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“The addictive challenge of barefooting is to ski that perfect pass
where everything flows without the awareness of power and precision. To achieve this elusive pass requires facing dangers others are not
willing to face…and to prevail where others are not willing to sacrifice. The passion to ride the adrenaline rush of victory over fear on our
way to the next greater challenge parallels life in that the successful
confrontation of fear defines our existence.” -Lanemus Dawgumus Maximus circa 2001 “The difference between a warrior and an ordinary man is that a warrior
sees everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man sees everything
as either a blessing or a curse.” -Carlos Castaneda, A separate Peace If you are like a lot of barefooters out there you have either competed
in or at least thought about getting involved with a team and entering
one of the popular ‘Dam to Dam’ races, endurance tournaments (like
Banana George Blair’s tournament in Winter Haven, Fl), or figure
eight tournaments (like Footstock in Minnesota). Although I have only been involved with only one of these events,
they are a great way to meet other barefooters and compete in an
environment where high-tech skills go right out the window. While top-level skiers are present at most of these events, it is
the grass roots footers who seem to thrive because they ski in the
kind of conditions typical to these events. The only requirement
to get in these events is the ability to stand-up behind the boat,
ski through difficult footing conditions, and hold on for a long
time from slow speeds to really fast speeds (some around 50mph!). For all of you who have had the privilege of skiing with me down
here in paradise, you have experienced the beautiful conditions
and the huge difference in your skiing when you achieve perfect
Posture and Glide™ and The Power band™!
(http://www.thefootersedge.com/videos,
http://www.thefootersedge.com/traumacenter/index.htm)
Well sit back and catch your breath because I am about to blow the
doors off the secrets to becoming the best endurance footer on your
lake! Lane Dawg Bowers Patented Principles for Barefooting
in Four wheel Drive (LOW!) It is time to master SLOUCH and PLOW™! If you are to get really good at endurance, you need to conserve
energy and change gears! Posture and Glide™ and The
Power band™! were designed for relatively good water conditions,
explosive power, and to maximize the surface area of your foot on
the water making difficult moves as easy as possible. SLOUCH and PLOW™ RULES the rough water world
and endurance events! How do you achieve SLOUCH and PLOW™ in your skiing?
The perfect PLOW™ is achieved pushing forward on your
heels so that the water breaks more towards the middle of your foot
or arch. It will also be helpful to take the bend out of your knees
to conserve energy. A
great knee bend can blow your quads if you are not careful. How do you achieve a great SLOUCH™? Chances are great
that if you just mimic the upper body position you have right now
while you are reading this at your computer, you will have arrived.
All that work we put into your upper body goes from being unbelievably
helpful to a huge waste of energy in these types of events. Rolling
your shoulder blades back so that your scapulas touch while keeping
your ribs up and expanded, are not techniques that were intended
to keep you skiing efficiently over long periods of time! But if you think that the SLOUCH and PLOW™ method is
for Neanderthals, you would be wrong. It takes the same time and
dedication to improve your endurance skiing (SLOUCH and PLOW™!)
as it does your high-tech skiing (Posture and Glide™
and The Power band™!). You need to treat both with
respect. “Danger Will Robinson” WARNING: DO NOT INTERMIX THESE TECHNIQUES!!!! Slouch and Glide, Posture and Plow,
The Power band and Plow are not compatible skills.
Although many of you have tried different combinations, it cannot
work! This is similar to trying to put a lift kit, four-wheel drive,
gun rack, 15-inch wheels
with Thornbird tires, and stainless steel pit bull cages on a Porsche
911 Turbo (Polk County has already tried this and it was embarrassing
and dangerous). But there are several other keys to success in endurance skiing. CREATIVITY: The main rule is that there are NO rules. It boils down
to survival of the fittest. Move around and do whatever you have
to do to give the areas experiencing the most pain a break. Anything
goes as long as it keeps you going. PAIN MANAGEMENT: “Pain is only weakness leaving your body” is a great
slogan for endurance barefooting! People write me all the time asking
me how to condition their feet to ski longer. I am sure a lot of
you have some great ides that I would be happy to categorize for
everyone, but it all boils down to a simple fact. You cannot improve
your time or distance without skiing up to where you feel pain,
and then skiing longer. Keep a journal of your times and set small
reasonable goals for improvement. NEVER put your arm through the handle in order to ski longer! Think of it like aerobic activity. How come you can’t begin a new
program by going for an hour right off the bat? Unless you like
throwing up and ambulance rides, this is not a good idea. It is
much healthier to take baby steps.
You would never put a baby on a treadmill maxed out to full
speed and incline, and I hope you do not approach endurance skiing
without taking my advice. I really work hard on these articles to help you to become the best
barefoot water skier you can be. Please do me a favor and forward
this to some of your footin’ friends and encourage them to sign-up.
I have made it easy for you. All you have to do is “cut and paste”
the segment below. Email your friends and c.c me at lane@lanedawg.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi
(Insert their name here) Do
you subscribe to Lane “Dawg” Bowers Free Barefoot Tips Newsletter? I
do, and I think it's great because.... (Insert your own reasons
here) Subscriptions
are FREE and you get a copy of Lane's 159-page "Be
the Best Barefooter on Your Lake" Ebook with 48 articles covering
everything from The Easiest Way to Learn to Barefoot Water
Ski to Learning to Backwards Barefoot to Jumping
Inverted... Just
go to http://www.thefootersedge.com/free_ebook
and you can get all the details. Talk
to you soon! (Your
Name Here) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for helping out! I appreciate it... Expect a Miracle! Lane "Dawg" Bowers www.thefootersedge.com/free_ebook 877-685-6270 <--------Call
Me! |