2QH ZD\ WR ERRVW FRQfiGHQFH LQ \RXU VNLLQJ LV WR SDUN WKH PLQG DQG EH PRUH DZDUH RI ZKDW \RXU ERG\ LV GRLQJ LQ WKH PRPHQW ΖQ RWKHU ZRUGV VWRS WKLQNLQJ doubting, fearing, and judging.
students (or yourself) to actually do it.
Here are some suggestions: Q“Notice” instead of “try.” When you try too hard to perform, you tighten up. And what skier or snowboarder rides well when he or she is tense? “Instead of coaching someone to try tipping boards on edge, ask them to notice how far the boards are tipped,” says Walker. Assign a number scale – zero for a flat board; five for an edge angle so big you fall over. Ten have students call out their edge- angle values as they ski or ride. Trough experience, Self 2 will figure
QAddress fear. Every instructor has had a student under-perform because his or her mind was focused on a fear (for example, a steep pitch, obstacles on a run, a past injury, etc.). Ask students, “What does your fear feel like?” says Walker. Some may
out how much is enough, what isn’t enough, and what is too much. Tis is classic guided-discovery learning, and the Inner Game writers were espousing its value in 1974.
QPlay games and explore. Without skis or boards, play the “hands game.” Two opponents face each other with hands at shoulder height, touching palms. Te goal for each player is to make the opponent lose balance; they can move their hands in any way they want. Tey
say that their shoulders get tense or their legs get shaky when they look down the pitch. Again, Walker suggests bringing in a number scale to, for example, rate the degree of shoulder tightness. “How do your shoulders feel when you look down the pitch?” Walker will ask. “A ten? Well, how do they feel when you look to the side of the trail at these trees? Just a two?” Walker has students call out their numbers as they ski the run. At times, the numbers are high, but other times they’re not. Regardless, directing attention to a sensation caused by fear rather than the source of the fear helps students relax and ride better. Similarly, realizing that their fear isn’t universal helps them regain emotional control.
can’t move their feet, and their palms must remain in contact. Te player who pushes and resists the opponent, says Kriegel in Inner Skiing, uses lots of energy and tires quickly. Winners will usually blend; resisting an opponent’s force and then using it to gain an advantage. Skill blending obviously applies to skiing and riding too. Kriegel relates a story of a group gathered nervously at the top of a mogul field. “Look at the slope as if it were an opponent in the ‘push hands’ game,” he tells his group. He suggests using the moguls to help make turns, instead of fighting against them. (Kriegel’s group actually takes it a step further and, out loud, thanks each mogul for helping as they ski past.) “Part of concentration is a matter
of interest,” says Kriegel. Games and diversions can capture their interest. “We tend to think of concentration as an effort,” says Walker. Telling students to concentrate doesn’t work; getting
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