On December 30, 2012, the Green Field Skiing Section launched the "Coach Park Taehyun's Free Ski Technique Training Class" at Shijinglong, focusing on the basic techniques of giant slalom and slalom turns. Lao Pu was very professional and taught with great enthusiasm, and everyone learned very seriously. I’m submitting this report a bit late, and to make up for it, I’m also sharing the content of my conversations with Lao Pu on the chairlift and my own insights. My memory is a bit hazy, so I referred to the reports from fellow learners like Red Mercenary, Mimi Lake, Plane, Anthony66, TORA, etc., with links provided at the end. Apologies for any copying. The following content stays as true as possible to Lao Pu’s teachings, with a bit of my own interpretation — please correct me if I misunderstood anything.

1. Initiative
Lao Pu told us right from the start that on the slopes, your skis move faster than your body, which can cause your center of gravity to lag behind and your speed to increase. This is likely the main reason beginners lose control of their skis and fall, or why more advanced skiers have distorted movements and can’t ski as freely as they’d like. You need to proactively move your body to control the skis and manage your speed; your movements should be anticipatory and actively adapt to changes in the slope and speed. I understand skiing as a sport that challenges both nature and yourself — being proactive is better than being passive.

2. Commonalities Between Giant Slalom and Slalom
Lao Pu repeatedly emphasized during both morning and afternoon sessions that the techniques and principles of giant slalom and slalom are fundamentally the same. Both require smooth, complete turns, with a trajectory made up of one connected semi-circle after another (it should be an S-shape, not sharp Z-turns or snaking paths); both require flexing down and extending the body to shift your center of gravity, help edge the skis, and complete the turn; … anyone want to add more? People like me who’ve learned parallel turns can more or less grasp the key points of giant slalom, but when it comes to slalom — including edging (carving), scraping the snow — these terms and techniques still confuse me. I believe there must be differences between giant and slalom in terms of movement amplitude, frequency, timing, and pole planting, and there may be different schools of thought, but Lao Pu’s guidance has solidified the direction for us intermediate and beginner skiers: progressing from giant slalom technique toward slalom.

3. Extension and Flexion
Lao Pu placed strong emphasis on the extension and flexion movements during turns. As you turn your hips into the arc, extend upwards and forwards at the 0-point of the turn path — boldly rise diagonally upward and forward, shifting your center of gravity upwards and forwards, releasing the pressure your body puts on the skis so they can slide naturally (if you don’t extend and keep the downward-flexed posture, the skis will stop on the slope). This also stores potential energy for the next step of pressing into the ski. The skis will then point toward the fall line — this is also when they’re moving fastest (around the 3 o’clock / 9 o’clock position of the turn path). For beginners, facing the fall line in a high stance truly takes courage. Immediately afterward, flex your body forward (if you don’t flex down, the skis will rush straight down the fall line; if you don’t flex forward, your center of gravity will lag behind). The skis and your body complete the turn together — this movement feels like a “Z” shape made of your “upper body - thighs - calves” compressing like a spring (just bowing your upper body is wrong, and just squatting your lower body isn’t enough). Repeat this process to complete one turn after another. During practice, make your movements big and full so the coach can observe them, and so you can better feel their effect.
If we place modern skis (with wide tips and narrow waists) on a slope, they’ll naturally trace an arc along the fall line. Therefore, carving skiing requires both edging the ski and using your body to apply pressure on the ski to bend it and reduce the turning radius. Lao Pu believes that on hard slopes (and I think also for beginners), the degree and intensity of knee flexion are limited, so he especially emphasizes using extension to increase the range of flexion. In reality, as a beginner, it’s initially hard to comprehend or execute the edging movement. Proper extension and flexion can let you ignore foot movements and rely on your sense of the snow to execute parallel turns smoothly, then gradually get the feel of shifting your center of gravity from the inside edge of the downhill foot at turn entry to the inside edge of the downhill foot at turn exit, and finally understand the subtleties of the outside edge of the inside foot.

4. The Hips Are the Steering Wheel
Lao Pu compared skiing to driving, with the hips as the steering wheel and the skis as the tires. When entering a turn...Turning your hips ahead of time allows your center of gravity to guide the skis; otherwise, the skis drag your center of gravity along.I still have quite a few confusions about this: I think Lao Pu mentioned something like...Should your gaze turn downhill (or into the turn) before you turn your hips? Subconsciously, I can turn smoothly without actively turning my hips — do I need to make this a deliberate movement?Or maybe I turned my hips without realizing it?What are the different requirements for hip rotation in big vs. small turns?Most techniques emphasize that skiing is a lower-body movement — is the upper body just passively following the hip turn with slight rotation?

5. The Inside Edge of the Downhill Ski Is the Foundation of the Turn
Lao Pu emphasized that the downhill ski bearing weight is the foundation of the turn. The morning giant slalom session had an exercise where we extended our outer hand forward during turns, and the afternoon slalom session had an exercise where we lifted the inner foot and turned using just the outer ski — both helped us appreciate the importance of the downhill ski’s inside edge. For giant slalom, during the first half of the turn, the center of gravity mainly rests on the inside edge of the downhill foot, and after extension, the center of gravity shifts to the other foot — i.e., the second half of the turn also has the center of gravity on the inside edge of the downhill foot. For slalom, when the inner foot is lifted, the turn can be completed solely relying on the inside edge of the outer foot (with some scraping). Once you’ve mastered the inside edge of the downhill ski, intermediate and advanced skiers can then try gradually distributing the center of gravity between both feet, or — as shown in many videos — specifically practicing the outside edge of the inner foot.

6. Pole Planting
Lao Pu believes that after the wide-tip skis replaced straight skis, turns became easier, and for slalom, pole planting is no longer essential. The main purpose of pole planting is to move your center of gravity forward and maintain the rhythm of the turn. I specifically asked him about pole planting on the chairlift, and the basic conclusion was: you can skip pole planting in giant slalom, you can plant or lightly touch for carved slalom, and you should plant for scraping and moguls (please verify this for me?).
Lao Pu emphasized:Use your wrist for pole planting — the movement should be as simple as possible. For giant slalom or higher speeds, tap lightly so the rebound doesn’t become resistance. The rhythm is: body flexes down — pole plant — rise up. While skiing, hold the poles in front of your chest (his assistant told me to keep them within your field of vision), both to assist in leaning your center of gravity forward and to allow minimal arm movement for the pole plant — I must remember this point well.

7. Parallel Legs
Lao Pu said that during skiing and turning, the distance between the two skis shouldn’t be too small,otherwise the skis may clash when edging or switching edges. Giant slalom should use a shoulder-width stance (or even wider?), which helps maintain stability while skiing, whereas I used to mistakenly think slalom required legs as close together as possible. When I asked Lao Pu again on the chairlift, his general idea was that for scraped slalom and moguls, you should bring your legs together to unify them for better directional control, while for carved slalom, you should use an open stance to keep sufficient space between the skis.Should I ask Lao Pu or the experts on the slopes about this again?

Due to time constraints, Lao Pu couldn’t correct everyone’s posture individually, but he taught several practice methods for giant and slalom turns, which Red Mercenary and Mimi Lake documented in detail. I attended the afternoon slalom session mostly as a listener, and even took a few runs for fun, so I didn’t catch everything. For anything not covered here, please refer to the reports from other skiers.

Finally, thank you to Lao Pu and his assistants for their selfless dedication, and thanks to Green Field for organizing this event. Friends, let’s discuss on the forum and meet on the slopes.

Red Mercenaries
2012.12.30 Summary of Coach Park Tae-hyun’s Volunteer Ski Technique Training Event http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-601568-1-1.html

Mysterious Lake
Learn to Ski with Coach Park – The Giant Slalom Edition http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-601811-1-1.html

Airplane
Short Notes on Learning to Ski with Coach Park http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-601624-1-1.html

Anthony66
Reflections on Attending Coach Park’s Volunteer Training http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-601979-1-1.html

TORA
December 30, 2012, Shijinglong – Collection of Coach Park’s Teaching Sessions http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-601826-1-1.html