fu_man

@Horton I'm really glad this thread is happening right now. I just got done taking a few lessons (from a guy everybody knows) and I'm conflicted. I always tend to ski with very straight legs....what Horton said. Squeeze my rear to keep my hips up. The other thing I did was look at the pylon as I crossed the wakes rather than where my ski was going in order to stay stacked. And honestly (at least in the open water because I don't get into the course too often) I've has really good results with this. The other night I was tearing it up. However, it was pointed out to me at the lessons that when you ski straight legged your hips are automatically not square with the ski and therefore you are less balanced on the ski and will tend to put more weight on your back foot rather than having weight evenly distributed between both feet. The lesson was focussing on keeping everything in line with the ski (hips, shoulders, head) and because your hips are square with the ski, then your hip will naturally be closer to the handle (to achieve "stacked") than if your hips are slightly angled. We were working on gettng speed across the wakes with direction rather than lean. The conflict that I'm sensing is that in order to REALLY keep your hips square with the ski you have to bend your back knee to tuck it in behind your front knee. It seems like I'm hearing advice to do opposite things. Can anyone help clarify this for me or is this just a matter of different styles?

I totally agree with everything you said. I would only add one thing...I live on public water without a course so usually that's the only thing I get to do.

Looks like a Transformer....definitely a decepticon. Optimus Prime better watch out.

I'm going to be in Orlando in June and would like your feedback regarding the various ski schools and coaches in that area. I am making progress in the course although I don't get to ski it as often as I'd like. I am making progress at -15 30-32mph currently working my way to 34mph. I have skied with Lucky a bunch of times and will likely ski with him again later this summer. That being the case, I'm thinking about checking out another site/coach. To be clear, I like Lucky as a coach and I've learned a lot from him so I'm not opposed to just sticking with him. I just thought a different flavor might be cool. I am aware that Swiss, Jack Travers, and the Wilson bros are all in the area. Any I've missed? I am going to start with the assumption that all of these are good options so I'd like your feedback. Which places do you like? Why? Which coaches do you like? Why? Describe their coaching style. How did they help you? I have read some good things on this site about the Wilson bros coaching. Please elaborate. I'll start....I like Lucky because of his passion for the sport. He genuinely wants to see you succeed and doesn't care what level you are at. I would consider him the type of coach that is going to throw lots of ideas at you. Some you'll get immediately, some won't sink in until next week. He will chew you out when he knows you can do better so be prepared and wear your thick skin. Finally, you'll always leave with a story to tell your ski buddies.

After looking at HO's website and watching the videos for the A2 and the S2, I still don't really understand the differences between the two. I get that the A2 seems to be their 36mph ski and the S2 seems to be more of a 34mph ski, but they both seem to have the same shape (wide tail) but maybe a different concave. Can anyone give me some insight?

"Took me an hour just to make the bathroom. Needed help with my tighty -whiteys, Can't wait for tomorrow" I don't mean to be gross but I have vivid memories of my fore arms being completely toasted from going hard core on my first day back...just no grip strength. Then the next day once you get to the bathroom its hard to reach around and wipe.

Just some more thoughts...I think this discussion is interesting. When the other thread started about Mapple skiing in a Big Dawg tourney, I thought there were some good points made on both sides. I think that getting more people talking about the sport and skiing in any tourney is good. I see the point about this taking some attention away from the elite athletes which is not good for them. Not much of a budget for this stuff anymore. However, when you look at it from a grass-roots perspective, getting more people involved at any level is good for the sport. How cool is it for the little guy that a legend of the sport is skiing in an amateur event? On the other hand, the question remains...is it fair for the little guys to have arguably the best slalom skier ever enter the amateur event? This is a grey area. If Andy still has the ability to ski at 36 with the potential to get into 39 off then he still has the potential to win any tourney at the elite level. Maybe the rules should be re-evaluated to minimize the grey area that we are seeing.

lpskier I was surprised to read this. I too thought it was 36 mph. This is what I'm seeing. It is Rick McCormick's "Ask an expert" column from WS May 1989. The question was specifically about slalom scoring. Is this a misprint?http://static.cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/e3/4be7e9c305ffc7aa2d0d50bd942426.pdf

So in order to survive the long winter I have borrowed stacks of my buddy's old WS magazine from the late 80's and early 90's. As I have read them a few questions that come to mind. As of 89 the top speed for all divisions was slower (OM was still 35mph and OW was 32). When were they bumped up and why? It's not like guys were into 41 and 43 off yet. What were the complications/issueswith changing the top speed? Do any of you think its time to bump the speeds up at this point in time to 37mph for OM? The slalom ski articles were still debating the pros and cons of concave design vs tunnel design. To my knowledge, pretty much all skis today are concave and the tunnel design is obsolete. Is this just because they hold an edge better? There was also a debate regarding stiff skis vs more flexible skis. With today's construction techniques and materials being very different would today's skis be considered more flexible or stiff? Is there still a wide variation in this with top end skis? Have boat wakes gotten significantly better since then? I regularly ski behind a 94 and a 95 PS 190. From former posts here (and Lucky's mouth) the early 90's up to the 94 PS are considered "holy grail" slalom boats. Those wakes are pretty sweet. How do brand new boats compare? I have been also wondering if guys really have a preference with regards to the different wakes from the different manufacturers. I know the pros have their sponsorships so they will not give an unbiased answer, so maybe some of you guys that have been around and are into deep short line can give insight. I get that a trick skier really cares about the wake, but assuming that all the tournament boats have a buttery soft wake, are all powered by ZO, and you are slicing right through them anyway, is there a significantly different feel to MC vs MB vs SN? Do you care which boat you get at a tournament? Thanks for your thoughts!

Does anyone have any ESPN footage of the waterski tour from back in the day? Would be cool to see that. More specifically, does anyone have any footage of Lucky from the boat? I've taken a handful of lessons from him but I've never seen him ski except for a few not-so-good You Tube clips.

Any ideas what kind of boat that is in the Nov 21 video? It looks narrow.

Lots to learn from this. I'd love to see more too. I also agree with 6balls...TW's knees are way bent at 2nd wake going to 1,3,5. Would love to see other styles at this speed.

In our circle, its been dubbed "Lucky grip". Lucky Lowe told me to try it at our clinic this summer. His explanation for it made sense...If you are pulling a rope in a tug-of-war and your RFF, your right palm will be up, not down. I tried it, it felt only slightly different, and I happened to run the pass. However, after looking at the video I think the success could be attributed to other things besides my grip. Whatever works for you!

Lucky with his southern accent impersonating a British accent: "Millitree, Millitree, Why do the British talk like that? We say Mill-i-tair-ee. Don't you say it like that?" Me: "yes" Lucky: "They talk like they got marbles in their mouth." Me: "Why don't you ask Andy, he's British?" Lucky:" You know I can't understand half the stuff that guy says.......but he can't understand half the stuff I say either." So many Lucky quotes, so few that are fit for print....

Is it just my good fortune or does TSA search everyone's skis every time they fly? I think they are profiling us.

How about Casad? I don't think they are around any more. Also, last summer I was in skiing in the north in Wisconsin and ran across 2 relics.....and skied them. Never heard of them before. 1st was a Hydro-Flite it was a 1950's-ish slalom ski. Pretty much a flat piece of pine with a squared off back and a fin that had to be 6-7 inches deep. The other was a Northland "Warren Witherell" model. At least that one looked a bit more modern.