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Help Needed: Body position

RJ*

Angel Diva
Hello Divas!

I had a very helpful private lesson a few weeks ago where the instructor had me practice side slipping and falling leaf for an hour on a red run. It felt pretty scary at first but when I realized I was in control, wow! What a difference it made afterwards.

I am going over the instructions in my head since I’m going skiing again this weekend, and I can’t remember something specific about body position he said. He had me face my upper body down the slope with skis pointing across before we started moving into side slipping, and asked me to commit my weight against my downhill boot (still not moving, just feel the weight there). I was a bit scared and it took me some time to let go of the fear and finally do it.

I THINK what he said that made the difference was that my hips needed to face the fall line as well, not just my shoulders and waist. I am not sure of this though and I can’t remember what it felt like in my body because I was scared and there were too many things to think about at once. I swear, next time I’m taking notes!

I want to repeat this exercise on my own and this not being sure about the hip position is bugging me. Can any one of you divas with a little free time help me clarify that?
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Yes, but...your hips may not be at the same angle from your skis as your shoulders. (As I stand up in my office to figure this out!! Staff think I'm nuts!) The hip angle should match your ski tip angle. This way the uphill ski is ahead of the downhill.

Weight needs to be centred too, or you're going to head forward or backward.
 

RJ*

Angel Diva
Yes, but...your hips may not be at the same angle from your skis as your shoulders. (As I stand up in my office to figure this out!! Staff think I'm nuts!) The hip angle should match your ski tip angle. This way the uphill ski is ahead of the downhill.


Thank you for answering! This is when you are moving, correct? I think the part that is confusing to me is that we did this drill while not moving and my skis were pointing to the side of the hill. So if my hips were matching the ski tip angle then, they would be facing the side of the slope.

So if I understood correctly, as soon as you initiate the turn, your hips should be in line with your skis, causing zero torque on the knees, correct?

I am wondering if the point of this drill was to get me over the fear of committing my weight forward on a steeper slope, rather than practice the actual position while skiing.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
....
I THINK what he said that made the difference was that my hips needed to face the fall line as well, not just my shoulders and waist. I am not sure of this though and I can’t remember what it felt like in my body because I was scared and there were too many things to think about at once. I swear, next time I’m taking notes!

I want to repeat this exercise on my own and this not being sure about the hip position is bugging me. Can any one of you divas with a little free time help me clarify that?

Imagine that your skis are the top and bottom lines of this rhombus.
Skis are pointing at the trees, to our right.
Uphill ski is a little ahead of downhill ski.
This is called "tip lead," and it's good.
The line of the rhombus that connects the two tips is the "tip line."
Your hips should line up with the tip line, and your shoulders should line up with the tip line.
That gets your entire torso, from pelvis up to shoulders, pointing somewhat downhill.
Hips and shoulders will be matching the skis. That's what your instructor was talking about.
You can turn your head to look more downhill to see where you're going.
Weight needs to be mostly on the downhill ski.
That's it. Think "rhombus" and you'll know what to do.

pb_rhm_40683_sm.gif


Hips/pelvis and shoulders usually line up with the tip line naturally. If your skis and body are lined up in a square instead of a rhombus, with the "tip line" coming straight down the fall line instead of at a diagonal (as above), then you're said to be skiing "square." Having tips lined up "square" usually involves having the pelvis/hips/shoulders also lined up "square."

There are a number of good reasons for aligning yourself in a rhombus instead of a square. It helps a skier move their feet/skis/legs independently of their torso/upper body. That's called upper-body-lower-body-separation. Once a skier can turn the skis/feet/legs separately from the hips/shoulders, that skier will have much better balance as they make turns. Short radius turns become more possible, and short radius turns are the golden nugget of skiing.

Fear/caution makes people want to face their hips/shoulders up the hill. It's a little like a camel with its head in the sand. Some part of the unconscious believes that facing uphill deletes the downhill threat of falling into the abyss. But alas facing the trees or uphill does not assure security. It makes it hard to ski with fluidity and confidence, it throws you off balance with every turn, and makes it very difficult to see where you're going.
 
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RJ*

Angel Diva
This helps as well. I'm a visual learner, so thank you for the image! I will think rhombus this weekend. Easy to remember!
 

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