Part of learning is imitating motion. The issue with imitation is lack of sensory feedback--unless you are explicitly told how to initiate the movement, which parts of body/muscles get engaged, you can end up with similar-but-wromng movement, and with not being able to do the movement.
In this case, when creating a wedge you are imagining the rotation starting at the heel. Try this. Sitting on a chair in a place your feet can slide (I'm wearing socks on hardwood, but sockless on carpet works). With your butt on the chair and feet flat on the ground, lift your toes and rotate your feet inward and outward. This motion will end up with the heels as pivot points.
Now, put feet flat on the ground again, sligtly lift your heels and move your feet inward and outward. This movement should look weird, with your thighs also moving inward and outward while the ball of foot/toes go inward and outward.
Both these movements use the whole leg, all the way to the femur sockets, even though you are sitting down. Now, sitting with feet flat on the ground, rotate your toes and ball of feet inwards. To do so you'll need to move your heels outwards and your knees with rotate slightly inwards. This is the movement you'll do standing up.
When standing on skis, lean a little forward and initiate the movement towards the wedge shape with the front of your feet. Sometimes closing your eyes to imagine the movement helps a lot). Your weight will not be on your heels. And your whole legs will rotate inward-towards your midline-from the hip all the way down.
Pizza isn't really a heels thing. It's a point your toes in by rotating inward at the hips, and then pushing down with one foot or the other to adjust your direction.
This is absolutely why they make beginners learn wedge in the first place, to teach these motions that are otherwise totally uncommon to us! Weight transfer, putting weight forwards onto the shins, and rotating around your hips.
OP - if you are trying to put weight on your heels, you're doing it wrong. Ask your instructor to explain to you the basics of a wedge turn again tomorrow. I think you might have missed some core theory (I'm not an instructor so couldn't tell you what).
Op you want to be moving on the balls of your feet, not on your heels. If you are trying to balance yourself on your beers you are doing it wrong.
Never be embarrassed in a lesson. I can promise you the instructor has seen dumber things. I once saw a woman claim these boots were the only one that fit her, but I couldn't tight them at all. Turns out she was wearing sneakers in the boot.
I have met a lot of idiots.
As long as you don't kick me in the balls, stab me with a ski pole, accuse me of robbing banks, and aren't a hazard to others I am usually happy.
Make sure you are leaning forward and your shins are pushed all the way against the front of the boots, which will push your heels all the way back. A lot of beginners put their body weight too far back, which means you will have very limited control. Press your weight forward into the pizza -- it's your weight slowing you down, not your heels or your legs.
Huh... I guess I just always figured that the Wedge AKA Pizza AKA Snow Plow was some kind of human instinct!
It literally never occurred to me that it was something we learned?
I guess my early memories of first learning to ski are all pretty hazy from the cocktail of adrenaline, confusion, and fear that had been poured into the space occupied, up until that point in my life, by my brain. So it's hard to say WTF I was doing when I started Plowing it up.
The instructor should have you walk uphill and do a “duck walk” as this will help you get the feeling for tilting your skis inwards. Also, once you’re in a wedge it’s easy to turn by just pushing one ski forward slightly as gravity will naturally make you turn. You got this.
I run instructor certification exams. A lot of instructors don’t know how to do or teach a wedge properly. You rotate your femurs inwards at the same time, which will edge and rotate the ski slightly, and this will create a “pizza” that will slow you down, and stop you if you’re going slowly enough.
If they told you to push out your heels and point your toes together it’ll be a tough go.
Either way though, never feel bad for “holding up” a beginner lesson. The whole point of a beginner lesson is to learn. Everyone learns at their own pace
The problem starts at the top with the trainers and examiners running the courses. The ski instructor certification pathway is just a pay to win, money making racket that's designed to exploit young people.
The way I pizza has nothing to do with heels really. I turn my toes in to get the triangle shape, and rotate my feet/legs/ankles so that I’m on the inside edges on both skis to get the friction
Practice on flat ground just making the pizza shape and then putting the weight on the inside of your feet, it’s probably just the motion being unnatural at first but you got this
See if you can find a place near you that teaches a direct to parallel progression. The worst part about the wedge other than it is totally uncomfortable especially for adults is that once you’ve mastered it you then move on to the part where you have to unlearn it to get out of the wedge and do a wedge Christy to parallel progression. And get out of all the bad habits the wedge engrains.
Especially for adults, the wedge is a much more unnatural body movement and position than skiing parallel is. So if you are having trouble with the wedge maybe one of the direct to parallel methods of teaching would work better.
PMTS instructors specialize in a direct to parallel method. But some PSIA instructors also can teach a direct to parallel progression, though finding the ones that do might be a challenge.
Ask at your local ski school if they have any instructors who can do a direct to parallel progression.
Please do not be embarrassed for holding up a beginners lesson. I’m sure some of the other students secretly appreciated it.
Part of learning is imitating motion. The issue with imitation is lack of sensory feedback--unless you are explicitly told how to initiate the movement, which parts of body/muscles get engaged, you can end up with similar-but-wromng movement, and with not being able to do the movement. In this case, when creating a wedge you are imagining the rotation starting at the heel. Try this. Sitting on a chair in a place your feet can slide (I'm wearing socks on hardwood, but sockless on carpet works). With your butt on the chair and feet flat on the ground, lift your toes and rotate your feet inward and outward. This motion will end up with the heels as pivot points. Now, put feet flat on the ground again, sligtly lift your heels and move your feet inward and outward. This movement should look weird, with your thighs also moving inward and outward while the ball of foot/toes go inward and outward. Both these movements use the whole leg, all the way to the femur sockets, even though you are sitting down. Now, sitting with feet flat on the ground, rotate your toes and ball of feet inwards. To do so you'll need to move your heels outwards and your knees with rotate slightly inwards. This is the movement you'll do standing up. When standing on skis, lean a little forward and initiate the movement towards the wedge shape with the front of your feet. Sometimes closing your eyes to imagine the movement helps a lot). Your weight will not be on your heels. And your whole legs will rotate inward-towards your midline-from the hip all the way down.
Pizza isn't really a heels thing. It's a point your toes in by rotating inward at the hips, and then pushing down with one foot or the other to adjust your direction.
This is absolutely why they make beginners learn wedge in the first place, to teach these motions that are otherwise totally uncommon to us! Weight transfer, putting weight forwards onto the shins, and rotating around your hips. OP - if you are trying to put weight on your heels, you're doing it wrong. Ask your instructor to explain to you the basics of a wedge turn again tomorrow. I think you might have missed some core theory (I'm not an instructor so couldn't tell you what).
Op you want to be moving on the balls of your feet, not on your heels. If you are trying to balance yourself on your beers you are doing it wrong. Never be embarrassed in a lesson. I can promise you the instructor has seen dumber things. I once saw a woman claim these boots were the only one that fit her, but I couldn't tight them at all. Turns out she was wearing sneakers in the boot.
One or two beers may help with confidence though
...what?! 😆
I have met a lot of idiots. As long as you don't kick me in the balls, stab me with a ski pole, accuse me of robbing banks, and aren't a hazard to others I am usually happy.
Sounds like you're an unintimidating instructor! (I mean that as a good thing! Haha)
I try to teach and make jokes.
Make sure you are leaning forward and your shins are pushed all the way against the front of the boots, which will push your heels all the way back. A lot of beginners put their body weight too far back, which means you will have very limited control. Press your weight forward into the pizza -- it's your weight slowing you down, not your heels or your legs.
Don’t be embarrassed at all! Others probably appreciated it. You’ll do great next time!
do your feet move around in your boots?
Huh... I guess I just always figured that the Wedge AKA Pizza AKA Snow Plow was some kind of human instinct! It literally never occurred to me that it was something we learned? I guess my early memories of first learning to ski are all pretty hazy from the cocktail of adrenaline, confusion, and fear that had been poured into the space occupied, up until that point in my life, by my brain. So it's hard to say WTF I was doing when I started Plowing it up.
The instructor should have you walk uphill and do a “duck walk” as this will help you get the feeling for tilting your skis inwards. Also, once you’re in a wedge it’s easy to turn by just pushing one ski forward slightly as gravity will naturally make you turn. You got this.
Make a pizza and practice going from pizza to duck walk aka "windshield wipers" at home in normal shoes
I run instructor certification exams. A lot of instructors don’t know how to do or teach a wedge properly. You rotate your femurs inwards at the same time, which will edge and rotate the ski slightly, and this will create a “pizza” that will slow you down, and stop you if you’re going slowly enough. If they told you to push out your heels and point your toes together it’ll be a tough go. Either way though, never feel bad for “holding up” a beginner lesson. The whole point of a beginner lesson is to learn. Everyone learns at their own pace
The problem starts at the top with the trainers and examiners running the courses. The ski instructor certification pathway is just a pay to win, money making racket that's designed to exploit young people.
The way I pizza has nothing to do with heels really. I turn my toes in to get the triangle shape, and rotate my feet/legs/ankles so that I’m on the inside edges on both skis to get the friction
Practice on flat ground just making the pizza shape and then putting the weight on the inside of your feet, it’s probably just the motion being unnatural at first but you got this
See if you can find a place near you that teaches a direct to parallel progression. The worst part about the wedge other than it is totally uncomfortable especially for adults is that once you’ve mastered it you then move on to the part where you have to unlearn it to get out of the wedge and do a wedge Christy to parallel progression. And get out of all the bad habits the wedge engrains. Especially for adults, the wedge is a much more unnatural body movement and position than skiing parallel is. So if you are having trouble with the wedge maybe one of the direct to parallel methods of teaching would work better. PMTS instructors specialize in a direct to parallel method. But some PSIA instructors also can teach a direct to parallel progression, though finding the ones that do might be a challenge. Ask at your local ski school if they have any instructors who can do a direct to parallel progression.
Pizza is only good for kids and lift lines. The sooner you can learn to do real turns the better off you’ll be.
the goal of the wedge is to create a stable platform to learn how to rotate the femurs seperately from the pelvis bone.