Bad Habits and Bad Form

[cobber]

I apologize if this topic has already been discussed. I am currently struggling with years of built up bad habits from cottage skiing and it seems like no matter how much I read and no matter what my coaches say I still struggle with bad body position. I have improved, but very little. Currently skiing 34mph at 22 off with the occasional 28 off. My question is: Is it better to free ski to try to break my habits and build new muscle memory? Or am I better to stay in the course and slow the boat down? Or just keep skiing the same speed in the course and do not shorten until I have better body position. I feel if I don't change anything I will not progress any further then I have to this point. Any advice would be helpful.

 

Thanks

[9400]

First recognize what your bad habits are then chart a course to correct them. Find a quality coach and get there as soon as possible.

Ski partners are usually well meaning but will often compound the problem, unless you have a much better than average ski partner.

[Than_Bogan]

Best advice I have is to work on it ALL the time.

 

The second you're out of the water, get to where you want to be. At end of course, stand perfectly. When you pull out to drop, do it in your ideal leverage position.

 

Sitting at home watching TV? Stand up and get into The Position. Move around a little imagining what you'd do dynamically on the water.

 

I don't know if Perfect Pull still exists, but get something set up where you can statically be a leverage position under load, and use it constantly. I remember a few winters where I was on that thing just about every day, sometimes multiple times per day, just trying to train my mind that this was the one-and-only natural position to be in a ski.

 

But be patient. It's hard to change things.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am working on the same sorts of things, at a level slightly behind you in the course. In addition to the above, I have been watching some good vid (Terry Winter's vids at the tech articles links above are good), vids of Nate, etc., then visualizing. I used to do it as I went to bed and wanted to empty my mind of work stuff. I am going back to that.

 

Also, someone (I think @ToddL) in another thread suggested linked pulls that simulate a gate approach, and whip drills. I think that is a good idea.

 

I also personally need to do the dryland stuff that Than has in his article on leveraged position more.

[ski6jones]

Get good coaching as frequently as possible. Focused work on implementing what your coach told you between coaching sessions.

[cobber]

thanks for all the great tips, I am going to practice in and out of the course and do a lot of dryland training. I have been working on trying to get in a great leveraged position whenever I am being pulled behind the boat (before the course, and at the end when I pull out to drop.) I read that here before in one of the posts on BOS and it is a great time to practice as we spend a lot of time out of the course. I do get a lot of coaching, however I am limited to a small amount of coaches in the area unless I travel a good distance. I have never spent any time watching ski video's so that is something I will definitely look into purchasing a few. And I think the biggest key is for me to be patient, this sport can be frusturating, but with time the change will happen.

 

Thanks again guys.