So I think Geepers is on the right path with the mental focus here. The reality(science), is that the movement comes from the femur moving in the hip socket. You can believe it or not but that is the truth of it. Let’s explore the opposing opinion and talk about why the distinction is important.
First, I teach essentially the same thing as most people are teaching here. Skiing starts from the foot up. I speak a lot about feeling the bottom of the foot, moving pressure from the aft to the fore in a diagonal direction, tipping the foot first. All of these things are to promote more body awareness and feeling. Also, I want the focus to be at the ski level. I want the athlete/student focused on the outcome not the process. All of these things point to a feet/ski centered approach. That is where most people feel these movements so it’s ok to focus on that. This could lead into a internal versus external cues discussion at this point, because that is what we are really talking about here. How to get the athlete/student to focus on something that produces a desired result. At the end of the day you need to use what works best for the individual student, and many have found a foot/ankle approach produces the desired results.
Why is it important then to understand that the movement doesn’t come from the place most people are successful focusing on or feeling it. The reason it it changes the cause and effect relationships and gives you a better insight into what may be going on with a skier. If the movements come from the pelvis, then the pelvis alignment becomes much more crucial. The pelvis has to be aligned to allow the desired tipping and rotational movements to occur. If it is rotated into the turn one cannot release before realigning the pelvis. Also range of motion for abduction will be constrained as well as the ability to balance on the outside ski. If rotated out the turn too far, one will become braced, pressure will move to the heel further restricting the ability to release and manage pressure.
Finally , many have spoken of the kinetic chain. I think there is a bit of misunderstanding with the process of the chain. It is my understanding that the chain refers to the joints working together of simultaneously to achieve a certain movement rather than a progression of movermernts started at one end of the chain or the other. One may say this disproves everything I said above, however I think it actually makes my point. The mental focus is key to the athlete/student to achieve the outcome. The ability to see where the movements are coming from is key to the coach/instructor. Working together much like the kinetic chain is the important part to achieve the outcomes desired.
I think it is definitely a good thing to focus on the foot/ankle however I also think we need to understand, regardless of our opinions, what is really going on. That will make us better teachers/coaches for our students/athletes.
