The slalom site for the rest of us!
Got out this afternoon at the public course. Fairly strong WNW winds made for some interesting skiing dynamics, for sure. No full passes- I think running over 4-ball with the ski was about as far as I got.
I did take video, and it does not look pretty. What's amazing is that my PRIMARY thought on every pass was to keep the elbows in off the wake going into each turn, especially on the off-side. Looking at the video, there has never been a bigger gap between what I think I'm doing and what I'm actually doing. The gap is so big that I don't know if it's even surmountable. For some reason, on my off-side turn- 1,3,5, my brain/body seems to think the only way to turn the ski is to first let go of the handle, then start turning, then put the hand back on the handle half way through and finish turning. It looks so ridiculous but I don't know if this is a habit I can kick! As I'm going into 1 I'm THINKING "elbows in tight to vest, don't release early, keep a tight line" and look what happens! Not that! Ugh. Major disconnect between brain and muscle memory. Now, sure- I was in 5" chop with a tough headwind but really? I've always turned like this on 1,3,5. I don't know that it can be un-learned. Of course, it could have to do with my gates which were horrible on every pass.
Actually, typing this did prompt me to look back at a previous video and see where my hand left the handle. I'm definitely in better shape at handle-release phase in today's video but it's still too early. Gotta keep working on this. Today was ultra windy which made for tough pullouts, glides, and turns, so maybe I'm being hard on myself. You know there's decent chop on the water when the boat mirror keeps drooping down halfway through the course.
Hoping to sneak in a few runs after work this week- let's see what happens.
In other news I picked up a TRX Suspension Trainer. I've decided this is going to be my new fad workout device this winter. So far I have to say I really like it. I like it so much that I installed a 5000# D-ring in my living room ceiling to suspend it from, which, as you can imagine, is quite stylish. Not. More news on this as it develops.
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First of all, everything is
First of all, everything is correctable and this silly sport teaches me things all the time. One thing I've learned this year is that handle control is related to previous actions. Here's a thought or 2 on handle control:
1) If you're not thinking about it you won't be able to do it (that doesn't sound like your problem)
2) Where you hit the swing dictates a lot of your edge change and direction. If you load to wide your edge change comes to early (often before the centerline). You want progressive load, ideally at the bottom of the swing to release you out wide with minimal effort.
3) Gate command has a lot to do with making the pass easy or hard. In other words, if you start to hard or miss your swing load, things get harder in a hurry. I find it very difficult to get a pass to settle down if I get off to a forceful start.
I've had similar issues for the last couple of weeks and it was frustrating the crap out of me. Read todays diary and maybe it will make you think of some things that might help.
#2 and #3. If you are
#2 and #3.
If you are narrow/late, you HAVE to separate. If you have no speed heading into your swing you will be narrow even if you delay the load like you want. If the glide on your gate gets too slow and narrow, you will load early and be narrow at one, then separate. Wind amplifies all of these!