new skis require a different skiing style?

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:52:18 GMT, Alan Baker
wrote:

I looked at all of his lessons on the web. I know precisely what his
phantom move is (the lifting/unweighting of the new inside ski followed
by rolling the new inside knee into the turn), and it is all
unnecessarily complex.

Unnecessarily complex? That's an odd criticism to make, I would say.
The appeal of the Harb teaching method, it would seem to me, is that
it drastically simplifies the learning process - you basically get one
motion right, concentrate on just that, and the rest of it follows
almost as a natural consequence, because of what he terms the kinetic
chain. That is, you don't have to think about angulation, about
cross-over, about this, that and the other, because if you lift the
inside ski and tip it to the little toe edge, and you are able to
balance on the stance foot, your other leg WILL follow, and your skis
WILL be laid on edge, you WILL carve and so on. Basically most of the
teaching seems to be building on the ramifications of this particular
insight, as well as giving you exercises as to how to make it possible
(by improving your one-footed balance, etc).

Now, I'm not yet certain that it works. But I can't deny its appeal -
I've spent a lot of time skiing with my head full of little messages
on what to do and what not to do, some of which is undoubtedly
mutually contradictory. To have one single thing I can concentrate on
seems to clarify the process enormously.

John

scottabe blathered in message
...
Awful? I'd use that word to describe your vile lies and stalking, wacko,
not my skiing. If I was so awful, how come I embarassed your heroine
Kerrison at Whistler?
You don't pose as a RealAssholeTM. You don't have to pose.
Clue time, you sick ****. I'd rather be a good human being than a good
skier. I've achieved one, you've achieved the other.
So much for your values, psychopath.

You've achieved being a pathetic little man with a tiny penis!

klaus wrote:

John Moore wrote:
He used to race himself, ...

Was it always a tie?

Nah, when the finish line was on a bend, his inside ski always won.

John, I agree with you, and viewing the semi-static demos on the website
does no justice to a) how smooth Harb skis, and b) how much sense the
phantom move makes.

I bought his first book and video, and used as much of it as I could absorb
this past saturday. I have to say that it DOES simplify parallel technique
because one doesn't have all the other messages bouncing around. The key is
to go the right speed for you, and 'feel' what he is talking about. I have
skied for many years, including a 12 year hiatus, and I'm tired of being
stuck in the 'strong intermediate BUT have to go back to a stem when I am in
trouble" mode. I know I rushed things a little this saturday, but I even
pulled off some good turns on black diamonds that were steep and icy.
One of the problems that many intermediates have is the fear of committing
the new downhill ski to it's inside edge before it actually IS 'downhill'. I
know this makes me into a 'defensive braker' rather than a smooth turner.
Chas


Now, I'm not yet certain that it works. But I can't deny its appeal -
I've spent a lot of time skiing with my head full of little messages
on what to do and what not to do, some of which is undoubtedly
mutually contradictory. To have one single thing I can concentrate on
seems to clarify the process enormously.

John

On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 17:10:46 -0700 (MST), "Karl with a K"
wrote:

I would also suggest that the Tech Support Site for Skiers by
Peter Keelty has some good insight into this debate. In one of his
articles he notes that the PSIA has been greatly behind the times
in its instruction techniques (with the new equipment) and they are
now beginning to adopt Harb's and Tejada-Flores ideas.

Thanks for this pointer, I hadn't come across the site before.

John

"SchnauzerDad"

snip

I'm tired of being
stuck in the 'strong intermediate BUT have to go back to a stem when I am
in
trouble" mode.

As opposed to a stem, try initiating your turns with a
*wedge*, if you feel compelled. Or just fool around
with it a bit on easier slopes, see what you think.


I know I rushed things a little this saturday, but I even
pulled off some good turns on black diamonds that were steep and icy.
One of the problems that many intermediates have is the fear of committing
the new downhill ski to it's inside edge before it actually IS 'downhill'.

You're speaking of the outside ski?

What's lacking here is crossing the body over the skis
*before* the turn begins. If your body isn't to the
inside of the turn before you hit the fall line, you'll
be in a mess, and probably get locked up heading
straight downhill.


know this makes me into a 'defensive braker' rather than a smooth turner.
Chas

"John Moore"

(making favorable comments about Harold Harb's method)

I've spent a lot of time skiing with my head full of little messages
on what to do and what not to do, some of which is undoubtedly
mutually contradictory. To have one single thing I can concentrate on
seems to clarify the process enormously.

John


John, as an alternative to doing what someone or anyone
tells you to do, what if you actually understood the
mechanics of how the skis work? Then you could
choose for yourself how to use those mechanics.

You wouldn't need an easy way out.

For instance, what if (heaven forbid) you decide for
yourself how far apart you want your stance to be,
then do it.

Or you learn how lead change affects the skis, and
you yourself decide how to change the lead and
how much lead to use.

Or you learn how rotation and counter rotation work,
then decide for yourself how to use them in each
situation you encounter?

Or you learn for yourself how crossover affects outside
ski dominance, then you could decide for yourself
to ski on only the outside ski, or with both weighted?

John, there *is* no *should*. There *is* no "right"
or "wrong".

There are only the mechanics of skiing and how each
skier wants to make them work according to the
situation, and what the skier wants to do.

That is, if the skier is "allowed" to understand those
mechanics, something which nearly every single
instructor seems determined to prevent.

I guess the reasoning seems to mostly be, skiers
just aren't smart enough to do it.

"Why burden them with all that?"