or maybe my skill level back then just wasn’t up to grasping them. Toward the end of last year, I tried to figure out how to do a parallel stop on my own (thought it looked really cool back then), and later I began researching how to turn in parallel...
It was all self-taught... and I actually made some progress. Later, I felt the distance between my skis was too wide, so I started trying to squeeze my knees together with gloves in between (I squeezed my knees, but didn’t bring my feet together...). I concluded that it was a matter of courage. Then I started trying to bring my legs and feet together and practice on beginner slopes. Once I got comfortable, I added little jumps while descending the slope (to build up courage) + traverse practice. I spent 30 days at this stage, and finally managed to ski with my legs together!!!
By this time, it was already February of this year. In the meantime, I had watched countless videos over and over again. Toward the end of February, I shifted my focus to Qiaobo, where I started figuring out giant slalom + slalom on my own
I trained at Qiaobo until early December—10 months in total. I usually went there full days on both Saturdays and Sundays (that was a serious commitment). Sometimes I went three times a week (taking leave to do so). During this period, I spent endless hours self-analyzing + struggling with form + repeatedly studying videos. I got so sick of watching my own videos, but kept correcting myself. A whole year’s hard work couldn’t go to waste!! On December 15, 2013, I went to Nanshan to test my skills. The person in the white shirt and red pants is me. Phone footage, low resolution—please bear with it.
In the end, I fell.