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Movement Analysis - Whole to parts observation

If the skills or outcome based observation approaches don’t work for you no worries, I’ve got a big bag of tricks and there is bound to be something in it that tickles your fancy. How about something more holistic? Less formal?


In this type of analysis you look at the whole picture and begin to break it down. Is there something that jumps out at you? Investigate that and determine its importance. You may see that the hands are low, but is that really having an impact?

Flow plays a big role in this type of observation. Do the turns flow into one another? Where does the flow break down? The breakdown could be a clue.

Other parts to consider are the phases of the turn? What is happening and/or what should be happening? Look at the lines the body is making, could you draw one from the feet to the head. Or would you need to draw an angle?

This is the way I generally evaluate skiing, it’s also the same way I evaluate a design or script that comes across my desk at the bill-paying job.  It helps students when you can relate skiing to something they already know. It will also help you if you can relate use analysis processes you use everyday.

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