I think we all can conclude that the video of this years is absolutely stunning.
Accompanied with excellent photography of Christian and Lionel, we have some very nice reference material at our disposal.
Let's take a step back and rethink on why this is such valuable media, not just to us but for everyone.
This way we have the opportunity to critically look at ourselves and see the good things but also the things we can progress at.
This perfectly hooks into one of the core values of all the Extreme carving sessions: by spending time together and doing the thing we love and being open to help and criticism, we are able to progress faster.
This isn't something new I'm saying here. If I recall correctly Patrice or any other of the Swoard instructors are saying for the past years that overall technique of the participants is progressing more and more.
The absolutely added benefit of having these videos and pictures at our disposal is by far of course that we can recheck and re-view over and over again.
The session is just a few days a year and not everybody can attend every session, but the digital media remains timeless available.
Aside from focusing on your own progress, it's also perfect material to look at how others are doing.
Play, pause, scroll back, play, pause, scroll back, play at half the speed….. I think you understand what I'm saying
As you see here it can be a valuable addition as lesson material next to all the work the Swoard instructors still do and have been doing the past years.
Just like the participants are progressing, the media of this year is following the same path.
We've always had some available, yet compared to this year it now exceeds the expectation of the past years. The organization did a great job on finding the people and convincing them to make this footage. A perfect example of the progress in the video for instance, is of course the addition of the drone with it's beautiful bird-eye view of the slope with the carvers and the scenery.
I think we all get the point here, right?
Just like every ingredient I've touched here above, progressing in the community is a bit falling behind but we and you in particular can fix that.
You've seen all the awesome stuff, share it via any social media platform to spread the word. For sure other people will get interested in what we do with our Swoard boards.
Please note I'm not in anyway connected to Swoard or part of the organization, this is just a proposal from me as a longtime enthusiast of extreme carving and I can't think of doing anything else than carving down the slopes on my Swoard
I've seen quite some new faces this year, so small progress has been made here already.
Direct other enthusiasts to the forum to help them familiarize the technique and the used material. Don't be shy to ask questions, that is what the forum is for. Normally social media isn't the right place to have extensive conversations, yet can be a perfect starting point from a simple question on let's say Facebook to follow up on the forum with the help of the video and/or images.
You know my take on all of this, now it's your turn and let me and in particular the organization know what your findings/opinion is.
It would be a shame if it were to stop here right? We're getting close to 15 years of ECS and that should be and is a hell of an achievement so let's help each other out, not just ourselves but Swoard also.
SWOARD EC Pro 175H + F2 Race Titanium + Head Stratos Pro with ACSS attached personally by Arnaud ;)