During the first steps in learning freeskiing it is not advisable to skip a series of steps and basic movements. If you do, your technique will not look polished at all and your jumps, landings or 720s will not be spectacular without a good base. In this post we review a series of fundamental points that you should not forget if you want to practice freeskiing with style. Let's start!
Become a ski teacher
Finding yourself in the role of volunteering to teach a new friend or acquaintance and thinking hard about what it takes to get started in the turns and tie them together is highly recommended. Think about the way your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet coordinate when you turn, and then try to explain it to your mentee. Only then will you realize how this works if you are able to make a young child understand it (and have it really grasped and implemented in his budding progression).
Practice the switch move over the course of an hour
This is related to discipline. You may have to dodge mid-season, but you have to spend about 60 minutes skiing backwards on your back. We are aware that in a race you are going to realize that you are not a crack at this, and that, after all, you need to practice your switch movement. This is why you bought the twintips, so focus on working on linking redirections and make sure everything goes smoothly.
Work on the spectacularity of your turns
This is for more advanced freeskiers, the ones who know full well that they could have saved a step on the way to doing a 900. Spend an hour on the slopes going around working your less natural side and make sure you improve efficiency turning in that direction. Begin the exercise with 180 degrees and gradually increase the difficulty until you feel confident enough to extend the next turn.
360, 360 and more 360
Stop trying to spin so much in your next sessions and go back to the classic 360. In addition to being one of the most fun and fastest moves out there, it's a great opportunity to strengthen your grabbing and carving skills. Try to practice all the grabs you can and more. Don't forget that in both carving and non-carving 360s, if you don't grab, it doesn't count.
