An athlete learns to improve their skills through reacting to feedback. Feedback can come in many different forms. You can get feedback from the interaction of the skis with the snow, from skiing in gates, or from a coach or other person. When you receive feedback it is important to assess it properly before you decide to react to it. Not all feedback is of the same value as far as improving your results. For example your coach might see something you are "doing wrong" and they might give you a correction for it. But the correction might not actually be the correct solution to improving your results. Sometimes it might be based on something they have "heard" other people say so they pass it on to you, in order to help you. Another example comes from the fact that in racing, when it comes to technique, there is no "right way" or "wrong way" to do something. For example on the world cup you will notice that each racer has a slightly different technique. And at any one time, anyone could win the race. The best example of differences in technique that I can point out is comparing the technique of Kalle Palander and Felix Neureuther on the same slalom course. Kalle uses more inclination to make his turns than Felix does, and Felix uses more angulation than Kalle. Both however are excellent, fast slalom skiers and have the potential to win an SL race at any time.
Kalle Palander and Felix Neureuther
Another example can be seen in comparing the cross-blocking technique of Michael Janyk to that of Thomas Grandi. Janyk uses a very high cross block where he brings the pole guard up in front of his face, where as Grandi used a technique where he keep his pole lower to cross-block when he approached the gate. Neither technique is considered wrong or right, just differences in style. I personally have tried both types of cross-block and I prefer the cross-block where you keep the pole lower, because it helps with the timing of angulation when approaching the gate. I think it is a personal preference. Mike Janyk is able to angulate well with a high cross-block so I think the technical difference is irrelevant. I was not able to find footage of Grandi online but I did find some of Mike Janyk. Notice how high he brings the pole in front of his face when he cross blocks.
Mike Janyk
What is important to understand when you receive feedback is that you need to evaluate the feedback before you decide to react to it. Feedback that you receive from another person is based on an opinion from the other person's perspective. Because there is no "right way" or "wrong way" when it comes to technique, the feedback you receive must be able to make an improvement in your skiing from your perspective, in order for it to be valuable to you. For example, if someone tells you you need to ski with your hands more forward. That is ok, you can try a run or two like that, but if you do that and it doesn't create an improvement, then I would discard the feedback. Anytime I receive feedback I consider it, but if doing it doesn't make me either "ski faster," "ski more efficiently" or "ski smoother." I throw it away. I will make notes about it, but I don't allow it to change how I ski. This is how I propose you handle the feedback that you get, especially if you are experienced. Also the feedback you receive may not always be in line with your personal goals. For example, some people don't necessarily want to ski faster. They may want to feel more stable or more in control. Making a change in your technique that makes you ski faster can sometimes be scary. Especially if you haven't developed the tactics required to manage such an increase in speed.
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