Derin only skis one week a year so she’s looking remarkably good for her first day back on skis this year. When Derin was little I would always ask her what her favourite school subject was and it was always drawing or something close to that. Imagine my surprise when now she answers “Mathematics and Physics” to that question – absolutely perfect! I’ve been waiting patiently for this for ten years now.
Derin has always exclusively been taught to ski with dynamics – from day one! Until now we have never been able to discuss the subject in a way that makes it truly conscious – that raises awareness – because that requires the language of basic physics. The video above is Derin consciously applying physics to her already strong skiing technical base.
Dynamics
In physics we find the subject of Mechanics. Mechanics has two separate parts – Statics and Dynamics
Statics is about objects at rest (or in continual motion in outer space) where all forces are balanced.
Dynamics is when there is no balance of forces – instead there is “disequilibrium” or “acceleration”.
Due to a misinterpretation of mathematics normal ski instruction is firmly but wrongly based in Statics – where the principal instruction is to place the weight over the base of support and to maintain balance. Derin has never been taught this and so was never taught to snowplough as a beginner.
Today Derin had to verbally describe and understand how to use the mechanics of dynamics – to move her centre of mass using the organised accelerations provided by the skis – – in entering a new turn, developing the turn and exiting the turn with the centre of mass. This involved extending the uphill leg to push the centre of mass downhill into the turn and down toward the snow (inclination) then maintain the drive inward of the centre of mass until the end of the turn – exiting the turn my letting the downhill ski cut almost back up the hill beneath her trajectory to lift her up and out of the turn ALL on the same leg. To understand this process properly you need to know that centrifugal force is a fiction – an illusion – and only exists in mathematical procedures not in reality. (In Physics it’s called either a d’Alembert force or Inertial Force – but it’s a mathematical trick not a real force – hence it does not provide “balance”.)
Stance Derin was a bit worried about the appearance of her stance in the video – but I assured her it is all going in the right direction. We only have to bring the feet a bit closer together and there are ways to achieve that. Posture looks good and even arm carriage and fore/aft positioning on the skis look remarkably good – now that dynamics is working strongly and clearly – putting her firmly on one leg at a time and activating the right reflexes.
