Offside help

[DmaxJC_ski]

So typically my offside feels pretty good, but after reviewing videos from the previous year or so, it appears as though I'm getting stood up out of the turn. I'm not sure if this is a ski set up issue or something that I'm doing wrong. Here's a video of 15off @ 34mph from a few weeks ago at the Brooks Wilson clinic in Alberta, let me know what you think.

[DmaxJC_ski]

Sorry, I can never get this video link thing right!

[MattP]

@DmaxJC_ski here you go.

[DmaxJC_ski]

Thanks @MattP

[Booze]

@DmaxJC_ski

The issue I see is you have a consistent bias to your back foot, and it is rearing it's ugly head at the finish of your 135 turn. The clue is to look at where the water is breaking on the ski and look at body position to see how much emphasis is being placed on front knee.

Your pullout, gates, and approach to 1 is not bad. But see how you shift weight to the back of the ski mid-turn? Had you kept the water breaking more towards the front of the ski, you would be shocked how hard it would turn. The best way I have seen to make this happen is to consciously place emphasis on your front big toe, front foot, up through your knee, and to the hip. Doing so not only shifts weigh to the front of ski, but also forces you to stand up on the ski rather than lean out over the front and/or drop hips.

I felt inclined to comment because I have a buddy that has beating his head against a 15/34mph wall for years. He refuses to use his front knee like he should (resulting in hips back and handle away from body), and the results are bad...and this is a guy that is not weak, and has a black belt.

 

So I encourage you to try this and report back on the results.

[DmaxJC_ski]

This video doesn't explain it as well as this other one, specifically at 1ball, tends to happen to me a fair bit.

[Booze]

@dmaxjc_ski

2nd video, sure that's the same guy? lol

You have much more 135 tip pressure, so it looks totally different to me. 1 ball looked great, but it did finish hard. (thought 3/5 was good) So perhaps it grabs like that sometimes and now has made you a bit gunshy, resulting in safety (iow, sloooow, shifted back of ski) turns? Makes sense. I'm guilty of that myself sometimes.

Perhaps others will comment, but I think it's a classic case of too much fin length. I would start backing off on the length and while testing, make sure you are pushing on your front knee through 135 (not to mention 246, but that's not the focus here). You want to be able to use the front half of the ski without it biting or stopping.

 

Also, to progress into shorter lines, you must shift your priority from the short hard turns with the short hard pull right out of the bouy...to a progressive lean out of the bouy, into the spray, and through the wakes. Right now, you are hitting it hard at the bouy and coasting through the wakes. The wakes should be the agressor, offense zone, rather than defense, coasting zone.

Think about it...if your rope had a weak spot in it and was about to break, where would it occur? At the bouy or in the wake zone? Where should your greatest load occur?

 

You get 135 ironed out, keep elbows and the handle closer in the spray zones (to maintain outward momentum), and attack the wakes pushing with your knees, and you should be getting into 28...maybe more.

[wtrskior]

@booze. Disagree with some of what you're saying bro. Handle control sure, stance on the ski absolutely, progressive lean yes but the gates are nowhere near where they should be and a big part of @DmaxJC_ski issues. Ski setup is likely a non issue.

 

@DmaxJC_ski In the first video you are incredibly narrow at the gate and in the 2nd video you pull out wider but end up pulling in,l with your arms, letting up then very narrow with minimal leverage across the wakes. This puts you in a vulnerable position coming into and out of the turn at 1. You effectively have no speed and no direction into and out of 1.

 

It's hard to tell by video quality but ARMS STRAIGHT. When you pull out for your gates keep arms straight and feel the pull in your left (outside) arm all the way out and through your glide. Turn in progressively by focusing on being stacked over the ski with weight over your front foot. Focus on always keeping your arms straight, as in the entire pass. Hip up to the handle, not handle to thr hip.

 

In video 2 you are dropping your shoulder at 135 more than vid 1. Level shoulders, smooth reach and leave the handle at the end of your reach, ski back to it with your hip and wait for the ski to come around the tight line before leaning again.

 

You are also riding a flat ski into the buoy, which causes you to ski down course instead of across, partly because of the lack of progressive lean out of the buoy and into the wake. Be strongest behind the boat and through the 2nd wake, not right off the ball. This starts with your gates.

 

You look very comfortable on your ski and agressive, 2 things that will take you a long way in this sport.

 

Let us know if this makes sense and if you have any questions

[DmaxJC_ski]

So I went out last Friday after a 2 or 3 week layoff, ran 15@32, then 3 15@34 in a row, wheelied out of 1 at 22 off, then ran 5 1/2 at 22 @34mph, felt really good, went out tonight couldn't make a 15 off pass, breaking at the waist, standing up out of 1,3,5. Opening pass started awesome but the sun was setting straight down course and lost where I was. Anyways I was a hot mess tonight. This off side thing is starting to get into my brain

[Booze]

@wtrskior - well, sounds like you did agree with me there....I just chose not to mention the gates. ;)

I knew someone else would (it was too obvious).

 

[DmaxJC_ski]

I understand that being narrow at the gates isn't conducive to running a good pass, but even when I have a good gate, I'm having a real issue on my offside, getting pulled up over the front, breaking at the waist. Like I have to force the turn

[Joeprunc]

@DmaxJC_Ski In the first video which offside turn looked the best in your eyes and why?

 

I am at the same place you are at right now. And can pick up on something that I am struggling with, especially as I start cutting line. On my offside I come back to the handle way too early. On your 1 & 3 look at when you come back to the handle. Look where your ski is pointing.....its pointing down course and you have to stand on the tail to get it to turn and generate the needed angle. Now compare that to your 5 ball (where you made up a ton of ground). You brought your ski around much further before coming back to the handle. No take a look at where you connect on your onside. Look at the angle of the ski when you come back to the handle. Focus on taking your time coming back to the handle, let the ski finish. Let the "burrito" come to the "burrito". Someone told me that the angle your ski is when you come back to the handle is the angle your are going to have moving to the next buoy. At this point you have the comfort and aggression to make these passes, have faith in your pull across the wake to generate the speed you need.

 

I've also found running -22 @ 32 mph very helpful in running -22 @ 34 mph