Skip to main content

Rotary Movements

Rotary movements, along with other movements, allow us to initiate a turn and guide skis through the turn

• If your skis are flat they will skid, If your skis are on edge the skis carve
• Beginner skiers use large-scale rotary movements often involving the whole body
• More advanced skiers use rotary movements that are subtle, originate from the lower body, and are distributed evenly throughout the turn

Upper body rotation
Of the shoulders, chest and lower back
Powerful motion but a slow way to turn skis
Turning is restricted by the abs, lower back, pole; as the upper body stops turning the forces are directed downward and the skis turn

Counter Rotation
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
If you turn something, something else must receive and equal but opposite torque

Leg Rotation
Simply turning your legs to make the skis turn
The femur connects to the hip and ball-and-socket joint allows rotation
Legs are powerful and the move translates to the skis quickly

• Proper use of rotary movements requires anticipation (tiger crouching before striking)
• Look in the direction of the new turn while your feet finish the old turn
• The upper body becomes an anchor for the lower body, tension is created, and released into the next turn

Countered stance
Is a form of anticipation, blocks rotary momentum
When the inside half of the body leads the outside half through the turn
“Strong inside half” – the strength and functional tension of the inside half facilities steering of legs

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

VAK - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic

Visual learners These students learn best by watching and imitating others. The following guidelines are helpful when teaching visual learners. • Ski well-executed demonstrations that illustrate the point. Be careful not to exaggerate and destroy the picture of good skiing. • Target the students’ attention to a certain part of your body or to particular movements.

Learning Styles – Doers, Feelers, Thinkers, Watchers

A learning style is the way a person’s sensory, perceptual, memorial, decision-making, and feedback mechanisms operate. Or more simply, the preferred technique to approach learning. Some students have a dominant style and others are comfortable in more than one. PSIA references different theories on learning styles, this is a classic one. Doers Values active experimentation Pragmatic, practical, functional Good problem solvers, work well with others Constantly active, doesn’t like being idle and gets frustrated with too much talking Learn by experimenting, trial and error Instructor should provide experiences that will guide the child Experiential learning is an effective method for all students

Getting the most out of a clinic

This is from a series of posts based on my experiences at The Hartford Ski Spectacular/PSIA-ASSI Adaptive National Academy in Breckenridge, CO. I used to go to PSIA/ASSI clinic and walk away with a nugget or two that would really click.  But at some point I thought I was spending too much money to just get one or two things (while having a good time on the snow and making friends). Here’s what I do to get more out of a clinic I carry my cute argyle notebook in my front pocket with a pen to every clinic.  The silhouette looks funny poking out of my jacket, but I’m OK with that. The mechanical act of writing helps me remember. If the weather is OK, I jot down notes on the chairlift or the side of the hill. Sometimes this means I’m skiing after the group whilst trying to put my gloves and pole straps on.  It would be funny for the group if anyone was around to see it but they are usually gone. If it’s too cold, snowy or rainy I jot down notes inside.  I will ...