Core Principles

Core Principles of Skiing

  1. Dynamics
  2. Skating
  3. Centering


Unchanging Principles


The interplay between those three core principles generates an inexhaustible universe of creative possibilities to explore. In nature, when three or more objects interact, there is unpredictability. In simple Newtonian mechanics the powerful laws of physics work perfectly for two objects colliding but are unable to cope with three objects. Even the motion of the planets cannot be precisely predicted too far ahead because of this phenomenon. Here we just have three main components on which we can base skiing – but the creative potential this unleashes is boundless. The underlying simplicity of each of the three core principles however remains unchanged – like three primary colours – or the hexagonal form of a snowflake. Every snowflake is different – every turn on skis is different  – but the the underlying principles don’t change. 


What are the three Core Principles?



DYNAMICS is physics. When objects experience either change of speed or direction or both they experience dynamics. It can be defined as the mechanics of “disequilibrium” – the opposite of “balance”. Dynamics is the heart of skiing. Unfortunately all national ski instruction systems worldwide actually teach “balance” and get the physics totally confused – hence also the instructions. That’s why it’s so incredibly important to get this right.

SKATING is biomechanics. Skating is just a very natural way of moving. It simply combines our normal propulsion movements with a continued sliding. Whereas Dynamics is more concerned with the overall motion of the body, skating gives us a framework to understand the relative motion of all the body parts. 

CENTERING is the application of both dynamics and skating to directing the motion of the centre of mass. Skis are operated though their relationship with the centre of mass. The centre of mass actually moves around the physical centre of the body (it’s not a fixed location). The physical actions of the body all start from and move out from the centre and mental focus has to ideally be brought to this centre. 

Those three Core Principles underpin all that is required to transform ski instruction into one of the greatest personal development platforms in existence.