Basic HTML Version
18
Escarpment Magaz ine Winter
2012
Position of the Arms...
When novice skiers think about what they should do with their arms, they usually get all
mixed up. It’s much better for them to focus on feeling how they are standing on the skis.
I advise beginners to let their arms hang loose. Hold the poles loosely; let the baskets dan-
gle on the ground. I emphasize that they should not worry about their arm position, and
should avoid holding their arms in front or out to the sides. The ‘hold’ command is a very
powerful one. When you ‘hold’ your arms you override one of your body’s automatic
mechanisms for balancing and instead of being able to react quickly, you first must
release the ‘hold’ and then react.
It is a myth that the arms should be held in front -- they really do need to
be free to move instinctively to help you stay in balance.
A second, perhaps even more important, reason why the arms should
never be held in front of the body is that it causes tension between the
shoulders, which interferes with the nerve pathways between the brain
and the feet. Skiing in balance requires foot sole sensitivity, and this is
definitely interfered with when the arms are held in front.
Control...
Control of your speed, and your path down the mountain depends
on three things: balance, (which we've talked about), turning and
skidding. Unfortunately you need to do all these things at the same
time.
With the emphasis on carving that's come with the new ski technology,
it is really important to understand that a carving ski accelerates,
which is great for racers who are seeking speed. Remember though,
that beginners usually want the opposite -- they want to slow down. It
is super important to teach skiers how to skid their skis to control their
speed, and this means they have to learn to sideslip. The ability to
sideslip (going sideways down the slope) involves balance and edg-
ing skills, and both need to be practiced. It's tough to slide sideways
if you are not perfectly balanced, and it also requires the ability to
flatten your ski on the snow.
It takes lots and lots of sideslipping to develop a good ‘feel for the
snow’. Ski racers are very subtle in their edging skills because they have
spent more time than anyone else sideslipping as they study race
courses.
Edging skills include both flattening the skis to allow a skid and tipping
the skis over to stop the skid. You must flex your ankle to tip the ski on
its edge, we often refer to this as rolling onto the edge.
There are differences between carving or arcing pure turns, doing a
skidding or breaking turns and side slipping with little resistance.
*
FEATURE
|
ski ing for dummies 101