When people first sit down at our camp meeting, I tell them, “Too bad you didn't get this handout sooner because it would have saved you a lot of money. Everything you need to know is in the handout.”

You should have heard the lecture I got from my first Aspen mentor, Cal Cantrell. He watched me give an indoor ski deck lesson on the ski simulator, then after the customer left, Cal said, “You really don't know what the hell you're doing, do you. Listen it's real simple… if it can't be taught from the feet first, it shouldn't be taught at all. Great skiing takes place from the feet up - learn that now or you'll never be worth a damn!”

I took Cal’s advice and now the Clendenin Method is based primarily on developing foot-eye coordination - different than hand-eye coordination. Foot-eye is learning how to sense what's going on in your feet first and then letting your body adjust to your feet. With the feet-first  sequence, you’ll always be in balance, which is a primary key for great skiing.

When your feet get it,

you can forget it.

                                Johnny C

Check out your online Goody Bag – the Book, the blog, videos, etc. With your lesson or camp registration, you get access to all the CM Goodies.

In the Clendenin Method, we introduce is the four levels of awareness that we all go through when learning something new – especially in sports. The second level (“conscious incompetence”) is the most challenging. This is when you learn about your ingrained inefficient habits. Our function as CM coaches to present new habits that replace old inefficient habits.  With a new habit, you develop the third level: “conscious competence”.  You will learn all four levels before you finish your CM camp!

“You can’t change something you’re not aware of.”

Johnny C

Most kids learn things quickly. It's wonderful to see when they just jump in and try stuff.  They're not like us. They aren’t as critical and don’t get upset with failure.  If you get the kid attitude, you can pick up stuff quickly.

I've been working with Chino for years and his teaching style always amazes me.  For example: I’ll be coaching a CM group and go into extensive detail about the ‘Squeegee Move’.  I’ll explain when it starts, how it shapes turns, how it recenters one’s balance to the top skis, how it prepares you for your next turn and helps to prevent stemming. Each day we switch coaches. At the end of the second day after skiing with Chino, the same camper comes up to me and says: “John, I finally got it!  I really understand the “Squeegee Move.”

I’ll ask, “Well what did you get from Chino  – how did he explain it?”

Campers always respond “Well, I don’t really remember - he just said, ‘Don’t Do Dat!’”

We joke that Chino’s method is called the “the Don't Do Dat method”!

A lot of CM was developed from my memory of skiing once with Jean Claude Killy. We made a short run together when I was doing a Freestyle Exhibition in Val d’Isere France. We had met several years before at indoor ski shows. He was there promoting a Warner Brother movie and I was a performer on the indoor ski simulator. In Val d’Isere we only skied together for a short run. At the time, I was the current two-time world freestyle champion, but I followed and watched Jean Claude like a hawk. What I saw, blew my mind.  I saw the most beautiful, smoothest, pristine, natural skier I'd ever seen.  He was incredible and the memory was indelible. I based the CM on that experience!

What I learned is the value of watching great skiers ski!  So…always watch your coach ski. For practice, here’s a sample from our Members Site:

If you're new to CM you'll know soon that you just made a whole bunch of new friends.  There are several things that we do together after the camps including what we call Johnny C's Ski Tours. The Tours are only available to camp graduates.  So…become familiar with each other because there’s a chance we will be traveling and doing events together!

CM defines terrain like a stoplight - green light, yellow light, and red light. Green light is terrain that you're totally comfortable in. Yellow light is a little more challenging, maybe because of people, steepness, or trees but it's more challenging than green light. Red light terrain is terrain that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

Good coaching along with a Method that works, takes technique to a new level, making red light turn into yellow light terrain, and yellow light terrain turns into green light. This always happens at your own pace. Campers get to decide what terrain they want to ski. We don't ask anybody to ski in terrain that they feel is too challenging. That said, it's amazing how often campers say “I can't believe that I was afraid of that run, it seems so easy now”.

Sound technique makes fear disappear.

Everybody has read a least one whole book. Yes?  So...it should not be a problem learning 4 words – drift, center, touch, and tip. Each word is like a vase for you to store all your CM information. The Method is developed around these four words. I have never met a client yet who didn't advance at least one level just from knowing these four words – drift and center, touch, and tip.

Questions are great. Feel free to ask questions at any time. If the coach doesn't feel that it applies to everybody or that they do not have time to give you an adequate answer, the answer might be saved for a lift ride.

Often there's more communication between a coach and a student in a good group lesson than there is in a private lesson. In most private conversations, one is already thinking about one’s response while the other person is still talking. Whereas in a group lesson, one is listening to the coach without the challenge or pressure of having to respond. Also, in a group, the critical coaching is not personally directed and can be considered without self-doubt.

My favorite coffee is percolated coffee. It’s hard to find percolators now but I love the word. “Let it percolate” is intended to encourage the simple act of being self-aware. Instead of trying to force a new action, you can simply percolate on what’s happening. The new action is often already happening, and you just need to become aware of it. Often, simply percolating can create ownership. Also, there is not much angst in self-observation. Percolating makes the path toward new movement patterns easier.