Bumpers... inside...

cj

New member
I did the first video of the season this weekend and was happy with a lot of the things I saw (better foot containment, stack, extension, and upper body... shoulder supression is really starting to work for me).

But I still have a problem with turn matching and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. This was brought to my attention this summer because a coach spotted it. It is somewhat suttle, but still noticable.

I seem to be using/holding my left turn (being on my right downhill ski) longer than my right. My right leg/left turn is a lot stronger than my left and I get better knee angle, lead change, and shin pressure on a left turn, but that turn starts to look choppy because I rely on it too much for speed control.

The only thing I can think of to cure this is to ski on one ski on the flats (my left ski) to gain the strength, shin pressure, knee angle, etc., to match my right leg. I will also try and be lighter/less edge pressure on my right ski to help this problem.

Does anyone else have this problem or any suggestions?

cj
 
cj":33cysuen said:
I did the first video of the season this weekend and was happy with a lot of the things I saw (better foot containment, stack, extension, and upper body... shoulder supression is really starting to work for me).

But I still have a problem with turn matching and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. This was brought to my attention this summer because a coach spotted it. It is somewhat suttle, but still noticable.

I seem to be using/holding my left turn (being on my right downhill ski) longer than my right. My right leg/left turn is a lot stronger than my left and I get better knee angle, lead change, and shin pressure on a left turn, but that turn starts to look choppy because I rely on it too much for speed control.

The only thing I can think of to cure this is to ski on one ski on the flats (my left ski) to gain the strength, shin pressure, knee angle, etc., to match my right leg. I will also try and be lighter/less edge pressure on my right ski to help this problem.

Does anyone else have this problem or any suggestions?

cj

Most people have this issue including your typical recreational skier who stays on the flats. One leg is usually stronger than the other, meaning one turn will be better than the other. I'll guess that since your left turn is stronger that you're right handed.

I think the one legged drill will work for you, but I'm not so sure it'll be because of leg strength. I've tried to get my turns to match using strength building exercises only and the results were limited. But, one legged skiing allows your brain to focus on the weaker turn and improve it through intense repetition. It's as much a function of mental pathways being established in the brain as it is muscle power.

Try using visualization techniques too...this way, even when you're not physically out there skiing your brain will be.
 
Back in 1978 when I was learning to ski parallel I observed the common phenomenon of doing turns better on my dominant leg (left leg, right turns in my case) and figured out to fix it by doing all my hockey stops on the other (right) leg.

I was pleased in January 1990, while doing "ski a run with Billy Kidd" at Steamboat, to hear him offer this exact same advice to a throng of intermediates.

I hadn't though much about differences in turns between legs at higher levels of technique. But interestingly this weekend, Adam commented to me that his slalom turns are in a tighter line, bashing the gate, with his right (dominant) leg than his left.
 
Most people have this issue including your typical recreational skier who stays on the flats. One leg is usually stronger than the other, meaning one turn will be better than the other. I'll guess that since your left turn is stronger that you're right handed.

You guessed it. This is also the leg that I broke, so I really worked at strengthening it and I think that it has caused a lot of the matching problem. Funny think was that the coach that spotted the issue this summer said that my right turn was good. But when I watched the video the other day, my left turn is more technically correct, but I am using it too much.

I think the one legged drill will work for you, but I'm not so sure it'll be because of leg strength. I've tried to get my turns to match using strength building exercises only and the results were limited. But, one legged skiing allows your brain to focus on the weaker turn and improve it through intense repetition. It's as much a function of mental pathways being established in the brain as it is muscle power.

Try using visualization techniques too...this way, even when you're not physically out there skiing your brain will be.

This is good advice and I was thinking about it while at lunch. I came to the conclusion that when I look down a line before skiing it, I defiantely look more at the bumps on the right hand side. I am going to start also focusing on looking at the bumps on the left and being softer on my right downhill ski.

I saw Jeremy Bloom skiing on one ski on the flats a lot this summer and that is what gave me the idea. I cannot think of any other drill that would work as well for this type of issue. I just really need to be aware of the issue and concentrate on correcting it. It also is most noticeable on steeper bumps where I have to use more edge for speed control. It is not really apparent on less steep bumps (like to bottom of a course) where I can really be direct.

Thanks for the input... keep it comming!

cj
 
Adam and his 2 racer friends at Snowbird used to mess around on Chickadee at the end of the day skiing on one ski. After a few days of this they became good enough to ski groomers on Wilbere on one ski.

This is something I can't do at all. I remember a ski coming off in a Kirkwood chute a few years ago and sliding down a ways. Adam was somewhat impatient that I had to step down rather than ski down to retreive it.
 
cj":3vb8tsn6 said:
I did the first video of the season this weekend and was happy with a lot of the things I saw (better foot containment, stack, extension, and upper body... shoulder supression is really starting to work for me).

But I still have a problem with turn matching and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. This was brought to my attention this summer because a coach spotted it. It is somewhat suttle, but still noticable.

I seem to be using/holding my left turn (being on my right downhill ski) longer than my right. My right leg/left turn is a lot stronger than my left and I get better knee angle, lead change, and shin pressure on a left turn, but that turn starts to look choppy because I rely on it too much for speed control.

The only thing I can think of to cure this is to ski on one ski on the flats (my left ski) to gain the strength, shin pressure, knee angle, etc., to match my right leg. I will also try and be lighter/less edge pressure on my right ski to help this problem.

Does anyone else have this problem or any suggestions?

cj

CJ,

Simply practice your narrow mogul skier's stance on groomed terrain. Pin your boots and knees together and ski. Practice until you can ski the flats with a narrow stance, an upright torso, and hips never getting back over the heels, hips always driving forward, down the hill. Make fast turns while moving the torso straight down the hill. Work this into your bump skiing (by adding absorption and extension) and your matching problem will no longer be there.

Mogul coaches, even good ones, are often reluctant to give this simple advice because mogul skiers have been beaten up for so long with accusations of using outdated wedeling technique. While it might look like wedeling when practiced on the flats, absorption/extension in bumps turn mogul skiing into something all together different.

Pin'em together and ski, CJ!

-Dan DiPiro
 
Dan DiPiro":163iajss said:
CJ,

Simply practice your narrow mogul skier's stance on groomed terrain. Pin your boots and knees together and ski. Practice until you can ski the flats with a narrow stance, an upright torso, and hips never getting back over the heels, hips always driving forward, down the hill. Make fast turns while moving the torso straight down the hill. Work this into your bump skiing (by adding absorption and extension) and your matching problem will no longer be there.

Mogul coaches, even good ones, are often reluctant to give this simple advice because mogul skiers have been beaten up for so long with accusations of using outdated wedeling technique. While it might look like wedeling when practiced on the flats, absorption/extension in bumps turn mogul skiing into something all together different.

Pin'em together and ski, CJ!

-Dan DiPiro

Does this advice relate to what you wrote about keeping your legs together so that both legs are involved in the turning process? In essence, one leg helping the other make the rotary movements?
 
JimG.":2rpxdaw5 said:
Dan DiPiro":2rpxdaw5 said:
CJ,

Simply practice your narrow mogul skier's stance on groomed terrain. Pin your boots and knees together and ski. Practice until you can ski the flats with a narrow stance, an upright torso, and hips never getting back over the heels, hips always driving forward, down the hill. Make fast turns while moving the torso straight down the hill. Work this into your bump skiing (by adding absorption and extension) and your matching problem will no longer be there.

Mogul coaches, even good ones, are often reluctant to give this simple advice because mogul skiers have been beaten up for so long with accusations of using outdated wedeling technique. While it might look like wedeling when practiced on the flats, absorption/extension in bumps turn mogul skiing into something all together different.

Pin'em together and ski, CJ!

-Dan DiPiro

Does this advice relate to what you wrote about keeping your legs together so that both legs are involved in the turning process? In essence, one leg helping the other make the rotary movements?

Sure. Yes, that's part of it, Jim.
-DD
 
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