Learn the PMTS "Phantom Move" from Marcel Hirscher!

The brilliance of Marcel Hirscher has never been in question!

In this sequence of photos, I'll explain one of the many technical movement patterns that served Hirscher well during his racing dominance.

This is a typical Hirscher turn with lower body tipping angles.

Hirscher's release of the turn began with his bending and retracting of the stance leg. This is the exact movement I describe in my first book as the "Phantom Move". I wrote my book well before, Hirscher appeared on the scene. before I knew Hirscher existed or saw him ski. He is the perfect PMTS skier. My book was a best-seller, but highly criticized by PSIA and instructors, for this radical approach and description of how you could learn to ski. My book gave regular skiers access to learning World Cup skier movements. These movements are totally contrary to what is taught in traditional ski instruction.

Here he lifts the tip of the stance ski and the transfer to the new ski is completed. Notice how the old stance leg knee (the new inside knee) is lifted higher than the new stance leg knee. When recreational skiers achieve this movement, it creates a huge breakthrough in their skiing.

The lifted ski then becomes the ski that is aggressively tipping first toward the little toe edge side of the ski. This is pure PMTS, from the "Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier", book.

Tipping the new inside ski continues to lead the angle development for the new turn. He has completed the float phase of the transition.

The knees show which foot and ankle Hirscher is focused on tipping to prepare for the forces and load coming up to the outside ski in this turn.

 

The World Cup Season is in Full swing. What is big and what isn't, misconceptions already abound!

Misconceptions I've already read and heard from analysts in the 2023 season. 

"Odermatt extends in his GS skiing." This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there in ski technique. He never pushes off to extend, and just using that wrong terminology can set back a development skier for years.

If you look at this release and think it's an extension you better go back and change your instructor manual.

                                                

                                                  This is just before he releases. 

                      Here again, Odermatt uses the classic retraction, bend, flex, release. 

Sure there is an extension in skiing and one leg gets longer than the other, but not by pushing into the snow, against the snow, therefore lengthening the leg. The most important thing people should have learned from Hirscher is to transition without pressuring the skis (the float). That is why we call the transition a float across and a change of edges with no pressure on the skis. A retraction release is the GOLD Standard in performance skiing. Odermatt accomplishes this by using a strong retraction of the legs using the energy he created from the forces of the turn and the bend of the ski.