Derin Day 4

Work and play today! Derin actually allowed me to train her in technique – in exchange for a little bit of playtime in the snow! In reality she didn’t have much choice – it’s time to strengthen her technique and move forwards.

We worked on four specific areas:

• Arm carriage
• Skating
• Pelvic Awareness
• Angulation

Arm Carriage

Derin skis with her elbows close in by her sides and fists (thumbs) turned outwards . We need the exact opposite. Although we did drills (as in the video) this is really a postural issue and it will be more profoundly dealt with through developing awareness of the roll of the pelvis.

Skating

I explained to Derin that efficient propulsion in skating mainly comes from falling forwards. This is not only an exercise for getting the legs working and developing a feel of appropriate timing in skiing – it is specifically at the moment to help Derin move away from her tendency to lean on the backs of the ski boots.

Pelvic Awareness

Much more can be found written about this from the menu tab at the top of this page on “ChiSkiing”. The aim here is to become aware of the pelvis and separate out its movement and actions from the rest of the body. Derin has never really thought about her pelvis and tends to move everything else along with the pelvis. In skiing the goal is to counter rotate the pelvis against the direction of turning – so as the skis come around the turn the pelvis doesn’t. This slightly twists the spine in a favourable direction – tightening the abdomen and activating the involuntary postural muscles.

Angulation

Correct hip angulation commences with pelvic awareness. When side slipping Derin tends to push her bottom downhill and lose all angulation – instead of moving her head and shoulders downhill and the bottom uphill. Working from the pelvis we started to correct this today.