FUNDAMENTAL SKI SKILL

Ski balance is not inner peace that one finds from being on a corduroy track with the sun shining and the crisp air flowing through your hair as you effortlessly glide.  Though that is a type of balance but I am talking about physically balancing on a moving ski.

Many skiers fail to achieve balance because they do not set themselves up for success.  Inanimate objects, like domino tiles, will stand up if the centre of mass is over the base of support.  If the centre of mass is not directly over the base of support, it will topple over.

Your body's centre of mass is located just behind the belly button.

So if your base of support is your left foot, you need to get your centre of mass over that foot.  In the picture below there is no question as to the ski balance of racer #2.

But notice that there is something very different about ski balance and say yoga balance.

We are in motion!  We are not static!  As you push off one ski to stand on the other ski your new catchphrase should be "landing in balance" or more specifically "landing in alignment".  In Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) I talked about getting the centre of mass moving so that when the foot lands on the step, the body is already over it.  So if you are mindfully practicing your FMS then the next progression is to do it in alignment.

Alignment means keeping the points of the spine - belly button and sternum, in particular - over the foot.  It doesn't matter which way your body is facing (I won't go into the rotation/no-rotation debate) as long as the "chakras" are aligned over your base of support (foot or ski)

Look at the earlier picture of the ski racers again.  Did you notice that all the skiers' shoulders were level?  That their "chakras" were vertical and over the foot?  

One of the best ways to learn to do this is with a slide board.

If you have a slide board you can practice this action by pushing off one guard (in the picture below the hockey player is pushing off his left foot and moving towards his right) and as you slide across to the other guard, you keep your weight over top of that foot.



When you hit the opposite guard your centre of mass should be over the foot already.  This is what we call "landing in balance".  Don't let the fact that the push leg (in the picture below it is her right leg)  is still on the ground because all the weight is on the glide leg (that is her left leg).



If you don't have a slide board but have linoleum floors then you can create your own "slide board" by wearing socks that will slide on the linoleum.  

Tip: you will find it easier to land in alignment if you recover the leg under your body so that the leg and torso slide across already in alignment!  Ignore the arm position but look at this hockey player's alignment as he begins to push to his right.



Do not let the foot lead or get ahead of the torso because that will result in vaulting!  If the young man in the picture below was an XC skier he would never achieve balance on his skis because like the domino tile his centre of mass is not over his base of support, i.e., his foot.  His centre of mass is stuck between his feet.



Even though all these pictures are of skating, the same concept of landing in alignment applies to all techniques that require weight transfer to stand on one ski.