Learning PMTS with a Coach: A Video Diary

[tarnaby]

I agree with HighAngles - I thought the knees would be much more inside of the toes b/c it initially looks like if you took a straight line from between the big toe and the toe beside it, that you would hit the proper spot on the knee cap; however, if you pause the video at 48 seconds, it looks to me like the relevant part of the knee caps are INSIDE of the toes, hence the alignment issues.

[h.harb]

Keep in mind that some serious issues inside Rob's boots may prevail at the foot, we don't know this without a complete measuring process included in the changes, which may include fore foot varus adjustments. I also sent Max comments about boot size and width because the first time I was sent Rob's video; it was clear that the amount of knocked kneeded position in his skiing was not solely attributable to under boot canting issues.

Boot fitting (correct size, shape and width) and footbeds are still a missing piece in this skiers' final solution.

[Max_501]

Harald has pointed out a big problem that I suspect many do it yourself folks run into. In Rob's case the boots are likely too wide.

The boots are so darn important that I'd suggest making it a priority to get boots/footbeds/alignment done by a trained PMTS alignment pro.

[Max_501]

A blue bird spring day. Lots of video so it'll be in two parts.

Day 3 - Part 1:

[HighAngles]

The crash... was spectacular (hey! where did my ski go?). Thanks for leaving that in even though I'm sure Rob wanted it cut out.

I wish I could do one-footed releases that fast.

Anyhow, did you do any boot touch drills with Rob? That's been my favorite for correcting a whole host of problems in one shot.

[idahorob]

The crash... was spectacular (hey! where did my ski go?). Thanks for leaving that in even though I'm sure Rob wanted it cut out.

No, I wanted the crash left in. It's my only chance to make any highlight reels! We were coming off the summit, which had been closed for a couple of days and had three feet of new snow packed by high winds. I was tentative, very unsure about what would be underfoot. Hence all that rotating in the previous pitch. I was just getting more confident in that snow, by now warmed by a near 50* day, and decided to shorten the turns and BAM! I wasn't hurt, but was highly pissed off!

Boot touch drills can be a problem for me with my tendency to drop my hands. I spent a lot of time with the poles held across my chest.

[arothafel]

Sorry if this comes across as just "cheer leading" but I'm super impressed with the progress. Looks like a pretty good job on the TFRs done in what appears to be pretty heavy snow. I struggle with those drills regardless of conditions. As for the crash... you almost saved it, Bode! Cool that you kept it in. We've all done 'em. Glad you didn't end up injured.

I'm learning alot from this thread: problem/solutions, etc. Fantastic job, Max. I hope you'll continue to post Video Diaries. Great case study and testimonial for PMTS.

[Max_501]

Here's Day 3 - Part 2

For those of you with eagle eyes there is a change in boot setup between Part 1 and Part 2 of Day 3.



And here's Day 3 - Part 1 again for easy reference

[h.harb]

Sorry if this comes across as just "cheer leading" but I'm super impressed with the progress.

Art, what you posted isn't "cheer leading" its reality. If you saw my comments, that I posted to MAx501, after I observed the last video in the series; which was my evaluation of what was happening, you would see similar comments about the skiing improvement. "Cheer leading" is gratuitous praise, based on, no recognizable changes, a la PSIA model.

And it gets better than this , hope I'm not letting the cat out of the bag.

[François]

Can I play too, even though I know next to nothing about it?

It's very interesting, to compare what the untrained eye sees to what the pros know. I saw the first video, not the second, and then the later ones. Right away I see not enough CB, not enough CA, not enough tipping, up movement, unwanted rotary, too much weight on the inside ski, and fore-aft balance issues, pretty much in that order. What is interesting is the order of attack taken by the pros. Instead of jumping in like I would and saying, "You have to tip more and get your weight off the inside ski - here, face your zipper more to the outside of the ski so you can get more counter balance....", the pros first address the basics, boot alignment and balance. You can't begin to address the higher skills until you start from a balanced position.

There is a proper order to address these things in, and it's not the order that may have made the most noticeable difference in YOUR skiing. That's what makes good professional instruction worth so much more than instruction from ski mates and friendly tips on the hill.

[jclayton]

Very nice Rob ,
you can still see vestiges of the old default movements but it is clear how better balance and tipping along with other essentials are replacing the old movements . You look much more confident and must be feeling very happy with yourself . Not bad after 3 days .

The flex to release practice shows a much better upper body position now . BPST also looks great .

The old movements take time to dissapear and reappear in the more difficult situations , just time on snow and its " onwards and upwards " .

Your coach does seem to have dialled in the correct route !!!

[jclayton]

Are you going to let the cat out of tha bag about boot setup ?

[Max_501]

Are you going to let the cat out of tha bag about boot setup ?

Well, since you asked so nicely.

For 2.5 days Rob's stance was constantly nagging at me. Something about it just wasn't natural. So at lunch we were talking about this and I checked to see if he had his spoilers installed and sure enough they were. Rob suggested they worked in conjunction with the black rubber wedges inside his boots. "WHAT?!?" was my reaction. I asked him to remove his boots and I pulled out the liners to find a 3/8" heel wedge in there. Rob did not put the wedges there and isn't sure how they got there. We removed them and as soon as Rob put the boots back on he had a big smile because he finally felt like he could stand balanced in the boots.

I think this is another good example of the downside of getting boots on your own. Rob has spent a bunch of days practicing in a setup that wasn't right for him. Think of the time it will take to undo the compensatory movements he has learned because of this.

[h.harb]

When I first saw Rob's stance, my reaction and suggestion was to put a lift under the boot toes. Rob's fore/aft set up was too bent over and flexed. I did not know what was in his boots. Max just explained the reason for his stance or for part of it. He may still need Fore/aft adjustments, but he has come a long way since the first day.

A wedge under the heel is an all too common practice in the boot fitting industry. It became a fad after Witherall's book the "Athletic Skier". There are far too many things in that book that lead skiers and ski shops, in completely the wrong direction. The general understanding that most readers come away with is "If you need to get forward on your skis place a heel lift under the heel".

There is one reason to lift a heel in a boot and it has to do with limited dori-flexion. The way to determine this is by measuring range of motion. But we see pads and lifts under many heels of boots and we rarely find a reason for this practice. Jeanne Thorne, a women's ski advocate also contributes to this mistake. She has been going around the country for years placing heel lifts in female skiers for no reason except that it sounds good. Many ski shops picked up on this and thought they were doing the right thing. These are all scams and they actually hurt skiers more than they help.

There is no substitute for a complete evaluation before any alignment or boot fitting attempts are made in a ski shop. If you are not getting a complete evaluation before you try on boots; you may find later, that you have a major boot fitting problem. As you can see from this example, many years and an amazing amount of time and effort can be wasted before mistakes like this are discovered.

[nugget]

Well now we know why Rob had pressure on the ball of his feet. What goes up must come down (heels up, butt down)
There have been significant improvements in fore/aft balance and I am pretty impressed by the skiing overall in such a short period.
Max501, you implied that Rob's boots may have been too big. Did you address this at all?
Also, what kind of footbeds were in those bad boys? Harald alluded to possible foot issues (video of Rob's feet from the rear were interesting especially left foot).

The skiing is a pretty good reason to get some knowledgable instruction from a PMTS trained Instructor/coach. It has shortened the learning curve by a few years (or maybe even a lifetime).