http://www.edgechange.com/pros/weems-westfeldt/ en wwweems@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-09T03:10:13+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/the-tour-de-france/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/the-tour-de-france/ I swore this year that I would not spend those hours watching the TdF, like I have for the last 8 years.  I mean, there are so many sports that take so much TV time.  This year I skipped the NBA and Wimbledon successfully.  But the bike racing pulls me in like hot pigs to cool mud. I'm just amazed by it.  The complexity of this race and the breadth and depth of these riders leaves me pretty much speechless. I'll talk more about it this week.  However, a quick look at the race through the Diamond lens shows: Power:  Amazing technology in machinery, techniques for riding, and of course, beyond-fit fitness levels. Purpose:  The strategies of individuals and teams, the number of different goals to be sought and traded off, the politics and diplomacy.  This is one of the most complex games I've ever seen from the point of view of intention-->consequences.  There is so much that counts!! Touch:  The feel for the road, balance, smoothness, weather, timing of the sprints and the breaks.  The riders certainly have clear purpose, but their intuitive sense of the race and road is really a pleasure to watch.  (How often do you eat out of a bag while riding your bike?  Or relieve yourself while riding it, for that matter!) Will:  Ultimately, it's down to this.  It is an epic battle against the self, the other individuals, the other teams, the roads, and the mountains.  The ultimate suffer-fest.   I am rapt.  More details tomorrow...with thoughts about the first six stages. 2010-07-09T02:10:13+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/ski-tip-for-groomers-1/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/ski-tip-for-groomers-1/ THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT. We hear a lot about "long leg short leg" as if it is some magic new way of skiing.  It's not.  However, since the advent of shaped skis with better materials, carving is more available at slower speeds so the methods become more out in front.   "Long leg/short leg" is simply this:  For the skis to carve two parallel tracks on a slope each leg needs to do a very different  movement.  The inside leg needs to be shorter, and more compact than the outside leg in order to leave room for both legs to lean inward.  If the inside leg were long, you just would not be able to achieve the platform angle necessary to make the edges hold.  This is a UNIVERSAL.  You will NOT see a skier carving without the inside leg being shorter than the outside leg.  So in a sense, all you have to do to show the soles of your skis to the cheering crowds below is shorten the inside leg as you initiate the edge change.  Try it on a nearly flat slope (preferably a convex one--over a little knoll).  Start traversing and (while maintaining pressure on the outside/downhill ski) ONLY flex the ankle and knee of the inside/uphill ski).  DO NOT try to turn with this exercise.  Just let the skis do it.  You've given them all the input they need.  Now take it on the road.  Try it everywhere. One caution:  There is a strong tendency to advance the inside leg as you shorten it.  Keep the inside ankle bending throughout.  It will help with your alignment AND it will prepare you to be forward enough to start the next turn. Another note:  This is not the same as getting low in the turn.  Certainly the center of the body is closer to the slope than it would be with both legs straight.  However, the outside leg is quite long.  Therefore, dynamically, in the turn, the skier is quite tall and long even though the hips are close to the snow. Check the right leg in the image below.  And notice that the bases of the skis are very clearly off of the snow.  And notice that the skier is very very happy!    2010-02-23T14:47:42+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/tips-for-teaching-1/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/tips-for-teaching-1/ HOW WELL SHOULD YOU SKI OR RIDE? In your ski lessons, it's not about how well you ski or ride.  It's about how much joy your students have. Learn to ski or ride well.  At all speeds.  At slow speeds you can even do it perfectly.  However, be clear about the reason for this.  It is not so you can impress.  It's so that you can make really good and fundamental decisions about what doors to open for your students to step through.   The pros who are really well grounded in fundamental stuff, can create magic.  Those that work in the field of technical exotica, might be successful in the short term, but eventually the student will hit the wall. Inspire them!  Not so much with your dazzling talent, but rather with the accessibility of your fundamentals.  They need to know that THEY CAN DO THIS! 2010-02-01T03:01:03+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/ski-tip-for-bumps-1/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/ski-tip-for-bumps-1/   NOTE:  THIS IS THE EXACT SAME THING I WROTE IN SKI TIP FOR STEEPS #1.  IT ABSOLUTELY APPLIES TO BUMPS IN THE SAME WAY FOR THE SAME REASON! Readiness for the NEXT turn is as critical as the performance of the turn you're in!  Near the start of, say, a left turn, I allow my hand, arm, and pole--for the upcoming right turn--to begin swinging down the hill toward the next target.  In this way my hand is ready for the pole plant, and my eyes are also drawn down the hill, so I can see what's coming.  It's important that the hand and pole move directly down the fall line so when the pole is ready, it will touch the snow directly downhill from the boot--not necessarily next to the tip of the ski. Furthermore, the pole should go in almost directly underneath the pole-planting hand.   At the very minimum, this movement of the pole and hand establishes a position of stability in the torso at the end of the turn, allowing me to not spent too much recovery time so I can launch my next turn.  Ideally, this position will become a new pole plant very quickly---thus helping me link the turns seamlessly and confidently. 2010-01-07T04:44:11+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/got-bad-habits/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/got-bad-habits/ It's New Year's Eve, so it's time to talk about resolutions we make to break bad habits.  Well guess what?  In skiing there are no bad habits.  All habits are solutions.  One more time.  ALL HABITS ARE SOLUTIONS! So I don't want any of my students to tell me they've got bad habits anymore.  Instead, let's get together and find out what the repetitive behaviors (habits) are, and figure out what they accomplish for you.   THEN let's ask and answer, together, the following questions: Is this what you want to achieve?  If not, let's find different things to do.  If so, is this the best way (efficient? effective? versatile?) way to achieve it?    If not, can we tune it, refine it, or replace it?  Can we find a better way to achieve the same thing?  Can we find another "thing" that will work better?The negativity around the "bad habits" is a waste of time.  Let's just clarify Purpose and find the best way to achieve it. Happy New Year, friends! 2010-01-01T03:16:20+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/what-i-have-learned-since-i-wrote-the-book/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/what-i-have-learned-since-i-wrote-the-book/     Since beginning this project, there have been a lot of doors opening in my understanding of the ski world.  Here are a few. People don’t read books.  People may not even actually read, except in small tweetable increments (excrements?). HOWEVER…YOU do!  And I appreciate your being there and I appreciate those who have read the book (seen the film, bought the lessons, drunk the kool-aid).  And more I appreciate your great feedback—even the guy who said, “I used to really enjoy skiing.  Now you’ve ruined my life.”  (The rest of the story is that he even enjoys skiing more, and has quit his job, left his family, and become a ski bum in Aspen—washing dishes at night, and skiing all day.) Using the model has evolved how I ski and teach.  The reason is that, as I worked in and among the corners of the diamond, I’ve discovered what I believe to be a “most” fundamental paradigm of each resource/corner of the diamond.  Stay tuned for full disclosure on these magical secrets in upcoming posts. I’m not in it for the money (although this wasn’t my plan!) And, by the way....It is snowing today in Aspen! 2009-12-23T14:12:05+00:00 http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/the-new-edgechange-part-2/ http://www.edgechange.com/pros/blog/weems-westfeldt/the-new-edgechange-part-2/ Last week, I posted a welcome to the new EdgeChange. Here’s some more new stuff that we’re doing. New media. Last season we filmed. A lot! During the upcoming year, we will produce three DVD’s—“Brilliant Snowboarding, Every Day”, “Brilliant Bump Skiing, Every Day”, and the 2nd edition of “Brilliant Skiing Every Day”. It’s like the series about “dummies”, except that I reject the notion that any of you are dummies! This is a way to find your own genius that resides inside! (But can’t you just see the future?—Brilliant Dog Walking, Every Day. Brilliant Toothbrushing, Every Day.)  A second edition of the book of the same title, will come forth gradually, as a combination of material from the old one and material created on this Diamond Talk Blog.  New website. — EdgeChange.com — this one! Right here, right now.  In order to make the website more dynamic, helpful, and inviting, we’ve rebuilt the whole thing. Hope you like it and can find your way around easily. This website will not only feature this Diamond Talk discussion at a much more active level, but will also offer other coaching ideas: The Diamond Sessions program of the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen (fondly referred to locally as S3) Edge Change—the podcast, in which I’ll offer video pointers every week on subjects that I think are critical to good skiing. Much thanks to the team from OptiSite.com for their incredible skills and creativity. Drop me a note if you want to know more about them. New material. There’s no point in developing new media and websites unless they have something to show. Well, yes, I do. The Sports Diamond™ has been a serendipitous paradigm, which (as Dave Berry would write) is not a bad name for a rock group. The truth is that, although I (and others) developed this material to describe and guide what we do on our best days, it turns out that by using this guide, I have changed what I do. These changes I will share as we go. Hint: it involves a recognition and understanding of the most fundamental principle of each orientation of the Sports Diamond™ New forms of old relationships. Sponsors. Just as I have chosen AspenSnowmass, I also have the ability (because I’m an ancient participant) to choose whom I support in the industry. And because I believe that sponsorship works when it is authentic, here is my full disclosure: Tecnica Blizzard (equipped with Marker bindings) are my ski/boot/binding sponsors. I receive no money from them. I do receive some equipment (and buy the rest) and I’m delighted with the gear’s performance, as well as the culture and people within the company. Habervision supplies my glasses and goggles. I have tried other goggles, and have returned to Habervision several times. They do not give them to me. I buy them. But I do receive a commission on my sales that goes to supporting the growth of www.edgechange.com. AND YOU GET 50% OFF OF TERRIFIC EYEWEAR. Helly Hansen outdoor gear. I was really pleased when the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen decided to choose HH for its uniforms as I’ve often purchased and enjoyed this gear over the years. HH gave me some clothes for the filming, but I receive no money from them. Level Gloves keep my hands warm and good lookin'! By the way, I will also be posting gear reviews on the material from my sponsors on epicski.com 2009-11-22T03:57:18+00:00