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MID SEASON
NANCY FIDDLER
Contributing Editor for The Master Skier
Nancy is a two-time Olypian and 14 time National Champion.Besides running masters programs in Mammoth Lakes, CA, she coaches high school skiing and works with Far West Juniors.
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Part one of a two-part series.
I like to classic ski. Skating is lots of fun, too, but I have to admit that a good hard wax classic skiing day is tops. Perhaps it’s because I learned to ski in the classic technique way back then, but maybe there’s more to it than nostalgia.
I find the movement pattern of the diagonal stride to be quite natural and pleasing. To me, there’s nothing comparable to the feeling of the smooth forward momentum generated by a well-timed, solid kick.
- The arms and legs working together with the efficiency of a well-tuned machine create a beautiful rhythm of kick and glide.
Yes, classic skiing can be all of that, but to watch a good classic skier can be deceptive. It’s one of those things that look so seamless and easy, but is indeed quite difficult. I am afraid that there is no short cut to good classic technique, only patience and hard work.
It has taken me years to come up with the decent classic technique I own today. I wish all my students could have been on the sidelines watching me learn to ski on that long ago cold winter day on the Bates College soccer field.
I had just joined the college ski team, and clad in Levis and a down jacket, I struggled around the skied- in track while my experienced teammates glided easily past me.
The frustration I felt on that day is burned into my memory. It was all about the kick, which I didn’t have.
The struggle factor was huge, but I eventually got it, and when I did, it was one of those ?Eureka? moments. I have been perfecting it ever since.
There’s definitely more to this than nostalgia, because, to tell the truth, I wouldn’t want to go back to that first winter of cross-country skiing!
I had ‘college issue’ skis that were too long, I was black and blue all over from negotiating the icy New England courses, and I really had no idea what I was doing, even though I won every Division II race I entered that winter.
I did figure out the timing of the kick, but was in such a state of lack of awareness that I didn’t equate having good kick wax with good kick. Our coach helped us administer wax at Monday’s practice, but I don’t remember waxing again during the week until the race on the weekend.
I had a distinct philosophy about race waxing. I was all too happy to skip the glide wax part, because, as far as I was concerned, I was already going faster than was safe on the downhills. My skis got waxed anyway because one of my teammates did it when I was still in bed!
Nothing worthwhile is achieved without struggle. That’s pretty hard-core, but I think it applies to learning to ski well.
I gave you my little story of struggle and perseverance, now I will prepare you for your own. The first thing to do is to throw away your waxless skis. Well, okay, you can keep them, but you might want to put them out of sight. Maybe just lose them for a while.
Waxless skis are a wonderful tool, and I confess to owning a pair myself, but I never skied on waxless skis until I retired from ski racing. I use mine for skiing with the dog and shuffling around with the little kids.
It’s not possible to learn good technique on them, and skiers who are just learning to classic ski or who have trouble with getting good kick are hurting themselves by skiing on waxless skis. There is no struggle on waxless skis, therefore no learning.
I have taught skiing to the general public for 23 years. Waxless skis have become the standard rental for beginners for obvious reasons. It is possible to go out and have a skiing experience with little hassle on waxless skis.
My problem with learning on waxless is that you can pull off a kick at almost any time and move forward. The ski doesn’t even have to be fully weighted! The result is anything from walking to shuffling on skis.
I don’t wish to return to the Dark Ages, when beginners learned on waxable skis (I worked at Trapp Family Lodge in 1978-9, where my sole responsibility was to get up in the morning and put the wax du jour on all the rental skis), but for aspiring junior skiers and master racers, I believe that learning on waxable is important. These two groups of skiers seem most likely to fall into the ease of using waxless skis.
Good kick is possible only when the ski is fully weighted. What we need to develop is good one-foot balance. Easy enough standing still, but not so when you are moving.
One-ski balance is the limiting factor in the diagonal stride, but even more so is basic body position.
I have seen my students show a perfect basic athletic stance standing in place, but then lose it the minute they diagonal stride. Gone are the rounded backs and the flexed knees and ankles. Legs are straightened, the hips are pushed back and the kick is too late.
The immediate response to this chain of events is to run back to the wax box and put on more and/or warmer wax. This ensures a good workout, but doesn’t make you a better skier. And as we all know, too much or too warm a kick wax makes for some doggy skis.
The kick in the diagonal stride is created by a downward force over the kick pocket of the ski. We must be in perfect position to pull this off. In other words, our weight needs to be directly over the kicking foot. In addition, we need to be in perfect balance to deliver the quickness required. Watch a good classic skier and notice how still the upper body is during the kicking phase of the stride.
Preparation for the kick begins during the glide phase, when the skier has achieved balance over the front, soon to be kicking foot. The skier is relaxed and balanced and then whammo! The kick is delivered quickly and without any extraneous movement to the quick downward force.
The hands are low and the push with the pole is timed to happen with the kick. The result is forward momentum. That said, how to we go about improving our kick?
There are drills and ways to isolate different things, but I favor taking a ski technique, such as the diagonal stride, and doing different things with the whole stride.
Let me give you some examples. A fun way to practice one ski balance is to ski without poles. Most of you probably know this and some of you even practice it.
After working on flat terrain without poles, try striding down a gradual hill. Whoa! All of a sudden the task got a little harder.
Most people, when they first attempt this, fail to commit to the forward ski. It’s scary to feel your weight move forward over an accelerating ski. It’s much safer to sit back.
This exercise is not about kick, but it puts the body in the correct position to kick, because as we already know, the glide foot becomes the kicking foot.
In order to stay up with the ski on a gradual downhill, you have to flex the ankle and knee and trust. If you commit fully to this position, your hip will be over your foot and you will be quite safe.
Once you get the hang of this downhill stride without poles, work on holding the glide for longer and longer. Next, try steeper terrain.
It’s all about locking that ankle into the flexed position and keeping the hands low. Go one step further and practice this exercise in the skate lane.
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