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Absorbing bumps

marzNC

Angel Diva
It’s amazing how sometimes we really need to hear things a different way to suddenly realize we were interpreting what to do incorrectly for so long..
Have you heard the idea of "flow like water" yet? That's for the situation when a lesson on bumps is not at all related to finding a zipper line. In fact, that goal was to stay on the "ridge line" between bumps and to stay completely out of the troughs. It was in a lesson at Massanutten, where the short set of bumps on the left side of Paradice were about 3 bumps wide and 20 bumps long. What was unusual about that lesson with Walter was that a couple of instructors who were working towards taking the PSIA Level 2 exams joined in the Silver Clinic (Over 50) that afternoon.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@marzNC I've never understood "flow like water" the way you just described it. You're right, of course. It means keep your ksis up on the wall, the outer ramp, of the troughs. For years I thought it meant stay in the bottom of the trough, because that's where the water would go. Well, water does go down there if it's not moving fast, but if it's traveling with speed it ends up on the wall.

Thanks for that terminology clarification.
Keeping the skis in the bumps up on the ramps/walls is an excellent way to decide where to go. Look for the next 2-3 walls/ramps that you like and go for them.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
@marzNC I've never understood "flow like water" the way you just described it. You're right, of course. It means keep your ksis up on the wall, the outer ramp, of the troughs. For years I thought it meant stay in the bottom of the trough, because that's where the water would go. Well, water does go down there if it's not moving fast, but if it's traveling with speed it ends up on the wall.
Yep, the instructor didn't mean to follow the route that water would take when flowing in or near bumps. He meant that the skis should stay on the snow regardless of whether they were going up, across, or down when wandering around in bumps without getting into the troughs. Per usual, a lot easier to understand when watching an instructor demonstrate than to describe in words. Especially for a student who is visual, as I am. A catch phrase is simply a way that I can bring up the visual memory or the memory of the feeling of doing something correctly. As opposed to a literal instruction.

"Flow like water" can apply when simply traversing a set of bumps to practice absorption (knees up towards chest) and extension (pushing ski trips down on the backside). Also works when going over mini-jumps the kids make on the side of groomers to practice dealing with a bumpy travers to advanced terrain. Plenty of situations like that at Alta (Saddle Traverse, Ballroom Traverse, traverse to 180 across Rustler, High Traverse, etc.)
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yep, the instructor didn't mean to follow the route that water would take when flowing in or near bumps. He meant that the skis should stay on the snow regardless of whether they were going up, across, or down when wandering around in bumps without getting into the troughs. ...
"Flow like water" can apply when simply traversing a set of bumps to practice absorption (knees up towards chest) and extension (pushing ski trips down on the backside). Also works when going over mini-jumps
I misunderstood you then. Oh well, "flow like water" remains a mystery to me. Too many interpretations! I don't use this metaphor when I teach.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I have heard the flow like water piece in the past and have also been confused because it makes me think to go down in the troughs or around the bumps as well. We haven't discussed this analogy in my current season of instruction, but I do like the idea in general as if I just think of it as taking the path of least resistance without going too deep into it.

I have most recently been working on connecting bumps with those ramps/bridges though and also keeping contact with the front of my skis on the snow. So a mix of all that is being discussed regardless of the water flowing piece. :smile: This makes it really easy to look ahead when they exist and smooths things out nicely. I get more thrown off when bumps are more sporadically spaced and larger where you tend to lose (or I can't easily find anyway) another bridge.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I'm curious if any instructors, or divas in general, have any suggestions for dryland training that helps with the concept of absorption? Probably a long shot.. but part of my issues in bumps definitely result from tensing up and getting knocked into the backseat versus absorbing when in bumps I'm not as comfortable in. Is there anything I can practice outside of actual time on snow to drill it into my muscle memory more??
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@MissySki this is such a great question! My first thought was hanging knee raises. Only because the idea is to bend the legs underneath a stable torso, not raising or lowering the torso by doing squats and the like. Sorry for the terrible screen shot, but hopefully you get the idea.
Screenshot_20210413-172658~2.png
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@MissySki then I did an internet search for Dryland mogul training. And this popped up:

Moseley dryland traning

I'm pretty certain that I would wreck myself if I attempted what's on the YouTube video. I do however think that it is an incredible example of a quiet upper body and the flexion and extension that needs to happen underneath in Mogul skiing.:yardsale:

No pressure, but please post a video if you have success with the above drill.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
I'm pretty certain that I would wreck myself if I attempted what's on the YouTube video.

I can go beyond pretty certain to 10000000000% certain.

So impressive. For more humanly coordinated people, I’m thinking that it’s really the core stability and leg responsiveness you want, right? What if you practiced doing faster squats on an upside down BOSU ball? Forcing balance and leg strength at the same time? Might that work?
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@MissySki then I did an internet search for Dryland mogul training. And this popped up:

Moseley dryland traning

I'm pretty certain that I would wreck myself if I attempted what's on the YouTube video. I do however think that it is an incredible example of a quiet upper body and the flexion and extension that needs to happen underneath in Mogul skiing.:yardsale:

No pressure, but please post a video if you have success with the above drill.

I was actually going to recommend to @MissySki maybe box jumps and lateral jumps and other plyometrics, which is basically what is in that video except way more insane because its Jonny Mosely.

But I think box jumps and lateral jumps (in a gym to start with!) could be good training the muscles for bumps, lots of stabilizing muscles and balance and absorption in those exercises.
 

badger

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We need to remember that Moseley is a racer. Those of us wanting to learn moguls would not be skiing like that. We recreational skiers usually employ a mix of up, over, and around. The video IS a great example of upper body perfection , and a desirable goal, but his line is going straight down. Like a mogul racer. And the absorption is key for any sort of chopped, mogul, or kicker that we encounter : it is remembering to do it that gets in the way!
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Thanks @snoWYmonkey and @Kimmyt! I really like the idea of the hanging knee raises since I have been trying to more actively pull the knees up. That does make a lot of sense over squats etc. where you are lowering in the opposite direction. Box jumps/lateral jumps sound like a good idea too.

Eek that video gives me anxiety, my ankles are hypermobile and roll really easily so I'm not sure how successful I'd be at that! Though I likely wouldn't break/sprain them because they're so flexible, it still hurts when I roll them. lol Might be fun to try on a very shallow incline and with some ankle supporting hiking boots though.. :banana:
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
But I think box jumps and lateral jumps (in a gym to start with!) could be good training the muscles for bumps, lots of stabilizing muscles and balance and absorption in those exercises.

I would think a balance board or bosu ball exercises could have a similar outcome as far as using stabilizing muscles, balance and absorbing.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm curious if any instructors, or divas in general, have any suggestions for dryland training that helps with the concept of absorption? Probably a long shot.. but part of my issues in bumps definitely result from tensing up and getting knocked into the backseat....
I do a couple of things in the green season that I've found very helpful in bumps. hese things are not specifically absorption practice. As long as I am not skiing the zipper line, I don't exactly need the type of absorption that mogul skiers talk about. That type of absorption is the way zipperline mogul skiers do their speed control as they go straight down the hill. I rarely do that.

1. Learn to do pivot slips on groomers when on snow.
What messes people up in bumps is getting thrown into the back seat. One thing that helps to prevent this from happening - that you can teach yourself while actually skiing on groomers - is to fully complete each turn while using up very little lateral space. Completing turns slows you down so the bumps do not come at you so fast, catching you off guard before you're ready, which is a sure thing for throwing the skier into the back seat. Unfortunately I have found no dryland practice for completing turns. But when on snow a good thing to do is learn to do pivot slips on groomers over and over until you can do them in your sleep. There are descriptions for pivot slips somewhere on this forum, or a new thread can be generated. Then take pivot slips to the bumps. You can head down the hill very slowly, snail-slow, with pivot-slip-type turns.

2. Learn to plant each foot behind hips when running (extra credit if you do this running downhill).
One thing to practice in the summer that can prevent back-seat-bumps is to go running, and teach yourself to keep your feet back behind you as you run. This can be practiced while running downhill to make it even more transferrable to skiing. Work on monitoring in your head where your feet land beneath you as you run. Plant each foot a tiny bit behind your hips, and extend back to propel self forward. Work on sensing where each foot lands relative to the hips, and work on making sure it's a bit behind the hips. Each foot will move in a "foot circle" with its most forward spot being that landing spot.

If the foot lands in front of your hips when running downhill, you'll get some unwanted impact on your knees; you'll be braking with each forward footplant. Another way of looking at it: you'll be backseat at the start of each running step. Avoid this when running downhill. Runners call this less-than-optimal way of running "overstriding." When skiing, it translates to leaning back uphill. This is definitely not good in bumps.

One summer of consistent downhill running with foot plants happening behind the hips, not in front of them, can produce good muscle memory for staying "forward" in the bumps.

3. Teach yourself to look ahead while running rocky trails (extra credit if you do this while running downhill)
A third thing to do in summer is teach yourself to look ahead in the bumps. The farther ahead you can look, while your feet and skis are working beneath and behind you, the more you can avoid being caught off-guard by bumps coming at you. Looking continuously ahead instantly produces extra time to take care of each bump beneath you. It's like time slows down. So cool!

I found it quite difficult to look ahead for seasons and seasons, but several years of downhill trail running on rocky terrain with this focus have helped purge myself of this crippling habit. I no longer look down directly at each bump as I ski it, or at each rock as I encounter it on the trail. Looking down at obstacles, let me tell you, is a recipe for disaster, because the next bump or rock will come at you by surprise.

If you look ahead continuously, selecting where to put each foot, or selecting your line around the rocks, and if you trust your short-turn memory to direct where you foot actually goes since you aren't looking down, your foot will not smack into that next rock or bump. So, run on rocky trails, maybe even downhill, teaching your eyes to watch the trail ahead continuously, selecting the line for your feet, while planting each foot "blind" beneath you/behind your hips. If your eyes are tracking ahead, your feet will go there even though you are not looking at them.

These three things will help keep you from getting in the back seat in the bumps, they will slow your travel down so the bumps don't come at you too fast, and they will give you extra planning time to place your skis where you want them to go. Back seat impacts with bumps should disappear once these habits are established.
 

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