Image of the day! Daisy beginning to develop a feel for slalom…
Alex – working on his rotation on his left side. There is actually rotation on both sides which is evident in his free skiing (more on the left). Unfortunately conditions today didn’t provide the opportunity for feedback – and it’s also important that Alex gets some time to work through things by himself.
What I want to see now is elimination of all parasitic rotation and a re-introduction of big dynamics – without losing the (newly found) pressure on the fronts of the skis. On the positive side the limited stivoting correlates to the new early pressure and independent leg action and the angulation is now deliberately helping to maintain forward pressure. This is currently very stable but more early commitment to the outside leg and using it for greater inclination and dynamics will improve grip and speed – as long as contact remains with the fronts of ths skis. Part of future evolution will be from shortening the arc length by focusing it more on the apex – but maintaining all the new sensations.
Daisy – great progress and persistence despite being wet and cold. Pole clearing improving after the exercise of holding the poles across the front of the body in the course. Managing to take a much tighter line and this is helping the independent leg action and angulation to work – providing greater movement and response (legs more active) and a better overall rhythm. Slalom is about rhythm and breaking rhythm – for the moment we don’t want to break anything!
In the image above the left arm is still too high and the upper body too upright and back (pole clearing!). During turns to the skier’s left the left knee is tilting inwards (into the turn searching for the pole) which puts her on the outside edge of the foot. Get on the inside edge of BOTH feet all the time. This is done by tensing the adductor muscles on both legs – not just the one with the outside ski. It feels like squeezing both legs together. Roll both feet onto their inside edges beneath the ankle – even when standing on the balls of the feet.
Tallulah – Boss Baby is definitely benefiting from Bernie’s attention. It’s a serious challenge to get any 8 year old to use the fronts of the skis at all – let alone in a race course. Alex knows how long it has taken for him to understand the feeling – and how it crucially ties in with angulation and inclination to allow it to be constructive. Tomorrow we will video Tallulah’s hairdressing tutorials to see how many subscribers she can get on YouTube!