Sunday, February 17, 2008

Harald Harb's Two-Footed Release

This is the two-footed release that is so critical to your skiing advancement. Learn how to do it and watch the movements. Make sure you have the same beginning position as in the video. Reach downhill and plant pole downhill from the heelpiece of your bindings. Release or flatten both skis and let gravity take the tips downhill. Stay forward as you release so the tips react. As soon as you are sliding downhill, tip the inside ski toward the little-toe edge. Balance on the outside ski as you finish and prepare your pole pant for the next release.




Connnected Two footed Releases
Connecting two footed releases develop skills toward Brushed Carve turns; if you begin to increase edge angles through tipping of the skis in the upper parts of the arc, you will become a great skier.


If you can achieve higher edge angles you will not feel the urge to push out of the turn. A push constitutes an up movement and an interruption between turns. Most skiers have an edge set and a push because they don‘t understand foot tipping or early edge and balance transfers. Two footed releases teache important refinements in your skiing. Many skiers can ski with brut force and upper body movements. But truly refined skiing is an art that few understand or realize even exists

4 comments:

bill r said...

Mr. Harb,

I am a green skier struggling to improve on blue slopes. Whenever my skis get in the fall line, I am off like a shot. The only way I can mimic the outcome I see in the above video clip is with twisting/turning of the feet/legs, which I know from your essentials book is not what you advocate. No amount of tipping the free foot produces such a tight turn for me as I see in your two footed release. I don't have any video to share, but do you have any thoughts? ( I have read and practiced the tipping/flexing drills from essentials) Thanks!

Harald Harb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Harald Harb said...

The most common reason for the difficulty you are describing is sitting back on the heels. I teach this exercise all the time, to all levels of skiers and the most common problem skiers realize, is that they let the skis run out forward without keeping or pulling the feet back. When the feet are forward the skis will not turn without jerking them around. The two footed release is a very precise exercise and it tests even the most seasoned skiers. Don’t give up on it, as when you get how to hold your feet under your body, as you release, you will reach a new level of skiing.

Also visit the PMTS forum, (the link is on the blog front page) this topic is often discussed so you will find some helpful hints.

Best of luck,

Harald

bill r said...

Thanks very much, got to ski this AM and made keeping my feet fuurhter back the key thought. It made a big difference in ability to control speed on the steeper blues. Also a positive impact on the lower speed carving drills. Still plenty of work to do on that TFR drill, but improving. Thanks again- bill r.