Our Learning Philosophy - 7 golden rules for learning how to ski
These 7 rules are the foundation for all our learning material. We believe that they are essential to a fast, fun and safe learning experience.
1. Have fun!
Having fun is the ultimate reason for skiing. And it only gets more fun as you get better. Treat the learning proces with care and great respect, but do not take things to seriously. Add a bit of playfulness and remember to smile.
2. Be and Feel Safe
There is no fun and no progress made if you are injured. Progress is made when you feel safe and ready to overcome the challenge it is to learn a new thing. Only move to the next step in our Learn to Turn book series, when you have practiced and feel confident on the current step. Always chose easy terrain, when trying something new. Any new movement must be learned in a safe environment with as few other challenges (too much traffic, challenging snow conditions, poor visibility etc.) as possible.
3. Babysteps are the fastest way
When you take many small steps in the right direction, you will set yourself up for having many successes. Baby steps will prevent injury (caused by trying too much too soon) and feed the motivating voice in your head saying: YES YOU CAN! YOU DID IT! YOU ARE AWESOME!
4. You have to experience it with your body…
You cannot learn a new movement or physical skill only by reading about it (but please keep reading… - and then try it!). You have to try it and feel it on your body: you have to ski to learn how to ski.
5. …and, It helps when you understand it with your head
Even though you have to ski to learn how to ski, it can be a great help to know what to aim for to create the desired results. The more you understand cognitively, the easier it will be for you to choose the right movements. Practice with knowledge yield better results.
6. Learn new movements under easy circumstances before applying them under difficult ones
There is always an easy and safe way to practice a new skill. The steps in our Learn to Turn book series are designed so you have already practiced a movement under easy circumstances on early steps, when you need it to overcome a new challenge on a later step. That way the learning process will be much easier and safer.
7. Hire a good ski instructor
If you read our step-by-step guides and articles and watch our free video ski tutorials it will definitely be a great help when you learn how to ski. Ideally, however, I would be right there with you on the snow to guide you through the steps. Having a good ski instructor with you on the snow has many advantages.
A ski instructor can help you decide when its time to move on to the next step, identify causes of experienced problems and suggest solutions to try, choose the right terrain for the next challenge, cheer you up if needed and much more. I have had many great ski instructors that have helped my progress a lot - and having a good ski instructor with you on the snow, will help your progress too.