A thought came to mind as I watched this video of Mikaela Shiffrin,
watching her upper body, which is always oh-so quiet and disciplined. Then, I thought about what I recently mentioned, in another thread, the matter of utilizing the core. That triggered the thought that the upper body is active, very active. We just don’t see it. And the more we don’t see it, the more active and successful we are at keeping it quiet and disciplined.
So much is written and taught about what the feet, ankles, knees and hips are doing, what the arms are doing when poling. I think the upper body (torso, COM) deserves some attention as to what it is doing. So, here are some things I focus on Doing.
1. I endeavor to keep my upper body perpendicular to the slope. That is a huge reference point to me. I was recently advised to lean forward some, that this is what athletes do. I acknowledged I am very upright, but did not state why. Well, here’s why. Try drawing your feet and legs back to start a turn way-high. Can’t be done nearly as well with the upper body leaning forward. Does it make it more challenging to stay “solid”, in balance, not get thrown. Yes. There lies the work, the Activity. It takes as much attention as all that we do with our legs. In fact, I’d say, more attention, with what the lower does being far more autonomic and reactive to accomplish the goal.
2. That ‘we turn skis or skis turn us thread’, that’s lower body speak. Look at what Mikaela is doing. To me, the focus is the path the upper body is traversing. See that dotted line before you? That’s where you want the upper body traveling, our Purpose. That takes work, the Activity. What we do with the legs and skis is simply the means, which we still need to learn.
3. The upper body glides over the surface of the snow. Ok, that’s not what happens as we dip down and pop up in powder. But, other than that, it is the most efficient, rather than working to reverse downwards, towards-the-snow, momentum in order to rise back up. So, it behoove us to have our upper body moving as if it were in a Rolls Royce, unperturbed by what is below. That takes Active attention to our upper body.
For sure, all that is done and taught about the legs (feet included) is of utmost importance. But, I think we need to tie that closely with an objective, the objective being what we wish our upper body to Do. That upper body, that is “separated” from the lower body, it helps to know more exactly what is expected of that upper body, just as a dance master or choreographer instructs students or performers what is expected of the upper body.
When you ski, what are you thinking of, if anything, with respect to your upper body?
watching her upper body, which is always oh-so quiet and disciplined. Then, I thought about what I recently mentioned, in another thread, the matter of utilizing the core. That triggered the thought that the upper body is active, very active. We just don’t see it. And the more we don’t see it, the more active and successful we are at keeping it quiet and disciplined.
So much is written and taught about what the feet, ankles, knees and hips are doing, what the arms are doing when poling. I think the upper body (torso, COM) deserves some attention as to what it is doing. So, here are some things I focus on Doing.
1. I endeavor to keep my upper body perpendicular to the slope. That is a huge reference point to me. I was recently advised to lean forward some, that this is what athletes do. I acknowledged I am very upright, but did not state why. Well, here’s why. Try drawing your feet and legs back to start a turn way-high. Can’t be done nearly as well with the upper body leaning forward. Does it make it more challenging to stay “solid”, in balance, not get thrown. Yes. There lies the work, the Activity. It takes as much attention as all that we do with our legs. In fact, I’d say, more attention, with what the lower does being far more autonomic and reactive to accomplish the goal.
2. That ‘we turn skis or skis turn us thread’, that’s lower body speak. Look at what Mikaela is doing. To me, the focus is the path the upper body is traversing. See that dotted line before you? That’s where you want the upper body traveling, our Purpose. That takes work, the Activity. What we do with the legs and skis is simply the means, which we still need to learn.
3. The upper body glides over the surface of the snow. Ok, that’s not what happens as we dip down and pop up in powder. But, other than that, it is the most efficient, rather than working to reverse downwards, towards-the-snow, momentum in order to rise back up. So, it behoove us to have our upper body moving as if it were in a Rolls Royce, unperturbed by what is below. That takes Active attention to our upper body.
For sure, all that is done and taught about the legs (feet included) is of utmost importance. But, I think we need to tie that closely with an objective, the objective being what we wish our upper body to Do. That upper body, that is “separated” from the lower body, it helps to know more exactly what is expected of that upper body, just as a dance master or choreographer instructs students or performers what is expected of the upper body.
When you ski, what are you thinking of, if anything, with respect to your upper body?