Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Austrians ski PMTS technique

Often coaches forget to compare the similairities because the key elements of skiing are hidden. In our PMTS techniques we have identified these key elements as the "Essentials of Skiing". Let's look at the similarities of these two skiers. Here I'll point out the Essentials that are similar for  world class skiers that are not seen in struggling skiers.






Here Anna Fenninger, a World Champion demonstrates perfect technique and balance. Here are the key points that turn out to be similar in both these skiers.
1. Inside leg and ski tipped equally to outside ski and leg.
2.  Inside knee bent and outside leg is straighter.
3. Upper body is counter balanced to lower body
4. Upper body facing toward outside of the turn, inside arm, hand and shoulder leading.
5. Even at these angles, shoulders are level.





Here Harald Harb demonstrates similar technique, possiblly not skiing as fast and skiing a more shaped ski, however the body and it's relationship to the turn and skis, is almost identical. Is this a coincidence or a fluke, no it's achieved by using designated learned movements.  I achieve this skiing by using the Essentials of Skiing from the PMTS approach.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

You can learn this turn and gain control of your skiing, with PMTS!

His upper body is facing toward his downhill ski boot, his hips are doing the same. 
He quickly retracts or flexes his stance leg, keeps his upper body the same but his legs are releasing.
He is on his new edges, but light on his skis, his legs are on the downhill side of the skis, the skis have made almost no direction change, this is key.
 In every Essential of skiing there are many components of movement, in this series by Hirscher we see "Counter Acting", which is being held with his upper body and hips during the release.

We also see he is flexing his outside leg in Fig. 1, to flatten the ski, this constitutes a PMTS "Flexing Release", taught in the system and it is one of the Essentials of skiing.

In the last photo you see the tipping of the new inside ski and boot and the leg that follows. This creates the "knees apart", look and delays the on set of the new outside edge, until after the body has crossed the skis and is lined up with the forces of the turn. This is another one of the Essentials of skiing,  Inside leg "Tipping", in this case.

There are many misunderstandings in ski teaching and coaching technique. What is astounding, is that the really talented skiers get around the poor advice and let their natural instincts take over. However, even after these athletes have success with movements that are different from what the coaches suggested, many coaches justify the difference with tailored explanations that on the surface look reasonable, however with further investigate and proof, they end up completely incorrect. This is why it's so difficult to become a good skier with the instruction that is generally available. Unfortunately there are not many approaches that lead to skiing correctly that is why if you stick to the program of PMTS and learn to move with the "Essentials of Skiing, you won't have get confused.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Getting your feet behind your butt in skiing all mountain terrain.

Rarely do you see skiers committing to the "High C" transition in all mountain skiing. This movement can make a huge difference in how much energy you expend and how much control you achieve.                     
 Here is a transition well before the falline, the skis and body are engaged to the new arc. The release retraction movement from the previous turn was energetic, that is why the skis are not yet in the snow; however the body is ready for the new turn well before the falline. We call this the up-side-down position.
Here the turn is engaged and the tips headed straight down the falline already arcing a turn. This gives you an early engagement and lots of time with the skis in the carving phase of the turn, which means control and direction are easily achieved.