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Old December 16th 03, 03:22 AM
Philip Nelson
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Default key flaws of the New Skate

On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 01:15:20 +0000, Ken Roberts wrote:

After living with the New Skate ideas for three years, since Vordenberg's
two articles in the Master Skier 2000-2001, I've come to notice some flaws.
The really big one I'm seeing is:

Lack of attention to the magic of pushing the ski out toward the _side_.


Not sure about those articles, since I didn't see them, but the ski
progressions makes it extremely clear that the movement is a lateral push
to the side. This point is emphasized in the skating dryland techniques
and roller skiing drills.

As a result, I missed out on that for another two years, and I bet
lots
of other skiers are missing it too. The magic of pushing out to the
side has got to be a more important point than some of the other things
Vordenberg gives repeated attention to in his articles -- like say,
forward hips. Somehow they forgot to mention it at that
New-Skate-oriented rollerski camp I attended also.


But not in the two clinics I attended this fall, both by USSA development
coaches.


Ignoring side-push ties with another omission: the principle that the
only two roles for the upper body are to (1) push on the poles, and (2)
keep quiet and just enjoy the ride.


I agree. I am still struggling with the role of the upper body. Bryan Fish
emphasizes it pretty heavily in his coaching, though he also emphasized
being quiet in terms of twisting, less in terms of a waist bend.

The other key flaw is Simplicity and Visibility.

Simplicity and Visibility are great for Vordenberg's role as a
national-level mass communicator. But don't they turn into a long-term
problem for local ski _instructors_ ?


I don't think so. A critical aspect of technique for both beginner and
elite skiers is effective weight transfer and body position. I think this
is why I'm so (currently) attracted to the teaching style. It is by no
means the full story of how to ski, nor of how to teach. It is an
*essential* part of the story that explains, simply I think, how to use
body position to get the most out gravity when you ski. And better yet, it
does apply to mere mortals like me and to elites like the US Ski Team,
which for the first time in like forever, has something to get excited
about.
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