Monday 16 March 2015

A New Beginning and About Physics and Skiing

Three years ago I had another new beginning.  For me it changed the way I ski and explained most of the mysteries that I have puzzled me for years.  This new beginning helped me put together all the various pieces that I have accumulated into an integrated package that makes good sense to me. 
The final piece was to change the transition phase between the end the arc of one turn to the beginning of the  next.   Instead of toppling (leaning into the next turn) from one turn to the next, I learned how to steer between turns.  This enabled me to gain control not near the middle of the turn but at the very start of the turn, the next arc.  I spent the following ski season, playing with various parameters that affected the outcome.  I found four different ways to affect the transition but in the end found that steering the skis through the transition is the best.  During this time I tried to define what skills are needed to perform the transition.
What I found was that we need a new way to teach beginners how to ski.  We need to concentrate on the basic skills.  I found that it is really hard to initiate a new beginner course into an old traditional system.  Hence my free manual in previous posts. In the manual lessons, I stress what I believe are the basic moves in skiing.  
I call this move the Dynamic Transition Phase.  Besides the basics for intermediates, I suggest learning how to side slip on groomed runs,  braquage ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCc90N4GxHY)  
and side slipping on moguls. Notice the upper body in the video is always facing down hill in the general direction of travel.  Besides side slipping, this is a good demo of counter rotation or pivoting.  For a more complete description of the Dynamic Transition Phase, I have included another download of my notes,  About Physics and Skiing . See The Turn, Phase 1 on pages 3-5.


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