Most skiers know that they are supposed to balance on the outside ski, however exactly how this is achieved is not well understood. Unfortunately, getting it wrong results in a lack of balance on the outside ski.
Technique Versus Tactics
I’m sure most of us can relate to the situation – you receive feedback on your skiing only to then receive contradictory feedback, sometimes from the same person! This can be confusing at best and downright infuriating at worst!
In my experience, this is typically due to a failure to distinguish between technique and tactics.
Natural Stance in Skiing
I recently re-watched a video featuring John Gillies – coach of the Canadian demo team – talking about natural stance and balance in skiing. I often use the same approach when I am teaching and was surprised at how similar our explanations are – almost identical! It is an approach worthy of a blog article.
We often talk about stance as though it were a position, which sounds very static. When skiing, we need to be in constant motion to deal with the forces that we encounter.
In skiing, the forces acting on us are constantly changing in magnitude and direction. We must therefore be in constant motion to deal with these forces in a way that maintains strength and functionality. Every movement we make should help us to maintain strength and functionality. Movements that weaken us should be discarded.
Sled Dogs
Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Oslo to meet with a couple of guys from Sled Dogs Snowskates. Sled Dogs are essentially inline or ice skates for snow. They comprise a ski boot with a small, built-in ski.
Stance
Hello fellow skiers!
I’ve decided to write a short article about stance to follow up on my last article about balance.
Stance and balance are closely related. You may remember from my overview of ski technique that stance and balance are treated as a single skill. How you stand determines where you balance but balance is just one element of stance.
Why is stance important?
Balance
Hello fellow skiers!
It’s been a while since my last post. In the last few days I have moved to Idre and have been getting myself organised for the season (still don’t have internet – relying on Idre’s free wifi). I’ve had a few days back on skis and am looking forward to the season!
In this post, I want to talk about balance. I think everyone can appreciate the importance of balance in skiing, but what is good balance in skiing?
Use Exercises to Improve Your Skiing
Hello fellow skiers!
In my last post I talked about one of my favourite exercises – skiing on the outside ski. I thought I’d follow up with a post about how to use exercises in general, to develop your skiing.
Exercises are invaluable tools for developing your skiing. My experience with my own development and teaching others has taught me that training is most effective when you focus on one thing at a time. When you ski, there is a lot going on, making it difficult to focus on just one thing. Exercises provide a way to break skiing down, allowing us to focus on one skill at a time.
How to use exercises to improve technique
Skiing on the Outside Ski
Hello fellow skiers!
Skiing on the outside ski is one of my favourite exercises and a great way to get your ski legs back at the start of the season.
It is one of the best things you can do for your skiing because any issues with your technique will immediately become apparent, making it difficult to successfully perform the task.
The idea is to be able to lift the inside ski and balance on the outside ski throughout the entire turn. At the end of the turn, put the ski down, lift the new inside ski and turn the other way.
Why ski on the outside ski?
Balance on the Outside Ski = Grip
Hello fellow skiers!
Every skier has been told to balance on their outside or downhill ski at some point in their skiing career. However, if you read my overview of ski technique, you may have noticed that I didn’t make any mention of balancing on the outside ski. So why is it so important to balance on the outside ski and if it is so important, why didn’t it rate a mention in my overview of ski technique?
Technique vs Style
Hello fellow skiers!
I recently read a great article by Josh Foster – CSIA Level 4 and Director of the Big White Ski School – in which he discusses the difference between ski technique and style.
His message is that technique and style are two different things and in order to progress your skiing, you need to have both.
While I agree that a good skier will possess both, my thought process to get there is slightly different.
Ski Better! 