Harald Harb's Essentials of Skiing (Includes Free DVD)
by Harald Harb
Our Price: $34.94
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Harald HarbEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-12-01
ISBN: 1578262178
Number of pages: 104
Publisher: Hatherleigh
Book Reviews of Harald Harb's Essentials of Skiing (Includes Free DVD)
Book Review: Essential reading for ski improvement!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a masterpiece of ski instruction and deserves to be appreciated on many levels.
At the simplest level, the book has drills, which, when practiced, will bring effective movements into your skiing. These movements give much greater control, with less effort.
For a more focused skier, cues are provided for self-coaching, to be sure you are performing the drills accurately. Review of video of your skiing, in slow motion, will disclose any movements, like stemming, steering, and skidding, that are clues that execution of the movements could be improved.
If you already ski well, but want to bump your performance up a few notches, then Harb's conceptual and technical explanations and diagrams can trigger an understanding of how even subtle movements can have a big impact. Each of the essentials has a significant interaction with the other essentials. Greater finesse in performing one essential will enhance the effectiveness of other movements. In its explanations of these reinforcing actions, the book demonstrates its greatest level of insight.
All of the above observations are based on serial readings of the book, dryland and on-snow practice of the drills, video analysis, and PMTS coaching. When the movements are done correctly, the skis just behave better!
Throughout the book, the writing is clear and the pictures and diagrams clarify the text. The included DVD complements the stop-action photos. The book is 202 pages long, not 104 as noted in the listing.
If you are serious about improving your skiing, look no further for a book to aid your development. Some suggestions about how to get the most benefit:
1. read it through cover to cover to get a good understanding of the concepts
2. practice the drills and pay careful attention to the cues that indicate whether you are performing the tasks correctly
3. spend time repeating the drills until you can easily do them accurately
4. verify your performance by analysis of your tracks, video, or a knowledgeable observer or coach, preferably Harb trained
5. alternate between drills and free skiing, but pay attention while free skiing to be sure you incorporate the movement patterns from the drills
6. The PMTS forum is a great place to get answers to both simple and complex questions and to post video for critiquing. Harb himself, as well as PMTS savvy folks, post responses. To find it, use the search terms: pmtsforum
While still technically consistent with the Anyone Can be An Expert Skier volumes I and II, the style of presentation is very different and the explanations and diagrams approach the concepts from a different angle than the earlier books.. Those who have studied volumes I and II in detail will still find new material, like dryland and on-the-snow drills. In short, Essentials is completely complementary to Harb's earlier works.
Updated review 2/12/2009:
Subsequent to the publication of the book/DVD combo, Harb published a 3 DVD set with 2 hours of additional instruction. These DVDs are available only from the harbskisystems web-site at a price of $75 for the set.
The book's DVD serves to make the many stop-action photos in the book dynamic. It provides a flavor for what the movements look like when executed in real life, effectively complementing the written descriptions in the book.
By comparison, the Essentials DVD set is more like taking a private lesson from Harb. Not only are the book's exercises more extensively demonstrated, there are a number of new drills that have been added. Plus, his demonstrations show the progression from stationary practice to incorporation into skiing in different types of terrain. He demonstrates not only the correct movements, but also shows errors that are commonly made--as though you are right there getting feedback from your last run.
The videography is superb, with close-ups showing key details and lots of stop-action shots and overlaying diagrams to highlight the specific movement pattern. Watching the DVD in slow-motion highlights the specific actions and is even better than watching him ski in person, kind of like watching a football game on TV instead of at the stadium. The chapters and exercises are also directly accessible from a menu.
The instructional content of the DVDs, like that of the book, is astoundingly good. Most in-person ski lessons seem to operate on the assumption that just a few selected tips from the instructor's bag of tricks will make all the difference. Harb offers no such illusions. On the other hand, he has laid out a detailed curriculum that in fact can completely change how one skis. With the complementing upper body movements his explication is particularly profound. The paradox is that the upper body appears "quiet," that is nearly motionless, but in reality is vigorously active, supporting the movements of the feet and legs. His explanations and demonstrations make these hidden actions completely evident and learnable. Once they are incorporated into skiing, the skis behave remarkably differently.
In short, the Essentials DVD series greatly amplifies the book/DVD content and makes it even more accessible.
December 4, 2009 Update:
At the moment, copies are in short supply on Amazon. The HarbSkiSystems web store still has them available.
Summary of Harald Harb's Essentials of Skiing (Includes Free DVD)
The world's greatest ski instructor shows you the eight key steps to skiing perfection.Twenty years ago, Harald Harb revolutionized learning to ski with his Primary Movement Teaching System. Harald has personally trained thousands of recreational skiers and many thousands more have mastered skiing through his books and videos. Now Harald reveals to readers everywhere the eight basic lessons that grant immediate improvement to any skier at any level.
Essentials of Skiing is an easy-to-use yet powerful eight-step program proven to create success on the slopes. With in-depth descriptions and clear, detailed photos, the techniques and exercises will benefit skiers at every level from the novice to the most advanced.
Essentials of Skiing will show you how to:
? Perfectly coordinate your upper and lower body movements
? Increase your pure balancing ability
? Improve your range of motion without muscle strain
? Expertly handle bumps, carving, turns, poles and much, much more
Whatever your level, Essentials of Skiing is your guarantee of skiing success. 200 photos.
Downhill Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Downhill Books
The World Athlete Series: Italy at the 2006 Winter Olympics, featuring Cross-country Skiing, Luge, Speed Skating, Bobsleigh, and Short Track Speed Skating Medalists and Alpine Skiing Competitorsby Ben Marley
6 Degrees Books; Published: 2010-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops:
The World Athlete Series: Great Britain at the 2006 Winter Olympics, featuring Alpine Skiing, Bobsleigh, and Curling Competitorsby Robert Dobbie
Webster's Digital Services; Published: 2010-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.02
Price in other shops:
Alpine Ski Fundamentalsby United States Ski and Snowboard Association
US Ski and Snowboard Association; Published: 2003; DVD; Book
Best price: $40.00
Jackson Hole: On a Grand Scaleby David Gonzales
Mountain Sports Press; Published: 2002-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.76
Price in other shops:
Alpine High: Skiing, Hiking and Rock Climbing Versesby Stuart Kinkade
Stuart Kinkade; Published: 2002-09-21; Plastic Comb; Book
Best price: $9.95
The Mountain Biker's Guide to Ski Resorts: Where to Ride Downhill in New York, New England, and Northeastern Canada (Bicycling)by Robert Immler
Backcountry Guides; Published: 2003-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.23
Price in other shops:
In Search of Powder: A Story of America's Disappearing Ski Bumby Jeremy Evans
Bison Books; Published: 2010-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.84
Price in other shops:
USA Sports Ski Atlas: The Complete Guide to Alpine and Nordic Ski Areas in The...by Will K. Balliett, Balliett & Fitzgerald, F. Stop Fitzgerald
Gousha; Published: 1994-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.95
Summit: 150 Years of the Alpine Clubby George Band
HarperCollins UK; Published: 2007-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $145.79
The Complete Snowboarderby Jeff Bennett, Scott Downey
Mcgraw-Hill; Published: 1994; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Ultimate Skiingby Ron LeMaster
Human Kinetics; Human Kinetics; Published: 2009-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.79
Price in other shops:
Breakthrough on Skis I: Expert Skiing SimplifiedRelease date: 1993-10-01; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Sofa Ski School - From Blue to Black DiamondSofa Ski School; Sports
Best price: $27.90
Price in other shops:
Total Skiingby Chris Fellows
Human Kinetics; Human Kinetics; Published: 2010-12-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 1: The New Way to Ski, Revised Editionby Harald Harb
Hatherleigh Press; Published: 2003-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.95
Breakthrough on Skis II: Bumps & Powder SimplifiedRelease date: 1995-10-01; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 1: The New Way to Ski (Includes Bonus DVD)by Harald R. Harb
Hatherleigh Press; Published: 2004-11-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $149.93
Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 2: Powder, Bumps, and Carving (Includes Bonus DVD)by Harald Harb
Hatherleigh Press; Published: 2004-11-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $124.99
The New Guide to Skiing: A Step-by-Step Guide in Color, Revised Editionby Martin Heckelman
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2000-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
All-Mountain Skier : The Way to Expert Skiingby R. Elling
International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; Published: 2002-09-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops: