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Are lessons bad?

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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
I've been skiing all of my life, learning how to ski thanks to my dad. while he showed me a little of the basics, i never had a professional lesson. It took a little while to learn parallel turns, but i just did whatever i needed to to follow him down. Now im doing park and all, and i can hit any line on the mountian.
Anyways, i was just wondering if lessons are contrary to skiing. people have different bodies for one, and no one skiing style will fit thier phyique. I know that my skiing has a lot of 'skid' to it, but i dont care, its the most comfortable way for me to ski. so i guess, voice your opinion, especcially people who have never taken lessons to get where they are. are you better with or without lessons?


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Dec 27 2002 12:57PM
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sxeskier
Posts: 350 - Karma: 10
I am a psia certified ski instructor and have been teaching for 3 years now. From what i have seen and learned it seems that alot of it depends on the instructor. Ski lessons can help you in many ways and improve your skiing all over. But you dont need them to become a good skier. I have learned alot of things that i did not know about skiing in my clinics and certification classes and i hope i can pass all my knowledge on to others by teaching. I think lessons can be a good tool and if you decide to take lessons weekly it can be a good idea to ask for different instructors each time because everyone has there little turn or twist that can work for you. As far as park skiing you really dont need much carving or plain skiing skill basicly you get your self to and from the jump/rail on your feet and your ok. But i recommend trying to build your skiing all around not just in park cuz thats where the challenge grows. Do up some moguls, gates, ride some pow. Its all good. Go out have some fun.
Dec 27 2002 1:13PM
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Gregg
Posts: 713 - Karma: 11
I find that lessons are good for building the basics of skiing. As you said yourself, your turns have skid in them. A skid is not a proper ski turn - a carve is.

That said, I did take lessons in both alpine skiing and in snowboarding. However, I have taught myself the telemark turn. In looking at this, I am sure I could have taught myself to tele-turn without any background in alpine skiing or snowboarding, but I would have to say that the ease at which I can perform a tele-turn is directly related to my instruction and experience in the other two sports.


Telefreeride: big boards, free heels, no poles, all soul
Dec 27 2002 1:17PM
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Caden
Posts: 3213 - Karma: 10
lessons helped me loearn when i was young.. after about 12 years old i went on my own.... just going out there and doing it teaches youa lot, but when you aare young, i think it's best to ahve someone show u how to do it correctly...


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Dec 27 2002 1:27PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
I took lessons the first four years of my skiing, but then Ig ot to the point, where the lessons weren't helping me become a better skier, and they actually were holding me back. However, those lessons taught me the basics and now I consider myself an extremely good skier, and when I go to bigger mountains,I can hit basically any slope on it.

And even skiing on your own, is a lesson in itself.
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Dec 27 2002 1:34PM
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tremblantripper
Posts: 1501 - Karma: 18
i took lesssons a few years ago, it was just little things they taught that made my skiing better, like keeping your hands forward makes a big difference



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Dec 27 2002 1:34PM
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D-spin
Posts: 3609 - Karma: 21
I took lessons then i snowboarded for 2 years and tought my self to ski after that...

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Dec 27 2002 2:06PM
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snomaster
Posts: 3344 - Karma: 5,748
it definitly depends on the instructor.
i get kinda annoyed at most PSIA instructors because they get too anal about little shit and they don't teach people to be aggressive enough.

I raced all through middle and high school, and took lessons before that through an elementary school program. I also have worked as an instructor for 4 different seasons.

Now I yell obsenities at PSIA instructors from the chair and when I ski by them (only when they are training together, like during early season seminars). I think that they need to do a much better job of helping people overcome fear. I hate watching people come out of PSIA instruction who all ski the same boring way.

The kids I taught used to love my lessons because they were fun and challenging. I can be technical but things get to a point where you just want to uke...
Dec 27 2002 2:11PM
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powder99
Posts: 2761 - Karma: 12
its good as long as you don't get some fuck trying to teach you when he or she can't ski worth shit. i see it all the time intructors that are so horrible and don't know what the fuck they are saying, if you want a instructor that will help you make better turns get one that has race experience
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Dec 27 2002 2:52PM
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gravteck
Posts: 2390 - Karma: 13
I'm a ski instructor, not psia certified (cause I don't want to pay to be fricken psia), but I've had all the training for the tests. Anyway, I skied well before I ever took my instructor training, but there were so many fine points that I didn't really think about or notice too much that really help your skiing. I think lessons can help you if the instructor actually watches you ski and can deduce what you need to learn... some instructors are dicks and try to overhaul the whole thing.
Dec 27 2002 2:56PM
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SUpilot
Posts: 5267 - Karma: 15
all of the skiing instructors where i am arent really that good at all because they are 90% kids that want to be an instructor so that they can get a free season pass. i've never had a real lesson either...but i've been skiing with people that are really good since i was a wee lad.
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Dec 27 2002 5:39PM
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enemy1080
Posts: 510 - Karma: 11
this year i am a rookie instructor and i have learned that the PSIA bullshit means nothing. i don't want to speak for all instructors but our instructors are very good at the basic ideas of skiing but when it comes to style they have none. skiing needs to be all style that is how we progress in skiing. all that counter rotation and over-under turning horseshit, is just that horseshit. so lets all go rip some shit up and not care about if we are skiing right, lets ski with style!!!!!
Dec 27 2002 6:32PM
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Sk2jibberKI
Posts: 36 - Karma: 10
Lessons helped when I started when I was 2.
Dec 27 2002 6:41PM
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CrystalineSkier
Posts: 1065 - Karma: 16
I took lessons from age 3 to age 11. by age 11, i was good enough that that year i taught my instructor. for the last 5 years i've been on my own, and i can ride any line someone asks me to.
My friend Alex has also been skiing for his life, and only took two lessons. We ski together all the time and our styles, while unique, look similar. Without lessons, i wouldn't have become as good as i am now, and with lessons, Alex would have a little better form. but do lessons really matter? it all depends on the person that takes him, and the instructors. Mine were badass till age 11, so that probably helped in my earlier years.

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Dec 27 2002 7:19PM
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Rogge
Posts: 5773 - Karma: 3,930
I took lessons from 5-8 and then i kind of took what i learned in the lessons and improved my skiing. Then a few years ago i became an instructor and they had sat. clinics that def. helped.
Dec 27 2002 7:22PM
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Ski_Instructor_Mike
Posts: 6146 - Karma: 73
it definitly depends on the instructor. I started off in lessons. but the first day I wnet out and ripped some hugely leaned carved turns on the hill. then the instructor that I had would tell me that I had to ski in a wedge the whole time and tried to hold me back instead of switching me to a new class. so it completely depends on the instructor.

And skiing one of the only sports where the better you are the less work you do. the CSIA way (and PSIA i guess) are the best way they've found to make skiing effortless. So most instructors ski similar but they have different styles and when you completely pick apart skiing you can see that. When you recognize people's 'style' for the most part you're seeing what they're doing wrong, so if someone isn't doing that much wrong it's harder to pick out their style.
-Mike

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Dec 27 2002 9:18PM
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mommy
Posts: 12072 - Karma: 59
lessons are horrible. anything that helps you learn how to ski must be the work of satan.
Dec 27 2002 11:46PM
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skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
holy shit, lessons were the best thing ever for me... eventually i learned so much shit that igot into the most advanced class with this really chill huy, and every year, he was the intructor for that paricular class... and then he tought me so much more out of classes then we just skied so i got waaaayyyyyyyyy better than i ever would of without lessons... i suppose its luck with lessons
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Dec 27 2002 11:53PM
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KootenayGuy
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 10
cool, im gonna consider lessons now, cuz my paralell turns arent really paralell...

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Dec 28 2002 12:56AM
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Diabhal
Posts: 1003 - Karma: 10
no save yourself NOW! My freeride camp at seymour got cancelled after i paid, so i got transfered to this lesson camp so that i could keep my pass(i got it really cheap if i took lessons). So anyway i got stuck getting pointers on turning for three hours straight, back and forth across the trail, not being able to hit nice powder lines, having to look like fruit pie in the morning. So don't tkae lessons unless you can get private lessons and let the instructor know you want to get better at your turns but not do some lame ass shit.
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Dec 28 2002 1:39AM
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akenemy
Posts: 79 - Karma: 10
I think lessons are great, I have had my FIS 1, for 2 years now and have been teaching out of Snowhawks four 1 year in there bumps program.

Come to Snowhawks newschool is fading in this program.....
Dec 28 2002 4:50AM
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switch_skodeo
Posts: 304 - Karma: 11
when you're starting off, take a couple of lessons for sure and after that go into some drop-in ones like once or twice every season to make sure your technique's sound and you aren't cutting corners. however, it highly depends on your instructor, i've had some dopes one but by far the worst was this 43 year-old single lady who thought she was the hypest thing on the mount and she must've gotten certified a long time ago because i realized that what she taught was out-dated.
Dec 28 2002 5:11PM
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scratch169
Posts: 293 - Karma: 10
i am mad sweet ass honey
Dec 28 2002 5:22PM
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skier_chick_360
Posts: 1693 - Karma: 10
Im also an instructor and growing up I used to beg my mom to put me in lessons at Blue cause i finally had someone who could keep up with me. But I agree with the whole 'it depends on the instructor' Some of the older guys who are still by the book are boring and its so technically.. but at the same time very good if thats what ur looking for. I usually teach kids from 9-14. Andwe are all over our hill. I ski hard and fast and the kids i teach end up skiing hard and fast and love it. I have created a following in the club i teach in... a bunch of kids will only come back if im gonna be around to teach them... (not to bragg or anything) I try to teach everything in a way that makes sense and really makes it fun to ski and make people enjoy the time on the hill. A strange stat. I heard the other week was something like of the 80% of people who try skiing only 10% of people stick with it, for various reasons of course but one the the big ones was instruction or lack thereof.
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Dec 28 2002 6:14PM
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freeskiing04
Posts: 4454 - Karma: 10
i think that if u learn to ski better yourself you will have a unique style, and u prolly will be better...i learned just a pizza turn and i went from there now im doing steeps w/ moguls and the park..so....you know..whatever u think
Dec 28 2002 7:24PM
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aggro_sk8
Posts: 2760 - Karma: 18
if you think there's something you need to work on and you need someone else's help go for it, dont wuss out on being a better skier b/c you dont think they know what there doing

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Dec 28 2002 10:03PM
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aggro_sk8
Posts: 2760 - Karma: 18
if you think there's something you need to work on and you need someone else's help go for it, dont wuss out on being a better skier b/c you dont think they know what there doing

This subversive propaganda has been brought to you by The Republican Army.
Dec 28 2002 10:03PM
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