Mark started out this session completely under the tyranny of an uncontrollable snowplough and unable to skate – so there was literally no control whatsoever. The very first thing I did was teach him how to skate – using gravity for propulsion and the feet for “gripping”.
The final result after four hours of work was well worth waiting for!
1 – Feet
Diverge the skis and diverge the feet inside the ski boots – rolling them onto their inside edges.
2 – Adductor muscles
The muscles in the inside of the upper legs must squeeze inward together to hold the feet on their inside edges and keep the knee joints solid and protected.
3 – Hip (Angulation)
Pull the supporting hip backwards away from the lower front rib cage. This prevents upper body rotation into the turn and protects the lower back from injury (due to activating the postural reflexes).
4 – Centre of Mass
Move that Centre of Mass (INWARD) – it’s what the skis need to be able to function. Either fall laterally into a turn or push from the skating uphill ski. Extend that uphill (outside) leg at turn initiation and keep it extended pushing you into the turn. If you bend to absorb terrain do so mainly at the hip joints.
Links:
http://madeinmountains.com/dynamics/
http://madeinmountains.com/beginners/ (Skating!!!)
http://madeinmountains.com/chiskiing/ (Hip Angulation)
http://madeinmountains.com/pivo/
This is what dynamics plus Angulation eventually look like… (Alex)
Pivot
Use the pivot (swing) quality of the sideslipping ski to initiate even dynamics turns from the uphill edge of the uphill ski.