Structure: The Magic Bullet - Loading the crossbow

One of the clients I coach told me at the end of his session yesterday that what I had done for him during the previous two hours was some sort of magic! Although it's always nice for the ego to hear something like that from a student, I had to let him in on the secret that there was no magic involved. All I did was show him how to find his naturally athletic stance where he was using his structure to support himself and absorb the forces of the turn instead of using his muscle.

One of the more common structural problems we see on the slopes is the outside foot dragging back behind the skier's center of mass. This moves the pivot point forward on the ski because the mass is not aligned with the feet, but rather with a point on the skis somewhere forward of the feet. It also means that all the skiers mass is being pulled through that point on the skis rather than directly down through the feet. So instead of holding himself up with structure, the skier is using muscular effort to remain upright and resist the forces of the turn.

This can be a very hard habit to tackle. For one thing, in a way it works quite well for those that use it. The forward orientation of the mass does create a torque on the ski which will make it turn. The problem lies in the fact that although it is relatively functional in good snow on moderate slopes, it is not a versatile approach and as soon as you run into ice, steeps, deeps or other challenging situations you run into trouble.

A drill I often use for students who need to make this structural discovery is the SkiFlow(tm) Crossbow. Essentially, it involves gradually moving the inside hand towards the outside knee throughout the arc of the turn until they touch (inside and outside refers to the arc of the turn - if you think of the arc as part of a big circle, you will be able to imagine the inside and outside of the arc...). It is important though that the action be accomplished through the use of the entire body and not just the arms. The skier needs to move from the trunk. The arms are simply an extension of the shoulder which will move as the shoulder is moved by the trunk. This drill has a couple very important advantages:

• It forces the outside foot forward so that it becomes realigned with the mass. This happens through the simple fact of reaching the hand for the outside knee. The "accordion" type action of reaching for the opposite knee will force the foot forward by taking advantage of the diagonal "sling" of muscle and connective tissue which runs across the front of the body from the shoulder, through the hip and right down into the femur of the opposite side.
• The same "accordion" movement also places the skier's upper body architecture in a more favorable mechanical position. It brings the shoulders in line with the knees and allows the skier to continue moving efficiently to maintain balance between the center of mass and the feet, both laterally and front to back.

The net effect is a skier who is optimally aligned over the feet and able to use structure (skeleton) to support themselves rather than muscular effort. They are using their structure to remain upright and using their muscles to support that structure.

Here is a clip of the Crossbow.


[Video has been moved to the SkiFlow Inner Circle member's area on SkiFlow.com]