Photo sequence of each turn. Any advice for me?

[sunvalleylaw]

If you hit "slide show" and move the duration time down to one second, it works pretty well. Not my best turns of the week, but something to start looking at. I still hope to get some vid up.

 

Port side turn (offside) https://picasaweb.google.com/sunvalleylaw/PortTurn?authkey=Gv1sRgCJXV3t_B1YfFngE#slideshow/5770732544666783906

 

Starboard (on side): https://picasaweb.google.com/111764687189712399745/StarboardTurn?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_hx9qr88fM2QE#slideshow/5770733860814586434

 

something funky happened on that turn and my tip came up as I came around.

 

Pull:

 

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/DSC00650.jpg

 

 

 

[gregy]

Body positioning looks good. Your handle grab is too high. Be a little more patient coming out of the turn and let the handle come to your hip more. Also, you are turning your head before you turn. I like to keep my head looking more down course.

[sunvalleylaw]

@gregy, thank you! The head is an old habit. Working on that one after reading here. Good call on the handle. that makes sense. I was wanting to get that handle down on my hip more, and grabbing it too soon and too high does not allow that to happen. Nice! I appreciate the comments!

 

 

EDIT: I bet calming down that head move will help me be more patient and let the ski finish the turn and handle come to the hip better. Thanks again!

[gregy]

@sunvalleylaw you welcome. I'm working on the same think. Really the correct idea is to let the your hip ski into the handle. When it works right it makes skiing feel some much easier. You get more angle out of the turn, the turn to pull phase feels like one motion where you can't tell where one ends and the next begins.

[sunvalleylaw]

@gregy, I get what you are saying and have been trying to think that way. Old habits die hard sometimes. I spent years (in the 90's) looking way across those wakes hoping to get angle that way. I now understand I just close off the end of the turn, and don't let the ski come around as it is designed when I do that. I like the concept of skiing the hip to your handle. I hope studying Terry Winter's vids on the subject will help.

 

That (hurrying the end of the turn) is one reason I think I will need to ultimately get a 67" ski rather than that 68" RCX I currently am on. I tend to want to crank that longer ski around I think. But again, those old habits play likely the major role.

[gregy]

I like Terry's video's. Also like Seth Stisher's, he has really smooth turns. There are some 1/4 speed videos on youtube of different people that are good to study or you can use pause to stop the videos at different spots.

[sunvalleylaw]

bump for monday morning as people return to their computers and need an excuse to procrastinate looking at ski pics and stuff. :-)

 

 

[MrBrown]

Hi, nice skiing! In both photo sequences you are not Counter Rotating during the turn. Instead, near the completion of the turn you are rolling over with the outside shoulder/hand and grabing the handle before the ski has finished the turn. Notice in the starboard pics that you posted that you have both hands on the handle BEFORE the ski has crossed under the rope. This is incorrect. When the turn is executed properly, the ski should have already crossed under the rope BEFORE you have both hands on the handle.

 

How to avoid this from happening is by Counter Rotating during the turn with a "bow and arrow" movement, or a "starting a lawn mower" movement with the outside arm and hand. This counter rotating movement will help you to keep you shoulders open downcourse longer and will allow you to better ski your hip to the handle at the completion of the turn.

 

Counter Rotation also allows your inside hip to move more forward and more centered over the ski to set you up with better tip pressure for a smoother and more effecient turn. Oh by the way, you may want to try standing taller in the turns, this will help you to keep you hips more forward and centered better over the ski! (notice your hips in the portside pics) If your hips are trailing too much coming into the turn, then the hips most likely will be trailing too much out of the turn!

 

Hope this helps a bit!!!

[MrBrown]

4 secrets to the ultimate slalom turn

 

http://waterskimag.com/features/2010/06/09/4-secrets-to-the-ultimate-turn/

 

 

Great video on Counter Rotation

 

http://ballofspray.com/home-v16/tech-articles-mainmenu/472-terry-winter-on-the-dock-water-ski-lesson-counter-rotation-live-by-terry-winter

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks @skiing2heaven! Those are good thoughts. I was thinking about whip drills and how to initiate the turn in to the imaginary gate, and thought that based on what I was seeing in my skiing, something was wrong with my initiation. What you point out about counter rotation and letting my body be in and ahead of the ski as I initiate. (directly related to what you were noticing with the ski relative to the rope) That seemed wrong to me, but I could not put my finger on it. I will work on correcting that and building a stronger, more efficient initiation which hopefully will lead to that also in my normal turn.

 

Since those pics, I have been focusing on where my eyes and head are pointed as well, which helps with counter-rotation. I will play with the arm/lawnmower/bow and arrow thing, but I would rather focus on good, quiet stacked body faced where it is supposed to be than a motion in my arm, at least mentally. Letting my arm stay back longer and skiing that hip around to the handle seems before reaching seems to be a good focus. As I write this, I think I will play with the arm movements to over-emphasize counter-rotation as I find the sweet spot, then quiet it down again once I start to feel it. Kinda like overemphasizing fore/aft balance in snow skiing during drills to find that sweet spot over the skis.

 

Thanks again for taking a look and sharing your thoughts!!

 

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Bumping this for myself, for further review this year.