Efficient/Inefficient Movements - Made Easy

By RJ Nicoalds

We are all familiar with this document. If you have attended any PSIA events or exams recently, I know you have heard references to this material. In fact, I bet you have a crumpled up, rain soaked copy in you ski jacket. You know, the one cover the four basic skills if skiing, the mechanics of skiing as well as a useful movement analysis tool in one easy page. The concise little outline with the numbered bullet points as supporting documentation. Just in case you don’t, it is on the following two pages.

Anyway, no one believes that PSIA has finally found something so compact and so easy to understand, that it can actually fit on to one double-sided page. Better yet, it doesn’t cost $29.95 and you don’t have to buy a new one every time there is a new National D-Team. The problem is, there is so much information, in such an easy format, and it is too easy to understand, it is perceived as difficult.

Well, it really is that it is easy. Easier than you might think! So, before we go any further, rip out the opposing page and be ready to reference it as we go through the article.

First, the Four Basic Skills of Skiing:

¯ A & F reference Fore/Aft Balance and Pressure Control Movements

¯ B & G reference Edge Control Movements

¯ C & H reference Lateral Balance and Pressure Control Movements.

¯ D & I reference Rotary/Turning Movements

E & J reference Discipline of the Upper-Body and Hands, which are NOT part of the Four Basic skills of skiing yet still very important.

Second, each numbered statement under the individual lettered heading gives specific body part references to how the particular skill is being applied. Read each sentence and visualize how the body parts are aligned and how they are moving. Try to picture how the movements affect the relationship of the ski on the snow. Develop in your mind an understanding of the differences between efficient and inefficient skiing. This understanding is the first step to understanding Movement Analysis. how the body parts are

Third, use this as a Movement Analysis tool.

¯ Under the Efficient Movement headings, all the numbered statements are usually present in efficient skiing.

¯ Under Inefficient Movement headings, the numbered items can be used as multiple choices. Often times only one or two of the numbered items are present in someone’s skiing. For example: “F.1” references someone who flexes the knees and hips, which puts their hips and the bulk of their mass behind their feet over pressuring the tail of the ski. “F.2” references someone who over flexes their ankle and positions their mass in front of the feet over pressuring the front of the ski. Both scenarios are listed under the same header, but are never present in the same skier.

Finally, here are some underlying themes in this document that promote efficient skiing.

¯ All body parts referenced as primary forces to initiate rotary and edging are below the waist. These are the ankles, knees, hips, and leg.

¯ Any references to the upper body add to discipline and continued movement in the direction of travel. These will help maintain a balanced position where pressure is distributed accurately throughout the turn.

¯ By using body parts below the waist to initiate edging, the body is skeletally aligned so that gravity is used as a primary force to de-camber the ski and make it change direction, or carve a turn. This alignment also allows accurate use of rotary because the ski is pressured in the middle.

¯ If the skis are tipped on an edge, weighted in the middle, and pressures is directed to the outside ski, the ski will do all the work for us. It then becomes our task to keep moving with the ski.

There you have it, the efficient/inefficient movements made easy and easy to understand. Take some time to play with this and make visual connections to skiers on the hill. Be careful not to over think it either. It really is that easy if you just take a moment to understand the big picture first and back it up with the details second.

RJ Nichoalds – DCL, NW Tech Team & Training Director Ski Klasses, Inc. Stevens Pass

 

 

Revised 10/22/99

Efficient Body Movements in Skiing

Visual Cues

This information is intended to be an analytical tool and a reference for good skiing in most ski instruction situations. This guide is not intended to describe every movement and position that very high-level skiers pass through in the extreme situations of World Cup racing and mogul skiing. It does define the basics of skiing that should be the foundation of movement for all skiers, whether they are recreational skiers, instructors, racers, bump skiers, or even extreme free skiers.

 

A. Flex and extend your ankles, knees, hips, and spine to balance over the whole foot as you control pressure on the skis so you can flow with the terrain.

  1. The outside ski bends from the middle.
  2. The shins maintain contact with both boot tongues.
  3. The body flows continuously with the skis.
  4. The skis flow over the terrain.
  5. The skier exhibits fluid motion as a result of continuous and coordinated movement at joints.

 

B. Use diagonal (forward and lateral) movements of the feet, legs, and hips to engage and release the edges of the skis.

  1. The skis tip on edge early in a turn.
  2. The shins contact both boot shafts forward and laterally.
  3. The edges are released and engaged with one smooth movement.
  4. Ski lead change occurs before you enter the fall line.

 

C. Direct your balance to the outside ski in a turn.

  1. The outside ski bends more than the inside ski in a turn.
  2. The shoulders stay level to the horizon or they level out through the turn.
  3. The inside half of the body leads the outside half through the turn.
  4. The inside leg is flexed more than the outside leg in a turn.

 

D. Turn your legs under your body to help you guide the skis through a turn.

  1. The legs turn more than the upper body.
  2. Turning movements originate in the feet and legs.
  3. The upper body is stable and quiet.

 

E. Direct your upper body and swing your pole to flow with the skis through turns.

  1. The hands are forward.
  2. The inside hand, shoulder, and hip lead through a turn.
  3. The shoulders are forward of the hips.
  4. The pole swings smoothly in the intended direction of travel.
  5. Vision is forward and the eyes look to the intended direction of travel.
  6. Pole touch/plant complement the desired turning outcome.

 

Mechanical elements do not in themselves make a great skier. They merely create a foundation for that intangible quality of “touch” - that is, the profound connection of the skier with the skis, snow, momentum, and the mountain.

 

Inefficient Body Movements in Skiing

Visual Cues

F. Balance is not maintained over the whole foot and flow over terrain is lacking.

  1. The knees and hips flex without ankle flex. The hips are continuously behind the feet.
  2. The ankles are over-flexed with the mass continuously in front of the feet.
  3. The legs are continuously flexed with no lengthening of the legs during turns.
  4. Extension is primarily vertical, leading the late edge engagement.

 

G. The skis’ edges are not engaged and released efficiently.

  1. The upper body tips to engage the edges.
  2. Edging is primarily from the knee without involving the whole leg.
  3. Edges are released with a vertical movement instead of a lateral movement.
  4. The edge is released with a continuous lifting of the downhill ski.
  5. The hips are too far inside a turn too soon, causing a lack of progressive edging movements because the skier is over-committed early in a turn.
  6. The edge set interrupts the gliding and guiding of the skis.

 

H. Balance is not directed over the outside ski.

  1. The inside ski bends as much or more than the outside ski in a turn.
  2. The inside hand is continuously lower than the outside hand in a turn.
  3. The inside hand is back.
  4. The outside ski runs straighter than inside ski, the outside ski does not “come around.”
  5. The shoulders are always tipped in and never level out relative to the horizon.

 

I. The legs are not moving under the body to guide the skis through a turn.

  1. The shoulders and torso initiate turning of the skis.
  2. The hips initiate turning of the skis.
  3. The outside hand crosses the body.
  4. Pivoting of the skis is uncontrolled.

 

J. Balance is not being directed throughout the turn.

  1. The pole swing is late, non-existent, or erratic.
  2. The body does not flow down the hill but continuously hangs back or clings to the hill and the previous turn.
  3. The hands are low or behind the shoulders.
  4. The line of vision is downward and/or not in the desired direction of travel.
  5. The pole touch/plant interfere with the desired turning actions.

 

Great skiers may pass through any of these movements or characteristics in isolated instances, especially to recover their balance while pushing the envelope of speed and intensity. Consistent use of any of the above actions should lead us to look for reasons why a skier is making inefficient and ineffective movements.