Will's Blog - My Ski Season, Part 1

Choosing My Course

After my snowboarding trip to Kitzbuhel , Austria in late December 2012. I knew instantly I wanted to go back there, I fell in love with the country – its winter captivated me; the fresh cold crisp air, the Alps, the friendly locals, the cuisine, the abundance of snow that dusted everywhere and anywhere. It was like another world, but easily within my reach.As I came back to the UK with a bump, I often day dream about how I could excuse myself to get straight back into the world of powder. What work can I possibly do to keep myself there for the next season, work in hostels, bars and chalets…? I needed my fix of winter snow and excitement because I was hooked. As the days and weeks and months passed by, I looked to the back of my mind fishing for memories being in the mountains, recreated the sensation of cold air numbing my body and watched videos on Youtube of cool skiers and snowboarders freeriding on backcountry powder. Then one day in July 2013, Lady Luck winked at me; I saw an advert for the Ski and Snowboard show in Earls Court, London for November. Intrigued by this convention, I checked its website and looked for information about who was going to be there and when. I looked through the list, a few retailers there and a few ski schools here. Then the Ski School Academy caught my eye and apparently they were based in Austria. So I researched them on the Internet – their website, forums, reviews, even Facebook! Nearly satisfied with what I knew, I booked the tickets to the convention and longed for November to arrive.It was Sunday 3rd November 2013, I set off from home to seek out the boys from the Ski Instructor Academy. I arrived at Earls Court, took my time to feel around the place and absorb the atmosphere into my being, chatting away to people running stalls, being handed out freebies and just generally prowling the entire complex. I found the Ski Instructor Academy stall and there I spoke to Gary. I was impressed with the fella; he was friendly, knowledgeable and explained anything and everything about the Academy.I took the train home after a long day in London, sifting through information of what had been spoken between me and Gary. Even though I really wanted to go out to Austria to live it up as an instructor, I hesitated. My mind was clouded with doubts and wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to go with it. After a few days of deliberation, said to myself how do I see ‘me’ in the next year or so? Am I really happy with current circumstances I was in? And that was when I knew I had to move on, a change of direction, do something different, journey to the unknown, and this sort of thing only happens once in a lifetime. Gave Gary a call; sorted out the finance, the documentations and can gladly say that I will be looking forward to starting my Dual Ski and Snowboard qualification October 2014.

Preparing The Mind

Learning German was particularly tricky for me, I made schedules to learn the language in a structured format. Materials such as ‘Learn German by Podcast’, ‘Duolingo’ and Youtube’s ‘Deutsch for Euch’ (Katja is so hot!) are all very good to help you understand the grammar and structure sentence and overall cultural differences why the Germans and Austrians speak funny. However, all that went out the window when I found various temp work to fund extra sterling for my trip. So I concocted a masterful plan to absorb as much information as insanely possible in a limited space of time… Basically I crammed like a student cramming for their exams for their final year at university. I advise against cramming because it takes a while for the mind’s eye to acquire and absorb knowledge, thus you should plan and schedule your ‘German home classes’, in a lovely and relaxed environment where you know you have fun and have a sense of purpose for learning a new language rather than process copious amount of data like an i-phone. This is purely not recommended unless you are kind of multilingual like me; my brain operates in a strange and wonderful way.

Preparing The Body

I used to be a sporty kind of guy who was into anything that involved fun, sweat and a bit of macho competition. I’d play football, table tennis, badminton, basketball, running and the list goes on. But when I committed to help run a family business, my social life diminished and love for all things sports dwindled. I became very unfit. To do the best as I can to enjoy, learn and accomplish my course with the Ski Instructor Academy, I had to make my exit out of the family business in April 2014 to prepare for my physical transformation.Tried to get back into football but couldn’t hack it because it was indoors; the court got hot and stuffy and the guys I played with were not your Maradona or Pele, more John Terry and Wayne Rooney; complete and utter rubbish. They kicked legs not ball, head-butted heads not ball, push you into walls as it was deemed fair play. To avoid further risk of permanent damage, I stopped playing. Trained at a local Muay Thai gym, the cardio was good, I became stronger and fitter but it was an expensive workout at £10 per session so I stopped. Had a small fling with Parkour, also known as Free Running, that was fun but there were kids here and there running and flipping and in general being little brats and this destroyed my enjoyment for the sport.After a month or so searching the perfect sport to train in, I thought I will try out the local boxing gym and all I can say is that boxing saved my soul and my bank account! I had to self-train so I would train at least 5 times a week; I do shadow boxing for 3 rounds to warm up, then skipping for 10 to 15 minutes, next is working on the bags – heavy bag, speed bag and double end bag. And if there is anyone around with similar level, we spar for 3 to 6 rounds. To accompany my boxing routine, I would run 2 to 3 times a week, I make alternating days on long runs and sprinting runs. Push ups, chin ups, and squats are all part of the package, they are essential if you want to have strength of Magnus Magnusson and legs like Cristiano Ronaldo. Boxing is very scientific and teaches the body form, stance and position and for me is the perfect sport to train in self-discipline and control as well as strength and conditioning and cardio.

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