Timing of the pivot in GS

This slow motion video shows the timing of the pivot in GS and also the timing of the ankle/knee movement, to start the turn.  It is one of the best videos I have seen that shows these elements of the GS turn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDS_JujTDk&feature=related

Having a bad day

Has this ever happened to you?  It happened to me the other day and all it did was create an exercise in frusteration.  I know why it happened, it is because I haven't quite worked out all the bugs yet with respect to my technical skiing, so if one little thing goes off, everything seems to go wrong.  At least, that is what happens when you are trying to go through an SL course as fast as possible.  I felt like I was just randomly slamming into gates, left right and center with no rhythm.  Every time I would get to the bottom of the course, someone would give me feedback on something I was doing wrong from a technical perspective, and it seemed like everytime I tried to do what was being asked, it made things worse.  The more feedback I got, the worse it became.  I lost focus.  In gates I basically need to work on only one thing:  "just skiing."  Of course it is difficult to remember when people keep giving you feedback.  Technical feedback for me in gates isn't partically helpful because for me, I have to focus more on the "mental presense" of gate skiing.  Technical skiing for me has to be worked on "outside of gates."  And it is more like putting the technical pieces together and then once that is done, to put it into gates. 

I wonder if world cup skiers ever have bad days.  Other than not winnning a race of course.  You can still have a good day and not win a race.  I wonder what they do if they have a bad day.  A couple hours of free skiing the next day helped me out.  I was able to get all the "noise" out of my head and just ski.  I think we all need to just do that for our own mental sanity once in awhile. 

Two different recipes for GS

These two photos show slightly different recipes for a GS turn.

Skiing is a recipe

I wish I could take credit for this analogy but I can't.  A wise man once said that skiing is a recipe of 5 skills, stance, steering, edging, pressure control, timimg.  The recipe changes depending on the situation.  Ie. terrain, conditions, course set etc.  How much of each skill is applied depends on the situation.  For example, how much steering compared to how much edge you apply, depends on the situation.  For example in a 24m course on flat terrain, you may add more edging than steering, where as in an 18m course on steep terrain may require more steering than edging.  Another example.  The first few runs of a GS course may require less of a focus on stance than the last few runs the course after conditions have deteriorated.  A versatile skier, is better a modifying the recipe than a skier who is less versatile.  This skier will be less affected by changes in conditions and be more efficient at adapting to different situations than a less versatile skier.  This does not necessarily mean that the more versatlie skier will beat the less versatile skier in a race.  The advantage a more versatile skier has over the less versatile appears more in free skiing, and variations in course setting.

Fore aft movement

One of the skills I have been working on recently is fore aft balance.  To do this you have to make an active effort to constantly be shifting your feet, forward and backward, or moving your upper body forward and backward.  It is easier to shift your feet than it is to move your entire body, but I find that for good fore aft balance a combination of both works best.  The fore aft position of your upper body in relation of the feet, changes depending on the stage of the turn.  For example, in phase one at initiation, your upper body might be ahead of your feet where as in phase three it may be behind.  The exact positioning depends on factors such as terrain grade, ski conditions and turn shape etc.  It is determined mostly by feel, using the contact of the skiers feet with the snow, as a sensor to detect where the body should be at any instance of time.  Fore aft balance and lateral balance are demanding skills to develop for any skier.   The video below shows just how much the skier,s body has to react in order to stay in balance with the forces acting on them as they ski down the hill.  If your fore aft balance is good, you should feel like you are skiing with the forces and not acting against them.  Of course depending on the terrain, you may have to check your speed to maintain control, however on moderate terrain, you should feel as though you are skiing with the forces as you descend. 

Speed management

Many inexperienced racers check their speed either at the gate or just after they have passed by the gate.  The problem with this approach is that it can lead to tactical problems such as skidding and failure to set up correctly for the next turn.  Especially if the course is icy or has deteriorated from high traffic.  Another approach is to learn to check your speed before you reach the gate.  The video below shows and example of when you can apply the forces of gravity to act against your center of mass, in order to slow you down.  This takes some practise and will require some time outside the gates to perfect the skill. 

In the video the red arrows show the force of gravity acting against the Center of Mass, slowing the skier down and the green arrows the opposite.

January 1, 2011

On this day I was out skiing by myself, practicing good fore aft movement using a rounded back.  And limiting the ankle flexion being used at the end of the turn, regardless of my turn size, when suddenly I noticed a new feeling.  I decided to exaggerate my lateral movement. Ie. when I start the turn, moving my body to the outside of the turn so that it feels like my body is right over top of the outside ski for a split second.  It is weird because it feels like you are actively moving your body on a path which follows the skis but is slightly to the inside.  I have heard coaches talk about this but never actually felt it.  It was weird.  It gave the sensation of what you would feel if you were in a ride that was going around in circles, your body being pressed up against the cage.  Kind of like what you feel when you are in a tilt a whirl.  You can't be too far forward in order to get the feeling, and you have to make an active attempt to throw your body to the outside of the turn, or else you don't feel it.  You also have to time it with good ankle extension. 

You can kind of see how it works from this video

Notice how the skier(s) actively move their body to the outside of the turn, just after intiation.  It helps that there is a gate there to see the timing with the gate as well.