment of edge change is when the skis are facing straight downhill. In racing and turning on the inside edge the moment of edge change is during the turn transition when the skis are more or less across the hill.

Pro Development

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:17:00 +0000

K2 Kung Fujas

Today was a day for getting used to new skis and working on technique. Fed up with trying to work with ski manufacturers and small minded shop keepers I just decided to go out a buy skis and free myself up from any commercial ties. My choice was encouraged by finding some excellent skis on sale and I ended up with the K2 Kung Fujas 179cm. This is a twin tip ski - almost as wide at the back as the front - and 102mm wide beneath the foot. It has a double rocker set up. I'd tried the wider Zag version - the H112 - and found it to be horrible - but the reviews for this K2 ski were universally excellent (Freeskier Magazine) I'd liked the off-piste performance of the H112 so figured that a narrower and lighter ski of similar design might work out well as a good all rounder - and this turned out to be correct.

The skis felt good immediately and only got better as I grew to understand them. Pivoting is incredibly effective - on piste. They are smooth in pivoting but grip well on ice at the same time. The ski is not so wide underfoot that it causes problems. Add another centimetre (H112) and the width makes piste skiing very unpleasant due to the ski levering the boot against the inside of the leg. The ski gripped well in a steep icy couloir - no trampoline-ing as happens with parabolic skis on steeps. Likewise on the steep icy and dangerous terrain the ski was light enough for swinging into jump turns without any negative issues. On steep, icy bumps the double rocker made the skis feel creamy smooth - once I remembered to do compression turns! In deep snow with a thick - non supporting crust - they gave the confidence to turn without jumping after settling into a rhythm. In carving on the piste I found that the width threw me a bit and limited my dynamic range for the moment - but on the only occasion that I pushed this issue I was pinged twice into the air on turn completion because the skis are so lively and reactive. Once I get used to the skis in a few days time I'll be able to test this aspect out more thoroughly. The turn radius is longer than the Zag Big but I'm not sure this will remain the case once I'm more comfortable with them.

Overall a fantastic ski and with the packaged tough Marker Griffon 13 binding amazing value on sale through Intersport at 489€ altogether. Now I'm floating around inside my ski boots with the skis being so resposive so I can see another purchase on the horizon already.

The video here is on steep off-piste (which is why the ski bases are visible) and I'm checking out the skis as well as a few technical issues with hip alignment. Gareth was doing his best to render the Sony optical stabiliser ineffective...

Hip Alignment

Gareth has been dogged by a technical issue that is very common - that of "leaving the foot behind" and blocking or resisting at the hip joint. This then has knock-on effects involving arm carriage and rotation. No amount of trying to push the foot forward would appear to cure this - in fact it left him with very badly bruised calf muscles.

Isolating the hip and pulling it backwards - instead of pushing the foot forwards - appears to be the answer to this issue. In the video above this is what Gareth is focusing on and it is clearly working for short turns - he is staying very well centered over his feet and not "leaving the foot behind". The only change made was to pull the hip backwards. This solution is derived from studying the body mechanics of correct walking and running - then adapting them to both cycling and skiing. The muscles in the leg right down to the sole of the foot are all aligned differently and there is much less strain taken up by the quadriceps. I'm practising the same thing in the top video and it permits me to be very flexed without that causing muscular tiredness. I'm not "fall line" skiing, the turns are more rounded but the principle remains the same. The hips are re-aligned during the turn transition. Normally in short turns upper-lower body separation is considered to "wind up" the body with the spine twisting in a counter direction to the turn - shoulders facing downhill. This actually causes the (outside) hip to advance forwards relative to the shoulders. What we are doing here is the opposite - pulling the hip backwards during the turn, but allowing the shoulders to follow the turn - so the twist in the spine is now in the same direction as the turn. This tightens up the core muscles and protects the spine - plus permits a much greater level of athletic activity in general. The difference is very difficult to spot visually. What is clear is that the "foot left behind" issue is not a "cause" it is an "effect" of the hip moving in the wrong direction.

Tignes Turkish Ski Championship

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:59:00 +0000

The sole criterion for the order of results is dynamic range.

No 1. Mete

Looking like a champ - except he is about to slide rather a long way sideways and down below the gate! He is definitely generating the biggest dynamic range here but his timing was a bit late due to inexperience and and the fact that it takes a while to learn how to generate "early" dynamics. Most people are "late" because they wait to react to supportive forces from the skis and the ground generated though angular accelerations and gravity - instead of generating them by launching the body downwards towards the snow - downhill - prior to there being any reactive forces already working. Also lacking in hip angulation and a bit collapsed at the waist - to be worked on... No shortage of determination!

No 2. Haluk

Not carving but surviving off-piste - same thing really. Good dynamics and arm carriage. What can't be seen here is the rotation at the start and end of the turn - which makes life relatively difficult - both off-piste and in slalom gates. Great dynamic range is not the only tool available for tackling off-piste - although it is the only way to "freeride".

No 3. Defné

Looking strong with a generous dynamic range. Good arm carriage. She looks to be a little too far back in the ski boot and lacking in freedom around the hip - there being also a slight knee tuck. The main thing though is dynamic range and there is plenty of it here. This will allow Defne to ski well off piste and to use a slalom course to really develop her skiing to another level if she chooses to do so.

No 4. Emir

Emir is very clean on his edges and is well placed over his feet and relaxed at the hips. His poor arm carriage comes from the fact that he is not generating dynamics by moving his body - the dynamics are almost completely reactive - just responding to the skis on their edges and allowing the skis to to pass under the body from side to side. More time in the slalom course would sort that out.

Nos 5 & 6 Cagatay and Taha

Neck and neck in the dual slalom - and they look like clones too! Stiff outside legs and no hip angulation. Plenty of determination though. The dynamic range is not quite there yet but they both probably feel like they are right down at the ground. It was on this run I think that Taha really started to perceive the "Centre of Mass" and the role that it plays in dynamics and hence in skiing.

No 7 Derin
Definitely the cutest of the bunch - but let's see a little bit more dynamic range please!

Mete showing how dynamics works even on the "wrong" ski - if you commit your Centre of Mass in the right direction (and in this case have good awareness and control over your use of the skis edges). Mete knows that he had to move his body into the turn before changing edge and allow the ski to pivot from the uphill edge. Not bad for someone who has skied for a total of 3 weeks.

Haluk Off Piste

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:24:00 +0000

This morning began with a gorgeous sunrise in Tignes...

The force of this slab of snow that slipped down the mountain can be seen in the way it has ploughed the earth in front of it...

There wasn't a lot of easily accessible deep snow around but as Haluk likes technically challenging challenging snow and steep slopes we were able to find some interesting stuff without resorting to hiking or any other time and energy wasting distractions...

Technical

Haluk is very aware of his technical limitations off-piste - both in heavy variable snow like this here and on ice. The main issue is lack of hip angulation. There are many observable symptoms in the performance but they shouldn't be allowed to mask and confuse "cause" and "effect". The underlying cause is a stiffness and resistance at the hip (outside of turn) due to it mechanically moving in the wrong direction (forward instead of backward) during the turn. Major symptoms include lack of angulation, over flexing of the ankles, under flexing of the hip, rotation of the upper body, over reliance on big dynamics and "inside edge" turn initiation. On ice this leads to the ski juddering and ineffective grip in the second half of the turn because the Centre of Mass is too far towards the exterior of the turn. Agility is also greatly affected. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to start to work on correcting all of this soon. Just one central issue - awareness of the roll of the hip joint - can change all of the above.

Derin, Defne, Emir

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:39:00 +0000

Asking Derin what she had learned during the past few weeks in the private ski school misleadingly named "Ecole de Ski Français" the answer was "To use the poles and put the weight on the downhill ski". Now look at the video and spot the pole plant!

Derin has picked up a few things from the ESF - all of them detrimental to her skiing and body so I will list them all here first.

1. Her previously good natural timing has been reversed. In the short turns she comes up to start the turn. She should be coming down to start the turn and was previously doing so.

2. When in the air she is pushing her skis outwards and sideways to get them below her. Previously she was getting early pressure on the outside (uphill) ski at the start of the turn because of her natural timing. Pushing the ski outwards is a major fault and incorrect coordination for skiing in general - she was not doing this previously.

3. She has no pole use whatsoever.
4. The body posture is completely inappropriate for any pole use and correct development of control.

5. She falls back against the back of her boots because the timing she was taught is wrong and unnatural so she looks for security against the boots instead of pressure under the feet. The acceleration downhill at the start of a turn is incompatible with an upwards projection of the centre of mass.

6. She is trying to compensate for the loss of control by forcing her knee into the turn - and sometimes collapsing the ankle in the process. This has probably been taught to her as well. It puts her at risk of a broken anterior cruciate ligament.

7. The incorrect timing can provoke long term lower back injury.

8. The short turns are initiated on the wrong edges - the inside edges instead of the outside uphill edges.

This is only a portion of the observable issues so on the mountain we moved straight on to addressing the most critical ones.

Timing
Derin remembered our previous lesson from a few weeks ago about the Centre of Mass - but she didn't really understand what it was all about. I explained about a bicycle because Derin likes riding a bicycle. The bicycle has to fall over into a turn and so comes down at the start of the turn and back up to finish. Bicycles and skis both do the same job. In fact on skis you can try to fall over to the side as hard as you can and the ski will always be stronger than you and bring you back up. This means that you go down to start a turn and up to finish one. The Centre of Mass has to be made to make this movement pattern because it drives everything. We didn't have time for exercises but I wanted Derin to start to think in the right direction. Perception of Centre of Mass is a long term development issue and does not happen in one complete revelation overnight.

Carving
We looked at Derin's carving because she was standing only on one edge with the knee over the outside ski exposed to danger. The video above was taken after working on trying to stand on two edges. At very low speed the skis can be placed on the two left or two right edges and the Centre of Mass balanced between the two or even over the inside leg. When moving forwards the skis generate a strong angular acceleration and place the pressure automatically entirely on the outside ski - this being a result of dynamics. Derin was able to do the exercises and start to become aware of her edges and stance in carving and the use of her Centre of Mass - but her knees and feet were not supporting her correctly - especially with a strong tendency to try to edge the outside ski with the knee. This is dangerous and has obviously been taught to her - it is a very common feature of French ski instruction. We then had to go inside to both warm up (it was extremely cold) and do some exercises to understand how to use the feet and legs properly.

Magic Spots
Derin removed one ski boot and we looked at how to stand strongly on the foot so that the ankle wouldn't collapse. Initially this means standing on the heel. Derin now bent correctly at the knees and hips. From this position we worked on rolling the feet from edge to edge - which cannot be done on flattened feet. She felt how standing as she was previously only the knees moved from side to side, twisting dangerously. Now I helped her to feel the "magic spot" under the foot, just in front of the heel. This was easy because we discovered that it's very ticklish. If you stand on that spot then you can easily keep your shin in contact with the front of the boot - which she was able to feel with the other leg which still had the boot on. This is another "magic spot" on the shin. When you can stay on the two magic spots when skiing then you are able to generate the best control over your body and skiing. When leaving the café we carved by rocking the feet and locating the magic spots. We then returned back to Tignes focusing on magic spots all the way back. Rolling the feet in the direction of the turn helps to prevent the "pushing outwards" and starts to develop the correct coordination.

Defne is certainly skiing faster and this is probably a result of her discovering how to carve. Her short turns had similar coordination to Derin's though there was a light use of the poles and no vertical movement. I'm not going to make another list of issues here so will just recount the work that we covered. Emir was skiing strongly too but his carving was also better than his short turns. For the above reasons I chose to work on pivoting and short turns.

Hand Carriage

Defne had picked up the habit of skiing with her hands practically in her pockets. I had been informed from the Slalom Stade that her previous instructor also skied this way in front of her. There is nothing worse for causing a skier to lean back against the ski boots than developing the habit of skiing with the hands dropped and back. Emir was doing a bit of the same so I got them both to hold their poles like a bar in front of the body and ski holding them up. I explained how bad a poor arm carriage was and how you cannot do any sport - tennis, goal keeping - anything with your arms held like they were doing previously. This would be a prelude to learning correct use of ski poles later on.

Pivoting

Despite having successfully having taught Defne pivoting twice before it was completely erased from her memory. This is what happens with coaching and why good athletes sack bad coaches - whatever you are being trained to do will override anything you did in the past. Defne actually thought that you had to start all turns on the inside (of the turn) edges of the skis. We started by pivoting on the uphill ski and then did some on the downhill ski. I showed how it can be done on both skis as a single platform below the body on the mountian for security on steep terrain. Emphasis was made on strong use of the pole for support to move the Centre of Mass downhill without changing the edges of the skis. Emir was better at pivoting on the lower ski than Defne. This is due to Defne's need to develop better posture and angulation - but there was not enough time for that today. We did some short turns again and Defne showed a very strong improvement and was clearly managing to integrate the pivoting instead of pushing outwards as she was in the video. She used to be able to do this anyway about a year ago so there may be some unconscious body memory helping along here.

Bumps

On the final run home we went off-piste on a steep bumps run where I could show the value of good pivoting. Most skiing is about pivoting and turn initiation on the uphill edges. Emir relished the challenge of the bumps and his better posture and control over the pivot meant that he had no problems. Defne was reluctant to experiment on the steep bumps - even slowly and in controlled steps. More work on posture, angulation, pole support and pivoting skill will make the transition to bumps and off-piste much easier for her. This will also give her much more success in slalom when the same properties are applied to carving. (Note: Poles are not used as a support in slalom.)

Taha Day 11

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:34:00 +0000

Final Day - coldest yet - but the sky was clear so the sun was able to keep us comfortable. Using the camera with thick gloves on was a bit tricky so the video is not as well filmed as usual. There was a "temperature inversion" with the cold weather front and so with the cold air low down in the valley there was a sea of cloud all day. It was snowing lightly in the valley all day. You can see the ice crystals floating in the air and some of the effects of the sun on the airborne ice in the photographs.

Slalom Competition

No new technique today - being the last day. It was time to put it all to use. We warmed up with light skiing and then a little carving and "racing skating" prior to starting the slalom competition finals.

Mete was the one to beat in slalom and in a Dual Slalom race Cagatay blew him away with a new famiy record of 33.65 seconds - the first ever to go under 34 seconds. This feat is extraordinary when you consider that Cagatay was snowploughing down the course only a week ago. Mete responded soon afterwards with a new record of 33.24 seconds and took the lead back again. Meanwhile Taha was improving and came very close with 34.18 finishing up with less than one second separating first from last place. In the end Mete won.

Mete had been working at increasing dynamics but by trying to lower his bottom into the turn instead of his shoulders. He was managing to improve this but the timing was still too late to get the most out of it. If he had improved his timing and line then he could have kept up his speed instead of losing it.

Cagatay was trying to use his centre of mass more and was clearly attacking the course. He was still bending at the waist and keeping his leg too straight and stiff - instead of bending at the hips and knees. He had a very fast run close to the end of the competition but fell when his ski came off - but that was due to the stiff leg.

Taha had a breakthrough with his understanding of dynamics and motion of the centre of mass on his last and fastest run. Although he had understood the theory it was only now that his perception properly caught up and he really "understood" it and felt it.

Gulsum progressively recovered her confidence after being traumatised yesterday and she finished up skiing again with a higher speed. One consequence of the higher speed is that it gives a sense of rhythm which brings along with it a stronger stability. It was good for Gulsum to finish on a good note and skiing strongly again. I kept on calling out to her when skiing to get her to look up instead of at the ground near her feet. Over time she started to focus more on what her body was doing - so the emotional impulse do do a "snowplough" was gradually replaced by more effective movements.

Taha Day 10

noreply@blogger.com (Ski Coach) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Really COLD! No way I was taking photographs today.

Racing Skating

We started out very positively with a revision of Racing Skating so that Taha could understand the lesson he missed out on yesterday. Everyone managed to skate in the fall line quite well. Cagatay was still bending too much at the waist so I spent some time trying to get him to understand the difference between bending at the waist and bending at the hips. Gulsum definitely rotated less when skating. I pointed out briefly that the skate can also be done on the uphill edge of the outside ski - keeping the ski below the body on the mountain - just like in the pivoted fall line skiing.

Slalom

Due to the cold we went directly to the slalom and Gulsum had no trouble skiing on the groomed slopes of the training piste - her first ever time on a black run. While she continued doing circuits on her own the boys went straight into the slalom. It was difficult keeping tabs on who was ahead because the time margins were so close.

0.7 seconds separating first and last!

Taha managed the fastest time of the day to re-take his lead (only the most recent day counts) as fastest racer. But Catagay was only two tenths of a second behind Mete for third place. Chatagay is making determined progress now so Mete will have to make a big effort on the final day tomorrow.

Taha's skiing is much more secure. There is more flexibility, less rotation, more movement and generally a good overall function. All of this just needs to be exaggerated more with more dynamics added. Cagatay is being hampered by his bending at the waist and his skis often skid and lose grip and speed because the leg is straight and stiff. Mete tends to rotate his upper body into the turn when he moves his centre of mass into the turn. His rotation is mainly in the last half of the turn when fighting against gravity - his shoulders go into the turn and his hips go out and so the skis lose grip. I physically held Mete in positions for attacking the start of the turn and the end of the turn. The start being done with the body launching itself face first downhill (I held him and brought his upper body towards me to give the feeling of falling downhill face first). For the end of the turn I held from behind under the arm pits - lowering him until his bottom was close to the snow - simulating angulation through the end of a turn.

We also discussed timing and how the apex of the turn needed to be brought from beneath the gate to beside the gate - and how you could imagine a trampoline at the outside of each pole that you would bounce off to cross back over to the other side. When we have higher speeds gravity is no longer the greatest force to deal with so the apex of the turn is no longer directly below the gate.

Carving

After slalom I filmed the boys carving on a wide piste - trying to increase their dynamic range and get closer to the snow with the centre of mass. Gulsum made a good effort too but Taha had his skis drifting sideways - not quite catching on!

Steeps and Fear

Going down the steep race piste back into La Daille, I was preparing Gulsum with technique before getting to the steepest part; Unfortunately she baulked at turning and took a big setback. The steepness was little different from the slalom piste and the conditions were good too so this was a bit of a surprise. Later on we discussed how when fear takes over it's necessary to "do it anyway" and try to overcome the resistance. Better still, if you know that this sort of scenario is possible - prepare your mind in advance and avoid the fear. Programming the mind is every bit as important as programming the body with coordination.

Bumps and Wind Pack
Despite being cold the boys went back up for a final blast down the black bumps and through the windpack. Taha survived despite a lot of tension and apprehension. Only Mete managed a spectacular head plant. Tomorrow we will try to hit the off-piste sooner and ski harder to stay warm. All the qualities worked on in the slalom are needed to cope with the wind packed snow. In addition the pivoting is required on the steeps for fall line skiing to control speed - the skis being kept below the body. This tactic is what helps Taha to survive the challenging conditions.