Drills for successful mogul skiing Part 1 Julie Ray and Mark Kahre 

Wow, thanks!

The diverging tip drill is problematic. I have seen many attempts to use this in exams always resulting in failure to qualify for their cert level attempt.

I struggle with anything Harb. His book 'the new way to ski' is plagiarizing the title from Willie Schaflers book "The New Way to Ski" which is the original source for direct to parallel progressions...but...it describes direct to parallel for athletic people who already can ski to learn short turns in powder. a very different application than Harb. Beginner skiers need the support and control snow plow provides. It is almost impossible to learn snowplow after you start with direct to parallel. My experience with Instructors who teach direct to parallel they can not ski dynamically and their snowplow and stem turns lack control and precision needed to progress past level 5.

@@MrDogonjon my experience is the complete opposite since I learned how to ski as an adult and almost everyone in my ethnic circle I know is the same. I agree that probably very few people have the patience or strength/balance to do direct parallel, so starting with pizza/fries is obvious. It is WAY harder for adult learners to go from wedge skiing to "true" parallel skiing, but it is a necessary step. But very few get past that advanced beginner level unless you learn how to release with the inside foot properly. I've read every single of his books (even the instructional book), DVD's, and eVideos and now I've also read a tons of other books/videos, from LeMaster to Egan (and a bunch of books on moguls), SIA Austria to Tom Gellie (Austrian stuff, German stuff, Japanese stuff), etc, his method is not the only way like he claims, but I think it's a very elegant, simple, and efficient way of getting past that advanced beginner hump unless you have the resources to get private lessons. And then, there is so much more to learn/unlearn after that.

Agreed 100%. I NEVER teach the snowplow, as it is essentially fear-based, and counter to efficient skiing at any level. Just think of the mixed signals: one ski says go, the other says stop. It forces you onto your heels and embeds bad habits that must be broken to achieve intermediate and advanced skiing levels. Harb’s explanations are very good, as are Lito Tejada -Flores’.

@@julierayrealtor7996Thank you for the great and free video series nevertheless.

@@videobeauty891 I have to disagree with you on that because there was no comment about any lead change, natural or exaggerated. Frankly, I was responding to this video and also my general experience that the purpose and movement creating the natural lead change is often overlooked when teaching students to ski with symmetry. May I ask, how to you create natural lead change in you own sking?

@@gogglebro9421 You ask a great question. Sorry for the lengthy answer. First there absolutely has to be some lead change. If you ski without any lead change, and pin your feet together, your hips will follow in the direction of your skis. In mogul skiing we want our hips and shoulders to stay facing downhill. Next problem. If you exaggerate the lead change, and pull your downhill ski back too far, you can end up with too much weight on your downhill/outside ski. The inside/uphill shin will become too vertical, or you can end up with pressure on the back of the boot instead of the shin. (Not a matched leg stance.) Or worse, the downhill/ outside knee wants to tuck in behind the uphill/inside knee, creating an awkward A Frame stance. So how can you get the just the right amount of lead change without over doing it? You can demonstrate this on a hard smooth floor in socks, or in ski boots standing on hard snow. Stand with your feet a few inches apart with your hips and shoulders facing forward. Your toes should be even. Roll your weight slightly onto the balls of your feet so that you can pivot your feet. Pivot both feet to the side at the same time. About 40 to 45 degrees. Keep your hips and feet facing forward. By turning your feet to the side, you have created about a "toe piece" length of lead change. That's about enough. So you can create lead change simply by turning your feet/skis and keeping your hips facing downhill. We will remember to address this in our next video. Thanks for your interest. Mark Kahre

@@markkahre524Mark, thank you for the “lengthy answer” as you call it. I’ll call it thorough, perfectly suited for an abstract conceptualist like me. I hadn’t realized that the hips would have to follow the direction of the skis if one pins the feet together. I’m having trouble visualizing your description of what happens with too much lead change, but come ski season, I’ll experiment with it and see if I can recreate the symptoms you’ve described. Your explanation of the right amount of lead change for the bumps is clear. May I ask another question? For skiing any terrain, how do you know if you are skiing with the optimal amount of anticipation (or separation)? I don’t recall ever hearing an explanation of this. The best that I’ve been able to figure out on my own, using trial and error, is that when I have enough anticipation dialed in, I’ll feel pressure going to the outside ski and the edge of the ski engage (so it changes directions) and maybe some rebound to go with it. If I’m missing something, can you offer any suggestions?

Do yourself a favor and mute JB91710.