FootersEdge

The Dirty Little Secret About Front-to-Backs that My Competitors Do Not Want Me to Tell You About!

Subject: The Dirty Little Secret About Front-to-Backs that My Competitors
Do Not Want Me to Tell You About!

Real Life Example from Fast Times with Kevin Elliot!

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From: Kevin Elliott
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:33 PM
To: Lane Dawg Bowers
Subject: Turns

"Hi Lane,

Hope all is well with you. Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

I have a question about speeds. I pulled out your video the other day and
noticed that you recommend 35mph for turns to the back on the boom.
Do you still believe this is a good speed?

It seems pretty slow. I have an issue (if you remember) where if I get
caught sideways, my groin will be hurt for several weeks. In fact I took a
shot at a reverse turn several weeks ago (39 on the boom) and I'm still a
little sore.

Maybe 35 won't hurt as bad? But I would think that my chances of catching
half way through the turn would increase. What do you think?

Talk to you later, Kevin "

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Lane Dawg Answer:
Last
39 is not so bad if you are already making them. Last time I saw you, you
were pretty lean and lite, if you have scammed to the good life a bit, you
might need a little more speed to support the flabdominal wall.

Driver tip: It would really help if you have someone to give you a break on
the throttle to ease up on the pressure if you start from 39. If you can, get
your driver to start at 39, but at the 3/4 mark of the turn, back off smoothly,
but quickly about 3-5 mph. , then go back to 39 AFTER you have both hands
on the handle.

Remember what I told you a hundred times (my memory is not that good,
but I am sure I must have told you at least that many times), any time you
catch in the middle, it is always for the same reason and it is not speed. It is
because you are turning too much with your upper body.

Follow this formula, clear your mind, and believe in your miracle;

#1 Vision-horizon all the time
#2 Shoulder roll - screw this up and you are back to the above situation
#3 Meat Hook - see above warning for groin pullage!
#4 Hips forward bay laying back with the above position to leverage your
hips closer to the handle---do not try to spend alot of strength pulling in.
#5 Soft in the knees - Bouncy Trouncy Tigger the Tiger
#6 Great Glide which I remember you seemed to have down-pat last time
I saw you!

The better you are at holding this position, the more comfortable 39 will
feel, but break it up a bit and try slower.

A Major help for you is to do your turns on your feet holding the smaller
Gatorade bottle up next to your cup! It is not a big deal if you drop it on
your feet (do not drop it when on puppy paws), but the idea is to get your
mind on squeezing. Make sure you reread that article on turns and squeezing at
Turns, Squeezing, and the Power Band

P.S. It is much harder to hurt your groin, if you do not let go of that bottle.
I know of what I speak here. It is the same thing with someone who is afraid
to hurt their shoulder...Keep your elbow next to your body, if you fall, and your
shoulder will not be exposed.

Make sure you follow-up with me to let me know how awesome your
turns are getting.

Expect a Miracle!

Lane "Dawg" Bowers

50th Birthday Party Goes over BIG here in Winter Haven, FL

"Dear Lane,

I cannot thank you enough for a "Great Trip Come True." The couple days our family had barefooting with you were more than I expected. To see Jim (50th birthday boy) enjoy himself, challenge himself, and accomplish barefooting skills at his old age of 50 was just what I was hoping for to mark his birthday.

I felt safe and relaxed with you teaching my kids. Your ability to evaluate everyones' physical abilities and emotional capacities was incredible. Each Kuhlman student had different expectations, goals, and experiences;

Jacy 6 -would just do ANYTHING you say
J.P 13 - came away wondering why all his teachers couldn't be like you.
Julie 11 - who was tickled to be gracefully lifted above the weeds
Jesse 8 - who giggled with delight cause of your your "no care boat hair" comment

All my kids came away with a new level of confidence. We all want to keep learning from you! They are into this new challenge of "Point...Flex...Heels to your butt...Barefoot" technique you explained to them.

I just want to say, 'Thank you,' for all the great memories. Jim's birthday gift was something he'll remember and it gave him an education.

FUN-is the best way to describe the whole experience! You are a gifted teacher. Thank you so much!

Patti Kuhlman

P.S. - Everything your mom said was true- you are the best!"

Go here to see the pictures!

More Miracles

Lane, I just wanted to send you a e-mail thanking you for last weeks training. It was by far the highlight of my short barefooting career. I was somewhat hopeful that I would maybe get up once backwards before I got on the water. My expectations were blown away when I was able to go backwards the entire lake 2 or 3 times. I was also able to do the 1 foot that was giving me trouble and you also fixed my deep water start. I am just sorry I have to wait until April before I can ski again. I am already trying to plan a trip back out in the spring to get some more training.

Thanks again for everything and the privledge of meeting Zane and your wife.

Please add me to the long list of 100% satisfied customers.

I will be in contact in a couple months to schedule another training session.

Thanks Again

Gary Grout

Too Cute for School!

I have the great fortune of teaching so many different types of people from all over the world. People just like you! I wish I could let you see how many different types of people I get to teach from 71 years old down to 4-5 years old.

Two of the many families that come down to Winter Haven, Florida are the Stensens and the Pattersons from Minnesota. They have done a great job of sharing their passion of barefooting with their whole family. They are absolute beginners all the way to very advanced in their skills, but what makes me smile is their beautiful girls who I got to spend some time with walking them through their emotions of fear to absolute jubilation as they progressed through their week down here.

But instead of me telling you about it, I decided to interview them so you could all hear it from their own lips which is so cute that this should be illegal!

Click here to see the interview

More pictures are available in the Ski School.

March 8, 2005...Winter Haven, Fl ...Advanced Barefooters Only?

One of the greatest thrills in teaching barefooting is watching someone work through the challenges to achieve their personal miracle!

I am fortunate enough to see this every day and I am so thankful. This week we have been inundated with the "Barrie Bad Boys" barefooters from Ontario, Canada. One of the big goals of Dan Carr was learning the front to back and back to front.

But to be honest, almost everyone who has ever barefooted both forwards and backwards has wanted this same incredible goal. How could I help a 40 plus guy make such a huge challenge.

Here is what we did. I simplified the process as follows;

I explained that it is not the front to back or back to front that is so hard. It is really knowing how to ski in the perfect position and not getting out of it while setting up that is the hard part.

My challenge to Dan was the same as mine is to you as you read this. You show me the perfect form both forwards and backwards while being able to go up and down in a smooth rhythm, and I will take you to the promise land of front to backs!!!!

...or any surface turn for that matter.

By making only a slight adjustment to Dan's position, he was able to improve his confidence and make his first two back to fronts. We have several more days to make his front to back.

The best part was that Dan also got a front seat to see Dave Gurnsey's transformation of his front to backs and back to fronts. The major turning point of success? Both Dan and Dave found out how powerful it was for each of them to tweak their PowerBands (adjusting their position so that the pull of the boat comes into the hips). A couple of inches of standing higher while driving the hips forward a couple of inches was the difference between a hail mary turn and one that felt like it was on Puppy Paws!

Online Video now available!

Winter Haven, Fl... February 18, 2005 Posture and Glide on The National Geographic Channel

I love it when the power of good Posture shows up somewhere else! If you have ever doubted The Power of Posture and Glide (TradeMark Instructional Techniques of Lane "Dawg" Bowers), then you not only have not skied with me, but you have probably not seen The National Geographics' The Dog Whisperer- Cesar Millan

Cesar Millan is many times the last hope for the dogs on this show that are sometimes even scheduled to be put down because of their dangerous and unruly behavior.

It usually only takes Cesar a short amount of time to make a dramatic difference in the dogs behavior. Many times when other top trainers have failed.

How does he do it?

Almost every episode involves teaching the owner to become what Cesar calls, "Calm and Assertive." How is this done? Cesar first corrects their attitude by concentrating on their POSTURE!

I was so excited to see The Power of Posture and its effect on the way dogs respond to people. If you get a chance, watch this great show and you will be even more excited when you realize that this same power exists in your own skiing by simply taking charge of your future through maximizing your Posture, Glide, and your Power Band!

The Dog Whisperer

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Winter Haven, Fl. February 16, 2005 Perfect Practice

One of the greatest joys I have is showing others how barefooting can be so much fun. Most people seem to think that you need to have a concussion to have had a good set, but that is definitely old school thinking.

Whether skiing myself or teaching others, my goal is always the perfect practice. What is the perfect practice? It is when you get to enjoy all the adrenalin rush that barefooting has to offer without any of the pain that comes from making a mistake. It is the ultimate rush and it should become your goal also.

Achieving the perfect ski set (skiing without falling while improving your performance) will not always happen, but it should be strived for. The good news is that it is possible if you take the time to plan properly.

Skiing the perfect set requires balancing several factors;

#1 Your current condition - are you in good barefooting shape or just starting out...Or maybe it has been a long time since your last set. Do you feel strong and healthy? Loose and flexible? Do you feel tight in your muscles and in a big rush because your mind is somewhere else? Are you coming off of an injury? Was your last barefooting experience a positive one or a crushing defeat that requires you to slowly build your confidence?

#2 Water conditions - great water definitely improves the chances of having the perfect set, but you can have a perfect set in horrible water as long as you choose wisely what you do during your set. Attempting your most difficult trick right off the bat... at a high rate of speed... and in rough water is the perfect formula for a 911 set!!!! This is the opposite of what we are aiming for in the perfect practice!

#3 Skill Level - This is one of the most common mistakes. If you do not know the right baby steps to take, you will train yourself into a rut and the quality of your practice as well as the enjoyment you get out of it will be diminished.

What does this mean, baby steps? Every sport and every discipline has an order that produces the best results when followed. Although I try to be somewhat flexible based on each individual's motivation, the order I have outlined in my 2 hour instructional video has proven to have the best results in the world...Guaranteed!

If you are not sure what to practice and need more help feel free to email me at lane@lanedawg.com and I will try to guide you for free!

Learning to balance these three considerations will bring you to the Nirvana of perfect Practice. To get their will also require learning to dry land practice to perfection as I explain in my Virtual Ski School

You will also need to learn the correct way to use shoe skis such as my Puppy Paws in order to progress to the ultimate perfect practice on your feet.

Do not get frustrated with this process as every barefooter regardless of level is always making adjustments to try to achieve this process. You will know you are getting the hang of it when you are falling dramatically less while learning dramatically more!

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Winter Haven, FL Feb. 12 ...Improving Your Barefooting Off the Water

One of the greatest secrets I can give to you is the wisdom that your barefooting goals can begin off the water with nothing but a barefoot handle and a door knob!

One of the biggest challenges I face every day is to explain body position and the critical nature it plays in achieving great barefooting goals like learning to do a deep water start, tumble turns, backwards, or even front to backs!

Many people find their greatest challenge is just getting into the correct position before even attempting their barefooting maneuver. The crazy part is that if they had practiced this position before coming down here, then they would save themselves the majority of the time that I need to get them setup for success.

You show me a great position and I will show you a great next step to your miracle! You may also need to learn the correct "setup" required for performing your trick. This is also critical and can be learned before your lesson or training session!

Do your homework!

I have several aids for you to get you primed for your success;

#1 Trauma Center Articles

#2 Correct Positions' Page

#3 Instructional DVD

#4 Virtual Ski School

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Winter Haven, Fl... February 11, 2005Barefooting Body Beautiful

Along the lines of my last post on barefooting goals, I have found that as I get older, the importance of having fitness goals becomes more and more critical.

The best part about having fitness goals is that as your fitness level increases, your ability to enjoy your barefooting and achieve new goals becomes easier! Even more motivating is the fact that now you can add your passion of achieving your barefooting goals as fuel to your fire for getting in shape.

Since my average age student is between 35 and 55 years of age, I know that fitness is one of the biggest goals in their lives. Instead of just trying to lose weight for your long range health, you can now get even more pumped because your efforts will now greatly improve your enjoyment of barefooting.

My biggest kick in the pants came from my own personal health battles (Lane "Dawg's" Personal Story) which were the best motivation I could have recieved. And instead of concentrating on the fear of the disease, my new healthy lifestyle became a fire inside me that saved me from having to give up the passion I have for my barefooting goals...and life itself.

I highly recommend you find the motivation before it becomes a life and death situation.

Start off with very achievable "baby steps" that will allow you to keep your confidence high. Losing a pound a week is an awesome goal that is very doable for anyone! This baby step will also keep you encouraged and stop you from gaining weight.

Lane Dawg's personal tips for barefooting body beautiful;

#1 Drink water (16 cups at least) every day replacing any sodas which are a huge impedance to weight goals (YES.... that means diet soda which does NOT help to lose weight!)

#2 Start writing down and keeping track of everything you eat so that you have a realistic idea of where you are in your consumption. I am very keen on http://www.myfooddiary.com which also helps teach healthy food habits.

#3 Weigh yourself daily! This is not fun but it does provide a reality check that is one of the best motivators. I do not like doing it either, but I find that it keeps me on track. Keep a journal of your weight and measurements so you know what is really going on.

#4 Get in the gym or find a workout partner to hold you responsible to your fitness goals. Write down your calories burned in excercise.

#5 Check your body fat so you can see when you are losing fat and when you are gaining or losing muscle.

If this seems too overwhelming for you, promise me that you will at least do two very manageable steps; Step #1 and Step #2. Do this for an entire month and you will learn so much that you will find a motivation that may have not been there before!

My personal feeling is that for every 5 pounds of fat that is lost, I feel like I have gained 5 pounds of muscle when I am skiing because of the improved strength to weigh ratio!

I hopes this helps to keep you healthy and motivated to enjoy your barefooting goals even more!

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Winter Haven, Fl... February 8, 2005 Barefoot Motivation

Every year I really look forward to reviewing last years goals and using the motivation and energy to set next years goals.

2005  is no different.

I like to make goals for every area of my life and then write them down. I try to keep them where I will review them and then look at them often. This year I started using Microsoft's One Note software because of it's flexibility. I love adding pictures that get me fired-up and that keep me passionate about what I really want to accomplish.

They key to writing great goals is to make them inspiring enough to were you can't stop thinking about them and just enough out of your reach to where you will have to make a major commitment to accomplish them. I think it is also helpful to write down what accomplishing your goals will mean to you and what not accomplishing them will cost you.

My best goals seem to be those that will cost me aloud by not accomplishing them. The pain of mediocrity is more painful to me than the fear of failure.

One of my favorite quotes is;

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt
26th president of US (1858 - 1919)

After breaking the goals down into manageable steps that can be accomplished within certain time frames, I like to share my goals with someone I trust to hold me accountable and who believes in me and my goals. This is a powerful motivator that I feel is critical to success!

For more on goal setting, you can read my article NFTE #7

I wish you the most passionate goals of your life this year. Let me know if I can help you with your barefooting goals!

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