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Alpine Skiing |
Balance and Carrying the Energy
Good efficient skiing is a direct result of how well you stay in balance throughout your turns. When you look at balance, you can look at it in a few different planes: side to side balance, fore/aft balance, and diagonal balancing moves. How well you are aligned at the finish of your turn results in how much energy or momentum you can carry from turn to turn. So, how balanced are you at the finish of your turn?
If you are well balanced at the finish or your turns then life is good! You can shape your turn, you can use the momentum you generate from turn to turn and you can achieve higher edge angles and pressure earlier in the turn. Then you can flatten your skis and do it all again.
If you are slightly out of balance (fore/aft) a few things usually result: Your timing will be off and you will not be able to finish your turn when you need to and you will have to make a re-centering move before you go into the next turn. This results in a loss of momentum and disrupts having a smooth transition into the next turn. So, if you need to do some fine tuning to your (fore/aft) balance here are a few things to look into:
• Drills focusing on moving down the hill: skating, 500 step turns, leapers, patience turns, etc.
• Try to be more active in steering, edging, and pressuring the skis before the apex of the turn (quit being lazy and going along for the ride).
• Try to shape the turn with the focus on staying balanced throughout the entire turn (direct the skis under your body, not ahead).
• To add some touch to the finish of your turn try to relax your outside (downhill) leg as you crossover your skis and go into the new turn.
Efficient skiing results from being balanced throughout the entire turn. If you are out of balance at any point, it will result in some kind of corrective move to get back into balance. By fine tuning your fore/aft balance, you will have smoother transitions from turn to turn and you will be able to carry more energy from turn to turn.
