Over these two years, from the Japanese-style techniques I was first exposed to when I started out, to Lao Pu and Liu Ji, to Daweid, Robin, Neils... to Old Swordsman... I’d also like to talk about the technical characteristics and teaching philosophies emphasized by each of them.
1. Coach Park Tae-hyun: Addressing the common issues of self-taught skiers, he emphasizes that the downhill leg is key, extending downward and directing the extension properly. The hips must follow in time during turns, while the uphill leg doesn’t need to be overly emphasized.
2. Coach Liu Ji: Aimed at skilled intermediate and advanced skiers, he emphasizes the practice of the uphill leg—opening the inner knee (spreading the legs, "dropping the eggs," as he literally put it). Keep the upper body stable, relaxed, and facing the fall line without leaning the shoulders. The origin of movement is the knees, and the force comes from the proper release of thigh power, not from stomping the snow.
3. Robin: (Top three advanced ski instructor examiners in the U.S.) He emphasizes the integration of both feet, the center of gravity, and the stability of the upper body, using ankle flexion and rotation to control your posture during the glide. The force comes from the ankles moving side to side—not pushing down with the soles of the feet, which is very important. I tried it, and the effect was immediate...
If you’ve taken their classes, in summary: Lao Pu’s hips, Liu Ji’s knees, Robin’s ankles. As for Old Swordsman, forget all the above—he only teaches competitive skiing. I actually think the former foundations are excellent, and once you’ve solidified those, what Old Swordsman teaches becomes instantly clear and effortless. They interpret one thing from different angles: skiing. Coach Park won the slalom championship in Korea when he was young; Liu Ji was the national youth champion (but was cruelly forced into retirement because his family couldn’t afford the “respect” hinted at by his coach... damn the national system!). Luo Li told me that Robin only skis in the trees at Wanlong because the forests in the U.S. have towering trees and are too sparse for him—it’s not exciting. He saw Robin taking Wanlong coaches into the trees, one by one they fell behind, and the last one was Sun Lingling...
Not only does he ski well, but his teaching skills are also top-notch. I’ve been teaching my child for three years, coaxing her along once a year, so you can imagine her level. After just one run with Robin (coming down a beginner slope at Jundu), she became interested, and in the following days kept asking to ski with Robin. Robin found time to take her out three times in those three days—one session on the wedge, one parallel, and by the third day she could confidently handle the small bumps and two following moguls on Jundu’s Four-Link-Three trail... (That style of teaching really moved me—I’ll talk more about it another time). I don’t want to say too much about Old Swordsman; he’s very humble. He’s a coach with three sons, two of whom are Canadian national champions, and his wife is Canada’s alpine skiing counterpart to Ye Qiaobo...
I hope everyone will have the chance to meet high-level coaches and experience skiing from various perspectives, progressing from simple to complex, then back to simple...
I’m a straightforward person and sometimes name names, which has offended quite a few skiers. Colleagues and friends have advised me, and I’ve come to realize in my mind that my original intention is sincere communication and discussion—focusing on the issue, not the person. The other day at the Jundu night slope, I happened to see Shepherd. I wanted to go over and say hi but hesitated... A friend showed me his blog post from Chamonix, where he mentioned skiing in the backcountry and said he wanted to see how I would carve on such terrain. So I specifically asked Old Swordsman, and his response was: no problem, ski on the backcountry the same way you do on flat ground, which gave me even more confidence. If I get it down, I’ll definitely post the video, just like how some friends want to see my videos to judge whether I really ski that well. I wonder if I’ll get the chance this season to have a friend record me and, like Xiao Bei, hand in my homework at the end of the season.