Re: tfr - restarting

[Max_501]

Get the DVDs too. They are worth every penny and then some.

[geoffda]

x2. The DVDs are excellent and well worth the investment.

BigE, neutral refers to both the position of the skis (flat) as well as the location of the hips (centered laterally). The float is the moment of near weightlessness that occurs when you flex at transition and let the force of your old turn pull your hips across your skis and into the new turn. You will pass through neutral as part of the float.

Harald does define the float (in ACBAES2) as the moment when the skis are flat, but that is in the context of drawing the float out. IOW, flex to release, and as you float and your skis come flat (as you reach neutral), resist the forces slightly and don't be drawn into the new turn. Don't tip, just move with the skis and hang there for a moment.

So to distinguish between the two: neutral is a noun; it is static. It is simply a position that you can achieve any number of ways. Float is a verb; it is dynamic. It is something that you do if you manage the forces in a certain way.

[BigE]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[carver_hk]

I can still see a bit of rotation in the start. Just post it up anyway. I ll try to get rid of it. Of course I like to see if I m on the right track. Thanks in advance for any help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JK-MmleqO0

[geoffda]

Hi HK,

Once your skis are flat, the rest looks good, but as you know you are rotating your skis off edge instead of (un)tipping to release. As in my last MA, what I suggest is that you stop trying to work the TFR and go back to the tipping drills in Essentials. You need to isolate just the release and work on that until you own it. The drill that will really help you is the stationary full release to new edges. You may need to work up to that drill, but that is the piece you are missing (and the release you are looking for). Go back and work through all of the tipping drills. What you are looking for is ownership. That is, tipping needs to be automatic, not something you have to think about. When you have mastered tipping, you can come back to TFR and you will find that it is relatively easy.

To be really clear, the release is the most important part of this sequence. It doesn't matter how well you can do everything else if you can't master the release. What you are trying to build is the ability to make an absolutely clean transition from one set of edges to the other without any rotation or skidding. Mastery of the clean transition opens the door to high C carving and truly mastery of all snow conditions.

[carver_hk]

Go back and work through all of the tipping drills.

That's exactly what I m thinking. But to be more precise is my problem comes from untip or tipping?

[geoffda]

Untipping and tipping are two different ways to describe the same movement. You can either think of the release as tipping your ski off edge (and away from the slope) to flat, or you can think of it as relaxing, or untipping a ski that is already tipped on edge to flat. Conceptually, just pick the description that works for you. Practically, if you work through the tipping drills, you will gain mastery over the movement and will be able to apply it to match whichever way you want to think about releasing. Does that make sense?

[carver_hk]

Practically, if you work through the tipping drills, you will gain mastery over the movement and will be able to apply it to match whichever way you want to think about releasing. Does that make sense?

Honestly, I have to work through the exercise to tell. I received the DVD not long ago but still havn't got a chance to view it yet. Its been too busy at work. I ll try to squeeze my time to take a good look at it and see where it open my eyes to my problematic untipping.

[jclayton]

Hi Carver ,
balance is also key , have a look at your position before you start , your hips are behind your heels . The skis won't turn down the slope by themselves if your weight is back , even slightly . As you untip the skis you should get a feeling of riding a flat ski and it should start to curve even before you tip to the new edges . Try going for this feeling and not even trying to do a complete turn .

Your shoulders still start the turn as Geoffda points out . Try not even looking down the hill , keep a square upper body position for the first part of the turn , just before you counter . For general skiing a great piece of advice is to look across the slope as you change edges , focus on a tree or other target .

I think it is a pretty difficult excercise on a gentle slope , it is quite a challenge to balance well and be patient enough .

[Max_501]

I can still see a bit of rotation in the start. Just post it up anyway. I ll try to get rid of it. Of course I like to see if I m on the right track. Thanks in advance for any help.

Take a look at page 48 of Expert Skier 2. Do you see any difference in the starting position shown in the book and what you are showing in the video? Look closely at the starting position of the pelvis.

[mike]

Could we remove “untip” from future posts, there is no such word!

Its use reminds me of a new piece of chalk scraping across a blackboard.

Flatten should convey the meaning adequately.

[carver_hk]

Thanks all for offering help.

jclayton & Max_501 - Compare to Harald's video it looks my hips are well behind. Is it because I bent my knee too much and therefore starting out in a backseat position? Which explains why somehow I started out with rotation?

mike - the untipping word was brought in by Harald in earlier post, it does lead me to concentrate on tipping to release. so where should we go?

[Max_501]

Compare to Harald's video it looks my hips are well behind.

Can you explain what you mean by 'well behind'?

[Bolter]

IMO your hips are (also) square to your skis, begin with the hips counteracted. The goal is to end up linking TFR into actual turns.

JR

[Max_501]

IMO your hips are (also) square to your skis, begin with the hips counteracted. The goal is to end up linking TFR into actual turns.

Yup, that's where I was going.