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Post by meput on Feb 27, 2014 20:10:09 GMT -7
... All will agree that there is no magic, improvement comes in small increments, and, in many cases, we hit a wall that is very difficult to breakthrough. Still, to me, assessing the improvement following a week of intensive training is a worthwhile exercise. ... I take lessons with the hope of increasing my competency, which contributes to the pleasure derived from the sport. ... When asked, at the start of a ski instruction series, what my goals are, ... At weeks end, these would be my tests for success. At the same time, the total experience factors in greatly. I've been in some very enjoyable programs, but, the improvement outcomes did not match my hopes. I've also experienced improvement in the instruction that faded shortly thereafter.... Some programs operate under the "Keep it Simple Stupid" philosophy, others, offer up a lot and hope some sticks. ...Organization,communication and feedback on performance are factors that play a major role in my satisfaction.... I'm a keep it simple person who has too many things going on in my head. Major change is very difficult. Still, if you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. Instruction will always fascinate me! LP, go to a PMTS camp! I think you will be pleased with the experience. Plus, I think you will learn what is really going on with your skiing; and how and what to do to improve it . When I was posting during the camp, I talked about having my skiing broken down to basics, being frustrated that everything was falling apart (or seemed to be in my mind) while working on specific drills, then having my skiing put back together. While going through this process, I learned how the individual essentials all interact to affect your skiing. I figured out my own SMIM and how to address it going forward. Early in the week there were too many things going on in my head, but near the end of camp, my mental focus was much simpler as I was able to focus on my SMIM. My improved understanding what I am doing in my skiing should allow me to address the components to improve it. My friend Brian, who attended the Blue/Dark blue camp, was very frustrated during the camp. He understood what he was being asked to do in the drills, but physically was unable to perform as asked. I think he was putting too much mental pressure on himself to perform for his coaches. His skiing two months later has taken a major step forward. He has had time to work on his SMIM and the drills at his own pace. Rich M. and Chris F., his coaches, would be very proud his improvement if they were to see him ski now. He is at a stage that small changes reap major breakthroughs. I am impressed, that a camp with 36 attendees, that each camper is able to come away from the experience and impression that each camper got a private lesson. As you get your private lesson, all the other campers are there just as examples of what you should be doing, or should not be doing to improve your skiing. The other skiers are value added to your private camper experience. Believe me, it is weird.
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Post by HighAngles on Feb 27, 2014 20:17:58 GMT -7
With all of the thread splits and drifts I'm not really sure where to put a response, but I'll start here and if it needs to be moved so be it.
I'm currently heading into the last day of my 5th PMTS camp (Intensive Moguls). I actually started this week doing some small group/semi-private lessons with one of the best PMTS coaches available. I'm just providing some background regarding my level of experience/participation with this particular flavor of ski instruction. At this point I consider myself part of the "core group" of practitioners and participate regularly on the forum and attend at least one camp per season.
IMHO, the beauty of PMTS is in the way that they train their coaches as teachers. PMTS coaches use a "student centered" approach that effectively yields a private lesson for each student in a group. They have been fully trained, and have tons of experience, in dissecting your skiing and providing a "path" to improve your skiing to reach your own personal goals. Along the way in your lesson they will continue to "check in" with you to ensure that what they're delivering is what you were expecting and is meeting your goals. I have personally never experienced such an individualized approach to group training situations and it's impressive to see just how effective their coaching skills are.
Just like anything in life, with skiing improvement as your goal you will get out of it what you put into it. Clearly PMTS is not an approach to be taken lightly. You cannot "dabble" in it if you truly are wanting to take your skiing to a higher level. It can also require quite an investment if you are going to attend camps and get your equipment situation squared away. However, I don't believe that there's any better way to improve your skiing than under the tutelage of a trained PMTS coach.
My own skiing has improved dramatically since starting my own PMTS journey. I can do things on skis now that I only could dream about years ago, but as has been mentioned, the bar is pretty high if you compare your own skiing to the skiing of the top level PMTS coaches. I have a long way to go to reach their level (and that's not intended to be self-deprecating in any way; it's just the reality of the situation). Clearly people with certain personality types are drawn more to putting in the time and money to improve their skills in a sport beyond the typical recreational participant. I'm just glad that in the world of ski instruction that there's actually somewhere to go to fulfill that desire.
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Post by JimRatliff on Feb 27, 2014 21:38:26 GMT -7
HA: How many people attended that camp and what instructors were there?
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Post by HighAngles on Feb 28, 2014 6:15:43 GMT -7
The intent of the "Intensive" series of camps is for returning campers who don't need to have their alignment evaluated and remediated. The Moguls camp has 8 participants divided into 2 groups of 4. The coaches are Diana Rogers and Walter Edburg (although Walter is filling in for Harald). They ran into a problem with the shop and had to change buildings this week so HH was rather busy dealing with that.
For those wondering what a PMTS moguls camp is like versus their other offerings just imagine what it would be like to take many of the standard PMTS drills into the moguls. It's incredibly challenging, but ultimately is proving to be quite rewarding. My old slam and pivot mogul style is slowly being replaced by a more speed controlled carving style that can actually be skied without as much stress on the body.
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Post by smackboy1 on Feb 28, 2014 7:46:32 GMT -7
As you get your private lesson, all the other campers are there just as examples of what you should be doing, or should not be doing to improve your skiing. The other skiers are value added to your private camper experience. Good point. One thing that differentiates camp from private lessons is your group. I suppose it's actually a lot like being in a 12 step support group (with 5 essential steps instead of 12). Some skiers were like me, first time campers. Others had been to camps before e.g. green, blue. Some had studied all the books and videos, others had not. It was a diverse group. Instead of just spoon feeding us intstruction all the time, our coaches asked us questions before providing explanations - Socratic Method Teaching System (SMTS (tm)). Our coaches would ask us to comment on each other's skiing on the hill and watching video. By the end of the week we were able to perform limited MA within our group while skiing which magnified the learning experience. I think leaving camp with those experiences and armed with a bunch of external cues is what enabled me to improve after I left camp. It's something I never really got from just reading/watching the materials or from private instruction.
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Post by JimRatliff on Feb 28, 2014 11:48:46 GMT -7
Hi, my name is Jim and I used to be a Terminal Intermediate. Then a ski patrol friend pointed me toward Lito, and Lito's videos pointed me to Harald.
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Post by smackboy1 on Feb 28, 2014 14:50:50 GMT -7
Hi Jim. How many days has it been since your last Daily [Skiing] Affirmation?
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Post by JimRatliff on Feb 28, 2014 15:03:29 GMT -7
My last daily (skiing) affirmation was 1 month ago. Midway through the second day with Bob Hintermeister he said "You really showed me something on that run!" But you still need to flex more and pull your feet back more.
Of course (spoiler alert, self deprecation follows) I've been wondering every since if that was affirmation or sarcasm?
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Post by ToddW on Feb 28, 2014 19:18:30 GMT -7
Sarcasm? Bob?
You did something right. But only briefly.
It's like being told "that turn was the perfect all mountain turn. It's what I would want to have skiing icy terrain above a big cliff. The rest of your turns sucked." A certain black level coach told me that once ... Sigh.
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Post by livingproof on Mar 1, 2014 8:00:26 GMT -7
Sarcasm? Bob? You did something right. But only briefly. It's like being told "that turn was the perfect all mountain turn. It's what I would want to have skiing icy terrain above a big cliff. The rest of your turns sucked." A certain black level coach told me that once ... Sigh. The last time I skied with HelluvaSkier, the above would be a quick synopsis of his analysis of my PMTS skiing. I remember him telling me to go back to leaving two clean lines while in a simple traverse. Sad part is he was right! High Angles did a great summary of the benefits of continued PMTS instruction. The total package of material, instructors, group dynamics and feedback is something I would find to be a great experience. At this point, the fire to get to a significantly higher skiing level does not burn intensely as it once did. I stand convicted of "dabbling" in the pursuit of excellence. That may be the story of my athletic career, but, right now, skiing is more about just doing it with friends and enjoying the experience....and working on my internal SIMM drills.
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