Why can't I turn left?!

Eljay wrote:have you tried snowboarding?

amanda n wrote:

Eljay wrote:have you tried snowboarding?

Just a thought

you crack me up lol,

AllyG-comment related to hardly surprised any of us learnt to ski at all.

The point is that when the instructor was teaching you he probably didn't talk about weighting and pressure and whatever else but let you figure out some things naturally for yourself and give you some drills to help you along the way! As soon as you start breaking it down like this unless you really want to get in to it it is pretty unnecessary!

Pablo,
Actually, I hardly ever understand anything instructors say to me at all.

My first adult lesson on the dry ski slope the instructor said we were to walk down the side of the mat to the bottom (carrying our skis) and wait for them. I looked at the sign that said it was forbidden to walk on the mat, and decided she meant we had to walk down the rubber undermatting, and promptly slipped over on the greasy surface and damaged my backside so badly I could hardly sit down for a couple of weeks.

And I find the foreign ones even harder to understand. In my experience most of them just say something like 'do it like this' and disappear down the slope. I'm not even very good at understanding the exercises. I've been shown a weird one where you step with your ski as your turn, and I still have no idea how to do it (neither did anyone else). That particular instructor just shouted at all of us and gave up. And I remember another one where you were supposed to traverse touching your boot, and I was the only idiot touching the wrong boot.

I unintentionally insulted another French instructor, by saying that it didn't matter if I didn't understand French because I never understand what instructors are saying anyway.

The only way I seem able to learn is by watching the instructor, actually ski-ing myself, and possibly reading a very simple book about it.

The last French instructor I had, in the morning, was the best by far. She was my instructor for that photo I have now as my avatar. I'd never been over a 'proper' jump before so I asked her what I was supposed to do. She said I could snowplough before it to slow my speed down, as long as my skis were parallel when I went over it, and to bend my legs before the jump, and make sure I landed on both skis. And all went well.

My daughter pointed out that none of her instructors had ever told her that you have to jump when you go over a jump. Once she tried doing this it was much easier.

Mind you, I am well known as being a very difficult person, and almost impossible to teach, so maybe it's me and not the instructors.

Ally

I never really liked dry slopes.

Book lessons with English speaking ski schools or ski schools run by someone out of the UK/learn in North America

I don't like 1000 steps myself (if that's what it was) and would probably never give it to a class... it is a tricky one to explain. An exercise has to be effective and you have to know why you are doing it

A good instructor will try and touch all bases for all the different types of learner, I don't remember them all but it should be explained for those who listen, described for those who feel and demonstrated for those who watch.

You don't have to jump when you go over a jump, if you watch world cup racers they generally try and absorb as much of the jump as possible in order to keep the skis on the snow for the maximum amount of time.

I like the sound of the challenge, I think everyone can learn it is just finding out how you do it. Another thing that may help you is video feedback so you can see for yourself how you look when you are skiing.

You have provoked some of my biggest posts ever here, had I put this effort in to the essay I was meant to be writing I would be on to a winner.

Pablo,
What's your essay on? I am very good at writing essays (you may have noticed!).

Ally

I'll pm you to keep this on topic