MrBrown

Gotcha,...thanks Shane! Amazing leverage on his Off Side pull (1-2, 3-4, 5-6) and he couldn't be anymore stacked! This is where I think that he may have a little upward foot pressure on his front binding!

Like I mentioned earlier, Chad does an excellent job of staying stacked with excellent body position all the way through the course,…standing tall, chest out, hips up, elbows to the vest, handle low and in the pocket, arms straight, falling away from the boat in a very powerful leveraged position. In this strong and leveraged pulling position behind the boat, if I could I would like to ask Chad about his front foot and front boot and where he feels the pressure on his foot while in his strongest pulling position. Some of you may guess that Chad may be feeling pressure on the bottom of his front foot as he crosses the wakes, but I would guess just the opposite. In that strong and leveraged position behind the boat, I would have to say that Chad is actually feeling pressure on the top of his front foot as his foot is actually being PULLED UP against the top of his front boot. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me!!! Schnitz a few years ago broke his ribs skiing. Schnitz while in a leveraged pulling position, pulled so hard upward with his front foot , that his front binding detached and his knee actually hit him in the ribs so hard that it broke a few of his ribs. For myself, my skiing style is close to that of Schnitz's and Chad's and I use Goode Powershells. An indicator of when the Velcro is wearing out is when the Velcro in front of my front binding starts to separate while crossing the wakes. This is caused by me actually pulling up on my front foot while in my strongest pulling position.

Hey Brent Triplett, super smooth skiing even with the tip rise! Awesome stuff! Heck, me too AB including the Pink Ski! haha Regina's video is a classic, thanks for posting! One other thing that may support why "tip rise is not so bad" is that the ski will accelerate faster on the tail, and is fastest on its tail, with less load and drag cross course. Watch Chad Scott's, Larson’s, Regina's vids and see how fast they get cross course with more weight distributed on the tail of the ski even after a tip rise in tha case of Larson and Regina. Also, that little bit of hesitation during the tip rise may allow the skier to lock into a strong stacked position (elbows locked to vest, chest out, hips up, handle in pocket/power triangle), before the skier picks up the load of the boat. I totally agree that Tip Rise is not part of the perfect slalom turn, but a skier maybe able to make it work to his advantage!

I have to agree with 35 in the Bags's observation about tip rise especially at 39 and 41. Although it may not be the perfect turn, it seems as though it is what a majority of the skiers do to some degree who run 39. But why? I feel that there is a transition that the skier has to make between a 38off turn and a 39off turn. At 39off, I feel that the skier has to consciously attempt to turn the ski more downcourse, almost to the extent that the skier may feel that he is almost pointing the ski at the very next turn buoy. David Nelson and Rossi talk about how this goes against your perception. One Big Dawg skier told me that at the end of the turn at 39off he immediately finds the next turn buoy out in front of the boat, in an attempt not to overturn into too much angle. It must be noted that he doesn't use this technique at 38off. At 38off a skier can be patient to allow the ski to finish smoothly and then can hook up and continue to ski the course smoothly. I feel that the problem at 39off is that because the ski is rolled up on a higher turning edge throughout the turn, this causes the ski to turn slightly harder than at 38off, and to turn into too much angle, as 35 in the Bag has described. What I have experienced at 39 in this situation, if I am strong enough to hold onto the excessive cross course angle, I am coming into the next buoy too early causing me to apex to soon before the buoy, causing me to miss the pass. After talking to ski coach Mike Kusiak a few years ago and watching Karina and Regina run less than perfect 39’s, I feel one of the keys to running 39 is just attempting to apex the ski at the buoy and not before it. This means at the end of the turn, the skier is turning his ski further downcourse than at 38. This offers the lowest load possible and the slowest skiing speed possible. It still allows for the skier to make a mistake (Larson, Karina, Regina, etc) and still run the pass.

Great video,..great skiing,...great skier!!!! Impressive! Now I know how he does it! He is even more stacked than Larson and has his weight distributed even further back on the ski than Larson!

Sounds good! Thanks for the invite! I assure you, just trying to add a different viewpoint on slalom. I will take it easy and keep it short! Some of the things that I learned from Schnitz do actually work! (but please don't saw off the front of your ski! ha )

hahaha Yep, here you go again! hahaha ps, my response isn't that long!!! I was trying to keep is short!!! :-)

Larson and TW have two very different styles and are also skiing at two different speeds. I've personally seen Larson stroke 39 with very little or no tip rise. TW has a very different style of skiing in comparison to Larson. Larson's style is much more duplicable for the average skier (man or woman), whereas TW's style would take much more strength and time to duplicate, much like MB's style. You don't see many pro women skiing TW's or MB's style. Usually (but not always) the more a skier bends his knees, usually the more a skier uses the front of his ski during the pass like TW, or MB. Usually the taller a skier skis with elbows locked to the vest, arms straight, hips up, chest out, the less he uses the front of the ski throughout the entire pass. More ski in the water usually means more drag and more load. David Nelson said for a skier to ski cross course at a 45 degree angle, the ski actually needs to be pointed at an approx. 48+ degree angle. As the ski travels cross course it acts much like a plow displacing the water out in front of it. More of the ski in the water means more water that is being displaced which equals more drag and more load! I've heard some skiers comment that they are applying front foot pressure while skiing cross course which is just driving more ski in the water which equals more drag/load. Super efficient Schnitz as a result of his elbow locked to the vest, hips up, chest out, handle in the pocket,.. is actually pulling up on his front foot/binding as he skis cross course with more weight naturally distributed on his rear foot (and I do the same!)

Congrats on finding a ski that works for you! That's a great feeling! Here is the link to a very recent BOS topic (on page 2) where the member was asking the very same question!!! Enjoy! http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/4014/new-strada-2012.-any-different/p1

If you watch where the water is breaking under Scott Larson's ski at 39, it is almost always breaking under the front binding or behind the front binding. Schnitz mentioned one time that he thought about shooting a video of himself skiing with a ski that had the entire ski, in front of the bindings, sawed off. (Watch Scott come out of 5 ball at 39 with his hips trailing slightly and then near the first wake lock his elbows in, hips up, and chest out and watch the resulting explosive acceleration/angle)

While watching the Big Dawgs at 1/4 speed, I don't recall any of them applying heavy front foot pressure and driving the front of the ski in the water to initiate their turn in for their gates. (which may possibly cause too much drag & load) At 39off, Scott appears to slow his ski down for his turn in for his gates by shifting his weight back on the tail. Scott appears to me to have the best body position (stacked) out of all the Big Dawgs so far. He is also noticeably standing taller and gets his chest out proud with elbows to the vest. However, I noticed that Scott did compress a bit more at his 39 gate compared to his 38. On Scott's 39off pass watch where the water is breaking under the ski the entire pass!

AB whether he knows it or not,..always has the most interesting and funny things to say!!!

Palm down during the Off Side Reach can have some negative consequences for some skiers (not all). It can cause the skier to be leading slightly with the shoulders and trailing slightly with the hips through the turn. This can possibly cause the skier to break forward at the waist and possibly handle dip at the finish of the Off Side Turn. For me, I have found it important on the off side reach to have the handle in the range from the "vertical position" to possibly in the "palm up position". This will help to keep the shoulders back, chest out, hips forward through the finish of the turn! "Palm up position" is also one great technique to help prevent "handle dipping".

Just an observation,... but ya can't criticize a world champ too much! Watching Chet on the video and at Okee, he tends drop his hip/butt away from the boat a little more than some of the other big dawg skiers. Anytime a skier drops his hips/butt, he is going to get a little separation of his elbows from his vest!

Schnitz teaches the "X-factor", where the ski cross beneath the handle at the prop wash, and the last time I skied with Rossi years ago he was teaching being away from the boat with maximum lean at or near the 2nd wake, very close to Jeff Rodgers edge change which is a later edge change than “X-factor”. I believe” handle control” is very important for all skiers, but it may be more important for the "X-factor" group. When the "x-factor" skier enters the deceleration phase/preturn sooner, he will need to stay on the handle longer to maintain sufficient outbound speed, direction, width, and turning speed. The second he comes off the handle too soon, he will get sucked in narrow.

Dr Mike Morgan, big dawg champ, is RFF and holds the handle like he's holding a baseball bat right handed also. I do too! I think the only advantage of holding the handle correctly is maybe helping the weakside pull a little. I never felt it was a big enough issue for me to attempt to switch!

Women actually have an easier time with "vest to the elbows" than men, because men like to think that they can use their arm strength to help them ski better by pulling in on the handle! Men usually have the hardest time with totally straightning their arms. "Vest to the elbows" is fairly easy to execute if the skier first STANDS TALL, (the taller the better), with chest out, shoulders back, etc,...however as a skier begins to bend his knees and starts to "drag his _ss", and begins to "lead with his shoulders" is when "vest to the elbows" is almost impossible to acheive. Trent F. wrote in "Anchor Point" - http://www.ballofspray.com/trent-f/918-anchor-point "To have your handle low in relation to your body, you must simply have your hips high to the handle. This begins before your gate pull-out. Standing alongside the wakes, pay attention to where yours begin to leave your body. If it is at chest height, stand taller by ensuring your hips are high, over your feet. This will bring your chest up, and your shoulders back. Because your handle doesn't really move, it will now be lower in relation to your hips. The lower your arms leave your sides, the more the pull will be directed through your entire back, making you stronger and more balanced in your cut."

Women actually have an easier time with "vest to the elbows" than men, because men like to think that they can use their arm strength to help them ski better by pulling in on the handle! Men usually have the hardest time with totally straightning their arms. "Vest to the elbows" is fairly easy to execute if the skier first STANDS TALL, (the taller the better), with chest out, shoulders back, etc,...however as a skier begins to bend his knees and starts to "drag his _ss", and begins to "lead with his shoulders" is when "vest to the elbows" is almost impossible to acheive. Trent F. wrote in "Anchor Point" - http://www.ballofspray.com/trent-f/918-anchor-point "To have your handle low in relation to your body, you must simply have your hips high to the handle. This begins before your gate pull-out. Standing alongside the wakes, pay attention to where yours begin to leave your body. If it is at chest height, stand taller by ensuring your hips are high, over your feet. This will bring your chest up, and your shoulders back. Because your handle doesn't really move, it will now be lower in relation to your hips. The lower your arms leave your sides, the more the pull will be directed through your entire back, making you stronger and more balanced in your cut."

Many times when skiers are attempting the "elbows to the vest" technique for the first time in an attempt to have an efficient and powerful pulling position, many skiers may actually be bending their arms/elbows in an attempt to get their "elbows to the vest". This is incorrect!!! To perform this technique properly, a skier must keep his arms TOTALLY STRAIGHT . Because the elbows rarely actually touch the vest, another way to think about it is attempting to bring the “back of the arms to the vest” and LOCKING them in. Schnitz mentioned another way to think about the "elbows to the vest" technique, which may be easier to understand and to execute, and that is by bringing your "vest to your elbows". This "vest to the elbows" technique happens as a result of sticking your chest out, rolling your shoulders back, keeping your head level, and arms totally straight. The RESULT will be excellent “handle control” with the handle low and “in the pocket”! EXCELLENT HANDLE CONTROL is a “RESULT” of how well a skier keeps his “vest locked against his elbows”, with the chest out, hips up, shoulders back, and falling into the proper leaning position as a result. Photos of Big Dawg Skier’s Body Positions http://www.schnitzskis.com/newsflash.html Next time your running late in the course, instead of rolling the ski on a higher edge and in an attempt to ski a greater cross course angle (and creating more load/speed) to catch up, .......just try locking the "vest to the elbows" more aggressively and REALLY THINK ABOUT "STICKING YOUR CHEST OUT" as much as possible. You will be amazed by the acceleration and width achieved by this "sticking the chest out/elbows to the vest" technique!

Many times when skiers are attempting the "elbows to the vest" technique for the first time in an attempt to have an efficient and powerful pulling position, many skiers may actually be bending their arms/elbows in an attempt to get their "elbows to the vest". This is incorrect!!! To perform this technique properly, a skier must keep his arms TOTALLY STRAIGHT . Because the elbows rarely actually touch the vest, another way to think about it is attempting to bring the “back of the arms to the vest” and LOCKING them in. Schnitz mentioned another way to think about the "elbows to the vest" technique, which may be easier to understand and to execute, and that is by bringing your "vest to your elbows". This "vest to the elbows" technique happens as a result of sticking your chest out, rolling your shoulders back, keeping your head level, and arms totally straight. The RESULT will be excellent “handle control” with the handle low and “in the pocket”! EXCELLENT HANDLE CONTROL is a “RESULT” of how well a skier keeps his “vest locked against his elbows”, with the chest out, hips up, shoulders back, and falling into the proper leaning position as a result. Photos of Big Dawg Skier’s Body Positions http://www.schnitzskis.com/newsflash.html Next time your running late in the course, instead of rolling the ski on a higher edge and in an attempt to ski a greater cross course angle (and creating more load/speed) to catch up, .......just try locking the "vest to the elbows" more aggressively and REALLY THINK ABOUT "STICKING YOUR CHEST OUT" as much as possible. You will be amazed by the acceleration and width achieved by this "sticking the chest out/elbows to the vest" technique!

Just dug these two vids of Bud performing the Rossi one hand gate. I actually like this later gate better Bud, for a number of reasons!!! 32 off Rossi Gates. 35 off Rossi Gates.

He even holds the handle backward! Jeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz! lol

Hey Bud, why don't you post your attempts with the Rossi style gate just to compare the two!!! Thanks!!!

Hey Bud, If your on Rossi's ski, and attempting to ski Rossi's line path, with Rossi's type of skiing style, then please try Rossi's gates. It only makes sense. Rossi's gates are by no means rushed, and you could master them easily. This would put you on the LINE/PATH that the STRADA was designed for. Dave Millers style is much different than yours also he approaches the course with a different point of view. Dave rolls in very slowly and controls his speed by his knee bend, and compression. That's not your style of skiing. The same goes for Parrish. Parrish skis a slightly wider line than you are attempting to ski. With Rossi's gate, your turn in point of course would remain the same, (the 1 ball is just past the left hand gate buoy like Rossi), but you would be carrying a bit more speed through your turn for the gates and picking up the load/pull a bit later. Remember to think about turning all the way to the 2nd wake and NO PULLING/LEANINIG/ and just hold your position. If you lean or add anything to your lean at 39, that will kill the pass. Your best gate and 1 ball at 39off will be the one when you say to yourself "I am not going to make it around 1 ball"! That will be when you will have the slowest and best 1 ball ever!!! Less is more at 39off. Its all about being on the right line with the lowest amount of load possible. When your loading right at the turn in, because your slowing and the boat is speeding, ZO will pick up on that, and your done. Once your on the right line at 39off, you will feel as though your going 32 mph and you will immediately think that the speed is wrong or the driver is swerving, because it is so slow from buoy to buoy! All your attempting to do is just get your boot over the buoy, and allow the ski to just keeping turning to the 2nd wake. Also at 39 off your going to have to pull out a bit later anyway than at 38. This is because the line is so short that you get up on the boat much more quickly and easily, than at 38. Because of this, you will get out there too soon and start drifting back. The tempo out and back in is much different at 39. What ever you need to do to stop drifting back, do it. You can get away with the drifting back with PP but with ZO, it will catch up with you at 38 and 39. Just my 2 cents!!! :)

Hey Bud, great skiing as always. You should be running 39. I just recently watched your 39off video that you have posted and you really drift back before your turn in for your gates in that video also. Remember,...How to ski efficient and with zo - no flat spots and no flat skiing. no Z skiing This starts at your pullout for your gates. -you must attempt to ski an " S" path, including the pullout and turn in for the gates -pulling out when the nose of the boat is at the 55 is too early for you, while watching your video -Bud, your too slow and too flat before turning in, -before you turn in, your ski speed is slowing as the boat is speeding up which equals excess load as you attempt your turn in, Zo will eat you up with this maneuvre. -your ski speed turning in, needs to be matching the speed of the boat to delay the load until you get closer to the wakes. -this slow ski speed also causes the inability to get your ski fully turned in for the gates with the correct cross course angle. because of this, you are now skiing narrow and flat cross course and you will carry this through the entire course. now you are skiing flat into 1 ball, perpetuating the same problem all the way through the course -try pulling out when the 55's are at the rear of the boat with more an explosive pull out. A more explosive pull out will give you better angle and speed outbound, and will help you to have a better edge change. -you will then have enough ski speed to match the speed of the boat as you are turning in for the gates. This means you will be picking up the boat and load later. Remember, just keep turning all the way to the wakes. - You should attempt to pull out, turn, and back in again for the gates with no flat skiing and no Z skiing. -you then will be invisible to ZO until you are closer to the wakes. -I don't like the way that ski is finishing at the end of the turn for you. It is super stiff! It may not be the right fit!