by Joseph » Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:43 pm
This is easily one of the most confusing and misunderstood concepts in skiing. How do we do it without the ill advised and innefficient up move?
The first step is always the flex to release. This is crucial in both how you release the old turn and how you begin to engage the new stance ski. When one thinks of flexing to release, it is important to remember that in PMTS, each part of the body has an independant job at each phase in the turn. One of the hangups that I have seen as a coach is that some people tend to think of flexing to release as being a function performed by the legs (plural). If you have created leg angles in the turn, the inside leg is already bent and flexed. The outside leg is the one that is extended and resisting the forces of the previous turn. This is where a skier can flex to release most efficiently. If one were to flex both legs at the end of the turn, they would be making an extra move--they flex down with the new stance foot only to extend it shortly thereafter in the new turn. Remember that PMTS is about efficiency. By flexing the old stance leg at turn completion, you can use the force of the old turn to draw your body across the skis without going up or down (in the case of the two legged flexer).
Intermediate skiers beware. This is an expert skiing move! To access this movement in your own skiing, you must first learn to flex the legs in transition. If you ski very tall, have a problem with flexing in general, or do not create enough edge angle for there to be a significant difference in the length of the stance foot leg and free foot leg, then you are not ready for this move. Learning to flex at all in the release is paramount, then a skier can worry about flexing only the outside leg to release.
To the experts out there. Be careful not to hang on the little toe edge too long in transiton as you tip the new free foot. That will create a delay, blocking the momentum of the previous turn from taking you into the new turn. In essence this becomes like a kind of passive up move. On a shaped ski the little toe edge will want to track you slightly uphill too.
Now that you have allowed your body to move across the skis, there are a few important things to remember as you start to think about extending your new stance ski leg. The first and most important thing by far, is that the edge of the new stance ski must be engaged before a skier begins to extend the new stance leg. This is critical. A balance platform must be established before the leg gets longer. If you haven't established the edge, there is nothing to balance against. The result will be a washed out stance ski and pressure dumping to the inside--not so hot. Bear in mind that you will have little success establishing the new stance ski's edge without proper counterbalancing early in the turn.
The skis must be tipped over on edge as well. If your ski is relatively flat and there are no angles, the extention will amount to a push on the stance ski. A ski is a platform on which to stand and balance, not push. The extention should come at an angle to the slope, not vertical to it--that is an up move every time. In order for this to happen early in the "high C" part of the turn, one must release the old stance leg so that the hips come over the ski at release and into the the new turn early, otherwise there are no angles to the slope. In order for the extention to be smooth and efficient, the release must first be efficient and smooth.
So how does an intermediate skier begin to access this move? Start by flexing to release. If you are tipping the new free foot to start the new turn--Great! You're already on your way. Practice with the super phantom move will help speed you down the path. Other exercises in the books that will aid in this quest are the ball control exercises and the one and two footed releases in book II. Counterbalancing early in the turn is also critical to engaging the new stance ski early in the turn. Only when your release is smooth and you are developing counterbalancing movements very early in the new turn should you even begin to worry about how to extend the stance leg. For most skiers it is sufficient to simply balance and stand on the stance ski until they learn to engage the ski in the "high C" part of the turn.
This is a true refinement for the true expert skier, do not get bogged down in this unless you already have a solid command of the super phantom move and good counterbalacing skills early in the turn. It is a pursuit to be sure, but a worthy one--and nobody does it quite like HH.
Joseph