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How did I get so amazing? I'm confused!

newboots

Angel Diva
I skied slalom skis for most of last season - 67mm underfoot - when there wasn’t new snow, even bumps. They are confidence boosters, for sure, and go fast without even trying.

I really noticed the speed. Going that fast usually terrorizes me, but not in this case. I felt completely in control. What a startling difference!
 

Abbi

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Funnerer! That's exactly what I felt on those Glorys!

. . . Yes, Mr. Blizzard got two pairs of Glorys (a 149 and a 153) that were left at the shop when someone bought new skis.
After talking to you yesterday I went down and looked at my Head skis. They are 74 under foot at a 153 length. They have adjustable bindings as designed by Head. If you’re ever in the area and want to play with them …..
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
It’s hard for me to explain. It seems to me she is describing the same movements differently, and people find it easier. But I have to look at the book again to describe it!

She is explaining the essentials of carving using the approach she used as a designer in robotics. In skiing, she describes how the body creates torque, using the shoulders in opposition to the direction of the skis. Also, she describes the transition into a turn involving pressure to the tongue and shifting the weight between the two skis. [As I try to summarize what she has written, my mind gets all tangled up again trying to understand it. I’m starting to think that understanding her techniques didn’t create the big change in my skiing. It did get me to struggle with the body positions and movements she described and think about how making these turns on edge would feel.]

Maybe @EffortlessSkiing can return and do a better job herself. I know I’m not doing it justice!

The Quattros turn out to be 72 underfoot. I’m thinking that the weight and the torsional stiffness of the Glorys made the most of the difference. And the shift in my mindset from the book. One of the most important things I read was that doing it correctly is easier and leads to more confidence. That was very true for me. I felt much more stable. And it did feel easy.

Other factors include the lack of crowding and better grooming than the last time I was at Big Snow.

This is not the first time I’ve struggled to put physical concepts into words. It’s just not my strength.
That is actually a great way to briefly explain the technique presented in my book Effortless Skiing. Indeed, I offer a completely new explanation of the skiing biomechanics. All typical instructions, such as "keeping the upper body quite or motionless or facing downhill or making turns with the legs" are not based on biomechanics. They represent what we see when we look at a good skier. But visual observation can be deceptive. It often does not allow us to understand how we control and coordinate movements of the different body parts. When I figured out the skiing biomechanics, the way how we ski became clear and transparent. Downhill skiing is actually very simple, we just need to know what to do. The technique I offer includes two steps. We perform a slanted shoulder rotation while we go along the arc. When the skis turn right, we rotate the shoulders left, and vice versa. This causes torsion within the body. This also causes edging, right distribution of load between the two skis, so we do not need to think about all these features. It also causes the seemingly "motionless" torso because the torso rotates in the direction opposite to that in which the skis go, so the torso LOOKS motionless. At the end of the arc, when the body torsion is maximal, we push the body forward (the pelvis). This reduces load on the ski tails. We weigh on the ski tips while the tails loose the grip with the snow. This releases the body torsion. The torsion rotates the skis around the tips under us. The transition to the next arc becomes effortless because the torsion in the body, not the leg muscle's effort, is used to make it. I want skiers to adopt my technique as it is very simple and allows obtaining the right ski form very quickly. I wish I knew this technique when I started to ski! The lack of this knowledge costed me 30 years of misery on slopes.
 
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newboots

Angel Diva
@EffortlessSkiing - Thanks for your response. I am still reading your book and trying to digest it. The physics and biomechanics are not my native language, so it's slow going.

I've come to think that reading, re-reading, and picturing the explanations and instructions in your book helped me to consider what carving felt like. And that, in turn, help me translate it into physical actions. Sadly, there was a fire at the indoor skiing facility in NJ, so I can't practice more until the end of the month, or longer.
 

Getting Ready

Angel Diva
It’s hard for me to explain. It seems to me she is describing the same movements differently, and people find it easier. But I have to look at the book again to describe it!

She is explaining the essentials of carving using the approach she used as a designer in robotics. In skiing, she describes how the body creates torque, using the shoulders in opposition to the direction of the skis. Also, she describes the transition into a turn involving pressure to the tongue and shifting the weight between the two skis. [As I try to summarize what she has written, my mind gets all tangled up again trying to understand it. I’m starting to think that understanding her techniques didn’t create the big change in my skiing. It did get me to struggle with the body positions and movements she described and think about how making these turns on edge would feel.]

Maybe @EffortlessSkiing can return and do a better job herself. I know I’m not doing it justice!

The Quattros turn out to be 72 underfoot. I’m thinking that the weight and the torsional stiffness of the Glorys made the most of the difference. And the shift in my mindset from the book. One of the most important things I read was that doing it correctly is easier and leads to more confidence. That was very true for me. I felt much more stable. And it did feel easy.

Other factors include the lack of crowding and better grooming than the last time I was at Big Snow.

This is not the first time I’ve struggled to put physical concepts into words. It’s just not my strength.
What you said sounds like a different language to me but I think it is one my husband speaks. What is the name of the book? I'd like to get it for him.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
but I think it is one my husband speaks.
:laughter: Does he speak robotics? Physics? or engineering? Does he use "torque" or "torsion" in an offhand, everyday manner? This is just the book. (Oh, also, if he wants to learn to carve.)

(Part of my difficulty is not speaking those languages, but part is that the author speaks English as a second language.)

Here it is:


I strongly recommend the Kindle version (you can read it on your computer or phone), because the entire book is 27 pages, and it seemed a stretch at $16.99 for the print version.
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
:laughter: Does he speak robotics? Physics? or engineering? Does he use "torque" or "torsion" in an offhand, everyday manner? This is just the book. (Oh, also, if he wants to learn to carve.)

(Part of my difficulty is not speaking those languages, but part is that the author speaks English as a second language.)

Here it is:


I strongly recommend the Kindle version (you can read it on your computer or phone), because the entire book is 27 pages, and it seemed a stretch at $16.99 for the print version.
Indeed, English is my second language. Although I write in English a lot, it is mostly scientific papers on human motor control and biomechanics. But you are describing the technique very well and you are saying you have improved. It sounds that you are expecting more difficulties in the text than it is there. It is that simple as you are describing in your own words. Good skis are important but a skier who has a good technique would ski well on any skies. And if someone does not have the right technique, it will not emerge due to skis only.
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
@EffortlessSkiing - Thanks for your response. I am still reading your book and trying to digest it. The physics and biomechanics are not my native language, so it's slow going.

I've come to think that reading, re-reading, and picturing the explanations and instructions in your book helped me to consider what carving felt like. And that, in turn, help me translate it into physical actions. Sadly, there was a fire at the indoor skiing facility in NJ, so I can't practice more until the end of the month, or longer.
Each person learns and feels movements differently. It sounds like you are doing great.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@EffortlessSkiing, here's what I think you are promoting in terms of ski technique. Would you correct me where I've got this wrong?

1. INITIATION - Start the new turn this way
--stand up tall to push the body, including pelvis, up, forward, & over the skis
--Straighten the uphill leg more than the downhill lelg toget this diagonal movement.
--the body will tilt as a straightened unit (and it will thus tip the skis onto their new edges)
--the body will unwind
--this unwinding will cause the tails of the skis to pivot around their tips to point downhill


2. MIDDLE of the TURN - Ride the skis "around the corner" this way
--the unwound body will now be facing the way the skis are pointing
--the body as a unit will be straight and leaning sideways as the skis edge and go through the fall line
--ride the skis; they will take you "around the corner"


3. FINISH of the TURN - End the turn this way
-- do the slanted shoulder rotation:
a. drop downhill shoulder to tilt shoulders after the fall line
b. the body will feel this tilt
c. twist shoulders to face downhill simultaneously
d. the body will feel this twist
--crouch low as you do the slanted shoulder rotation
--you are now ready to initiate the new turn
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
@EffortlessSkiing, here's what I think you are promoting in terms of ski technique. Would you correct me where I've got this wrong?

1. INITIATION - Start the new turn this way
--stand up tall to push the body, including pelvis, up, forward, & over the skis
--Straighten the uphill leg more than the downhill lelg toget this diagonal movement.
--the body will tilt as a straightened unit (and it will thus tip the skis onto their new edges)
--the body will unwind
--this unwinding will cause the tails of the skis to pivot around their tips to point downhill


2. MIDDLE of the TURN - Ride the skis "around the corner" this way
--the unwound body will now be facing the way the skis are pointing
--the body as a unit will be straight and leaning sideways as the skis edge and go through the fall line
--ride the skis; they will take you "around the corner"


3. FINISH of the TURN - End the turn this way
-- do the slanted shoulder rotation:
a. drop downhill shoulder to tilt shoulders after the fall line
b. the body will feel this tilt
c. twist shoulders to face downhill simultaneously
d. the body will feel this twist
--crouch low as you do the slanted shoulder rotation
--you are now ready to initiate the new turn
It is interesting to see how you interpreted it. I fully agree with your interpretations. However, for me, it is more logical to think that the turn starts from point 2, develops through point 3, and ends with point 1. This is because to "unwind" (in point 1) we first need to twist (which we do in point 3). But this is really not important. If this sequence of events seems more understandable for you, keep using it. Just a couple of comments. When you type "crouch low" in point 3, be sure that you do not crouch forward. Try to keep your upper body as vertical as possible, while being twisted. Also, in point 1 you typed: "Straighten the uphill leg more than the downhill leg". I never think about this difference between the legs. I just push my belly downhill with both legs, without thinking if the movements of the two legs are different. But you are right, they are different. This difference emerges naturally. Again, do what you are saying if this helps. Finally, in point 3, you typed: "twist shoulders to face downhill". For me, it has always been difficult to watch where the downhill is as the terrain changes constantly. I therefore focus my attention not on the slope line but on the rotation of the shoulders away from the direction to which the skis go, or rather on generating torsion within the body by rotating the shoulders. Different people use different sensory information to control their movements. Perhaps, I am more proprioceptive (focus on the feelings within the body) and you are more visual. Thanks for sharing your interpretation with me!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
@EffortlessSkiing - I'm still reading! I think I find it hard to translate words into physical actions (especially moving physical actions. Every sentence makes sense, but when I read that, for example, "the skier rotates his upper torso to the left and simultaneously moves his left (outside) shoulder down. . . . To allow the shoulder to move down, the skier bends his body to the left. " Add some commentary about which direction the skis are pointing, and I am already lost! I have to continually refer back to the pictures, then the text, and often look at a YouTube video of great carving. I think it's something about how my mind works.

I found, after struggling with the text, that I found it helpful to stand in front of a mirror and try to imagine what the movements felt like (all the while with my phone/the book in my hand!). Or to stand up and follow along with the text, making each movement as it was described. Hard to do on the floor, although I couldn't read the text while skiing downhill!

The very best part of this was that the sense of control was so great, that I was skiing faster and completely confident! This is a very new feeling for me on skis! One day I was skiing while trying to mildly tip my skis on edge, and a week later I was carving! Feeling in control is wonderful!

Are you reading, @fgor ? <grin>
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
@EffortlessSkiing - I'm still reading! I think I find it hard to translate words into physical actions (especially moving physical actions. Every sentence makes sense, but when I read that, for example, "the skier rotates his upper torso to the left and simultaneously moves his left (outside) shoulder down. . . . To allow the shoulder to move down, the skier bends his body to the left. " Add some commentary about which direction the skis are pointing, and I am already lost! I have to continually refer back to the pictures, then the text, and often look at a YouTube video of great carving. I think it's something about how my mind works.

I found, after struggling with the text, that I found it helpful to stand in front of a mirror and try to imagine what the movements felt like (all the while with my phone/the book in my hand!). Or to stand up and follow along with the text, making each movement as it was described. Hard to do on the floor, although I couldn't read the text while skiing downhill!

The very best part of this was that the sense of control was so great, that I was skiing faster and completely confident! This is a very new feeling for me on skis! One day I was skiing while trying to mildly tip my skis on edge, and a week later I was carving! Feeling in control is wonderful!

Are you reading, @fgor ? <grin>
I am glad you are enjoying your new technique! I have looked at @fgor and commented that her entire technique needs to be changed. However, I am very limited on the info I can share at this site. Could you share with her your experience?
 

Getting Ready

Angel Diva
:laughter: Does he speak robotics? Physics? or engineering? Does he use "torque" or "torsion" in an offhand, everyday manner? This is just the book. (Oh, also, if he wants to learn to carve.)

(Part of my difficulty is not speaking those languages, but part is that the author speaks English as a second language.)

Here it is:


I strongly recommend the Kindle version (you can read it on your computer or phone), because the entire book is 27 pages, and it seemed a stretch at $16.99 for the print version.
He speaks robotics and physics and uses torque and torsion in everyday parlance. I think he will love the book. I hope it has CAD drawings.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
But you are describing the technique very well and you are saying you have improved.
Actually, not improved. Transformed!:faint: That's why I used "amazing" in the thread title. I have never before referred to my skiing as "amazing," or even "great." "Slowly progressing; pretty good for an old woman" comes to mind.

This is why it has been so puzzling. I find the book so difficult (and I even find @liquidfeet 's simplified version difficult) even now. It makes me worry I still don't get it, even though I did get it. I realize I'm not making much sense. I think some of it is the book and some of it is me. I've always considered myself a slow learner of anything physical.


I am glad you are enjoying your new technique! I have looked at @fgor and commented that her entire technique needs to be changed. However, I am very limited on the info I can share at this site. Could you share with her your experience?

@fgor and I are in touch! :wave:
 

EffortlessSkiing

Certified Ski Diva
Actually, not improved. Transformed!:faint: That's why I used "amazing" in the thread title. I have never before referred to my skiing as "amazing," or even "great." "Slowly progressing; pretty good for an old woman" comes to mind.

This is why it has been so puzzling. I find the book so difficult (and I even find @liquidfeet 's simplified version difficult) even now. It makes me worry I still don't get it, even though I did get it. I realize I'm not making much sense. I think some of it is the book and some of it is me. I've always considered myself a slow learner of anything physical.




@fgor and I are in touch! :wave:
Transformed is what usually happens with skiers who start using my technique.
Actually, not improved. Transformed!:faint: That's why I used "amazing" in the thread title. I have never before referred to my skiing as "amazing," or even "great." "Slowly progressing; pretty good for an old woman" comes to mind.

This is why it has been so puzzling. I find the book so difficult (and I even find @liquidfeet 's simplified version difficult) even now. It makes me worry I still don't get it, even though I did get it. I realize I'm not making much sense. I think some of it is the book and some of it is me. I've always considered myself a slow learner of anything physical.




@fgor and I are in touch! :wave:
Transformed is what usually happens with skiers using the two-step technique. Would not just this deserve 5 stars? Post a video, and I will tell you if anything needs to be improved.
 

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