Jack looking stable – particularly on the steeper terrain where the start of the turns is carried out smoothly (not rushed) working the outside ski with pressure from good independent leg action. The skiing on the flatter terrain is a bit too much “two footed” – probably because it’s harder to feel things on slower flat terrain.
Sara’s target today was to eliminate hip rotation on her left side. This led to delving more deeply into “hip angulation” issues and body management. Getting on top of hip rotation however left Sara in the back of the boots once again – so we had to work on exaggerating a forward lean to be sure to feel the front of the skis working. On gentle terrain Sara could feel the difference is the ski’s function. Part 2 of the video clip was just a bit too steep to show off the changes – but brought out some good rotation and speed control.
Scarlet’s confidence,speed and range of movement is increasing every day. Good natural rhythm and dynamics. Just watch for a tendence to initiate (and finish) turns with upper body rotation sometimes – just let the body (centre of mass) move laterally relative to the skis and for the chest to follow the skis around the turn – not lead the skis around. Work on clearer independent leg action – use skating exercises.
Side Slip “Joystick Control”
To be able to descend steep slopes very slowly sometimes we need to side slip. It’s important to know how to control the side slip by directly using the centre of mass – “Joystick” control! This includes forward/ backward diagonal side slipping and stopping/starting all by just moving the centre of mass.
Skis need to be close together for this to work.
Side Slipping is also critical for developing good pivoting skills.
Body Management (Hip Angulation)
Take a look at the two Olympic champion skiers in the photograph below.
Killy’s image from the 1960s has his chest facing downhill whereas Noel’s image from 2022 has his chest facing forward. What Killy is doing destroys your lower back and is probably why he never went on skis again after he stopped racing.
Protecting the Spine
- Hold the front of the pelvis up – aiming for “neutral pelvis”
- During the turn pull the outer hip backwards so that the ski doesn’t pull it in front of your ribs
- Look for a stretch between the ribs and hip joint
- Look for a reflex contraction of the lower abdominals – the postural reflex
- Keep the shoulders/chest following the skis (to some degree)
- Always “counter turn” the pelvis more than the chest/shoulders (It’s only the pelvis that should “face downhill”)
Source of Hip Angulation
The upper body needs to tilt forward over one hip joint – then rotate around it. This is in addition to pulling back the outside hip etc.
The body shape produced alters the location of the centre of mass enabling pressure on the ski fronts and also greater agility both into and out of turns – and pole planting if the skis are swinging laterally.
The hip angulation also provides flexion of the hip joint that gives absorption of shocks.
When the entire body inclines into the turn with hip angulation present this below is what it looks like.
