Customer Reviews

Kent's Clinic Ski Instruction Video DVD

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We used the video near the end of last season, and decided to view it again for the upcoming season to gear us up. Our family, including our 9 year-old, all watched it together, and we had fun spotting each others' strengths and weaknesses.

Last year, I was surprised how much fun it was for our family to take just a couple of tips to the hill each time, and how easily we improved by having these pictures in our heads.

The episodes have material we can practice for many seasons to come because the video provides stuff for all skier levels. And, there's a nice bonus - filming very picturesque in Taos, NM, which has a beautiful mountain that we hope to see again this spring and take another lesson!

Jim

All in all, a surprisingly helpful video. I've taken only one lesson in my life; got frustrated, and really have not wanted to do that again, but I really do want to improve my skiing...
First thing I noticed: the video quality is high, crisp picture and audio. Surprising since most instructional stuff (my experience) is pretty low quality. The DVD is unique in that the instructor is actually being filmed while instructing others; he's not talking to the camera, and I thought at first that that would be annoying, but the concepts are actually easy to follow. Most surprising, after the first segment I really felt I had learned something. The instructor was demonstrating what was correct and why, and then what was incorrect and why. I have been doing the incorrect stuff on moguls this whole time!! I'm always fatigued, and they never get easier, but the new instruction makes so much sense, like a light-bulb going off! Anyways... it gave me a LOT of help (and I think real improvement on turning) my first trip this season (just greens and blues). I have been presently surprised with this video! It was a good buy with tangible value (once on the slopes!). Also, the DVD gives instructions to print out tips on-line to bring with you that highlight tips from the segments... this was helpful, but honestly the info was stuck in my head anyway!

Kent made some of the fundamental concepts of skiing easy to understand for me. Each lesson focuses on just a couple of key action. The lessons point out that if you can learn the correct moves as a beginner, those moves will be the same at all levels of skiing, and you won't get stuck in "defensive skiing", or what I've done without previous instruction. I like the short lesson structure. You don't get overwhelmed with too many things to think about. I think the demonstrations are also really good, along with beautiful shots of Taos. Good stuff.

I got this last winter and I wasn't sure what to expect with an "instructor" clinic, but it seemed that if instructors are regularly learning from Kent then I could too. The most useful thing about this video was how he clearly showed that early skills learned correctly could be used for every level of skiing. It even inspired me to try some of the beginner movements, and I was amazed how practicing them actually improved my intermediate movements. Then, like magic, practicing the intermediate movements helped me break through advanced movements that I've been trying to achieve for years.

The format was also unusual, but it worked perfectly. The DVD has four complete episodes about 15 minutes each, almost like they were designed for broadcast on TV. I watched one episode each morning before heading out, and practiced it on the slopes with friends. The one that gave me the best results concentrated on moving the core laterally using a wedge, then at moderate speed in parallel, and then finally with some speed. We challenged each other to see who could start turning the earliest, and it really changed things for all of us.

Also, we were able to download a practice sheet from his website and brought it with us to remind us on the lift.

I highly recommend this video. Taos is a favorite and I'm looking forward to more great skiing this year.

I purchased this video before going to Taos for Ski Week ski school. I didn't pay much attention to detail and thought the video was OK.

I went through six days of instruction skiing the steeps and through trees that I thought this 70 year old would never ski. I was the only person in the class without a helmet. I bought one. Upon returning and viewing the video again the new methods of turning on skis were reinforced and became quite clear.

This method of turning, taught at Taos Ski School, will have you skiing all terrain and all conditions with confidence. Of course you will have to practice.

Content is good, format could have been better. Closed caption would have been an improvement.

This video focuses on fundamentals (moving laterally, center of gravity movement to initiate turns, edge control). I learned something from it, and am glad I purchased it. I do think it could be much, much better though. The format is weird, you watch on segment, then you get to repeately see the intro "musac" view over and over again. Only two instructors talk on the video, Deb Armstrong who has a very nice voice to listen to, and then Kent -- who sort of sounds like he is scolding someone. Overall, the video is worth getting, especially if you are an instructor. Kent does do a nice job of demonstrating what he is preaching.

I have been skiing for 20 years, and I have purchased many, many ski instruction videos. This DVD is one of the best. I watched this video several times to really understand the subtle movements that are so essential for good skiing. But once I understand those subtle movements and practiced them, I became much better skier. I highly recommend Kent's Clinic for serious skiers.

I was pleasantly surprised with this instructional video. My family and I were planning our first trip to Taos, NM for our first time on the mountain and needed a bit of encouragement. Kent's Clinic was that and more. The video was excellent. Very informative, great videography, great scenery and well-produced. This trip was the first of many ski trips this year, and Kent's Clinic definitely gave us all some great tools. We all kept finding ourselves saying, "oh yeah, I remember how to do that!" 5 Stars! Highly recommended.

Jason and Family

It's possible that ski instructors could get something out of this video, but I was dissapointed. As I watched I was trying to understand what Kent was doing hoping that the dialogue would clarify what was happening. The explanations were not very helpful. I've seen other videos which were far more effective and more fun. Try Lito Tejada-Flores or Martin Heckelman's ski tips. I would have liked something more from this or even just a little something. Well you win some you lose some.

My wife and I were getting ready to try skiing for the first time. I bought this DVD after reading some of the reviews and thought it would be good to learn some basic ideas about skiing. I think it's terrible! I am not sure what the point is. It has no organization of techniques to try to improve any level skier. It's just a few "clinics" lumped together and some of the "clinics" try to span an idea or technique from the beginner to an advanced skier. That is so broad that it doesn't help anyone. There are clinics that talk about basic wedging, but then there is a clinic on how to attack moguls!

Now after skiing for the first time and taking personal lessons I have realized that the language used to explain body position in skiing, or weight, or pressure, or center of gravity, or leaning, or short leg/long leg etc. etc. is used by different instructors in different ways. Eventually you have to find a terminology that "clicks" for you, so you know what the instructor is trying to tell you to do. I think Kent's terminology is terrible and these clinics don't give enough time to explain what he is trying to talk about.

Don't buy it, it's a total waste for all level of skiers in my view.