I came across the following "article" that I'd written 9 years ago and just thought it might be appropriate to share it. It might be worth something to someone. Maybe not.... But here it is. I tried to get the photos in the illustration to upload directly to this post, but the forum wouldn't upload it, so I've included links to where they are in GogglePhotos. Sorry for the inconvenience. P.S. Forgive my reference to "Power Point". It has nothing to do with Microsoft and I should probably re-name it at some point .
You can agree or disagree. Feel free to critique it. I'm prepared to defend the logic behind it, but I'm always looking to expand my knowledge and explore other points of view. Just for the record, none of what I write or say is "the final word". It's just how I approach skiing. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read it.
LEVERAGE- The “Secret Sauce”
Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved
I remember not too long ago, watching in awe as POWERFUL looking skiers would ski by.
Many of them appeared to be naturally gifted athletes. When speaking to them most could only
attribute their success to learning proper ski technique and training. Everything just seemed to
work for them and I found many totally unaware of elements of their equipment allowed them to
ski so beautifully. What many of those powerful skiers exhibited was a natural LEVERAGE
generated inside their ski boots! IMO, this is the “secret sauce” to becoming a powerful
skier…for the rest of us.
Often you will hear “expert” instructors say “roll the knees to edge the skis”. Though not totally
inappropriate the knees should not be the first “trigger” in “chain of movement” (the sequence of
how the muscles fire when making a turn). Whether they realize it or not, real expert skiers
(mostly) begin the chain of movement AT THE BOTTOMS OF THE FEET. The feet provide the
anchor from which power transfers to the ski, then followed by rolling of the knees and ultimately
angulation of the hips. Yes, one could initiate an edged turn by rolling the knees or even with hip
angulation, but if you think about it, when you start with the feet, the skis engage immediately.
The farther up the movement chain you begin the turn with the slower the skis will react.
To be even more specific regarding where the first “trigger” point of a turn is, you will find it
slightly behind the ball of the foot, and slightly to the inside of center. I call it the
“POWER POINT” [See illustration1]
Illustration 1
Adjusting equipment for the individual skier for maximum efficiency relatively
simple, yet seems to escape most of the “expert” boot fitters, technicians and
instructors alike. One simply has to locate the “POWER POINT” and balance the
skier over it!
The POWER POINT is essentially a fulcrum. Once located, all
you have to do is make sure your foot is supported properly at that location as it becomes the
“command center” of the boot/ski interface, allowing the skier to direct power
to the ski by simply rolling in any direction. This provides the most efficient
control in all directions and becomes the key to fine tuning your turns as they
develop! [Note- Some boot fitters focus on supporting the arch. Over-support of the arch can defeat the fulcrum/pivot point which is essential for maximum foot control.]
Once the skier’s mass is aligned over the POWER POINT simple movements of
rolling the feet can transfer power/energy fore/aft/right/left to the ski with little or
no body movement. Getting the ski edges to engage early is the key to a great turn.
The biggest issue that I see with so many skiers is poor fore/aft balance. The more precisely
balanced (positioned) from front to back on top of the ski the easier it will be to direct the edges
of the ski, end to end, at will. Think of it like a teeter-totter. Imagine someone sitting in the
middle of a well balanced teeter-totter. It isn’t hard to get one end to go up and the other to go
down, or vice versa. But if the sitter is just a little off-center, one has to make contorted moves,
just to keep the teeter-totter in a balanced position.
We have all seen skiers “in the back seat”, butt sticking out, hands out and forward, just fighting
for ski control. Some really good skiers put up with a bit of back-seatedness, and somehow
manage to stay in control and are really never quick nor efficient. At the end of a long day their
legs are tired and burning.
Fore/aft balance is pretty easy, but has some issues that we never speak of. Every boot has a “ramp
angle”. That is essentially how high the heel is in relation to the toe. The position of the boot
mounted on the ski affects how much ramp angle is needed due to the curvature of the top of the ski
(see illustration 2). It is essential that the skier is aligned so that he/she can be balanced front-toback
over the POWER POINT so that supporting all of the skiers weight (mass) is done skeletally,
rather than being held in postion with muscular effort. In other words, the skier should just be able
to stand in the flexed skiers’ position with the mass balanced right over the POWER POINT. Most
often a skier out of balance needs more ramp angle to get aligned longitudinally (fore/aft) to get out
of that “back seat” position. Often too little ramp angle is easily fixed by adding a small heel lift. It
is far more rare to see skiers with too much ramp angle. Too much ramp angle is exhibited by too
much pressure on the tongue area of the boot, or in extreme cases, “hanging” in the binding.
[Footnote: Often when a skier is too far back on his skis an inexperienced instructor will tell
him/her to “keep the hands forward”. Adjusting the hands without addressing the longitudinal
balance is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. Everything starts with balancing over the
PROPER point of the feet (POWER POINT)]
Illustration 2
Once we have established proper fore/aft position we can turn our attention to lateral alignment.
If you will note in Illustration 1, the Power Point is not located in the center of the foot, but
almost directly behind the second toe. With the foot properly positioned neutrally (laterally) on
the boot insole, one has to make sure that the natural stance laterally aligns over the POWER
POINT. This can be measured with a plumb-bob, hanging from the center of mass of the knee to
roughly over the second toe. Once this is accomplished, the boot cuff should be adjusted so that
there is equal space on both sides of the lower leg. Getting all the elements aligned laterally will
allow quick and easy access to the edges on both sides of the skis.
Once all this is done, the fun begins. While standing in your boots, try to feel for the POWER
POINT area on your foot. In my boots I actually build up the area with a few small pieces of
decorator tape (similar to electrical tape, but not as gooey). Duct tape can work well too, but
requires fewer pieces and is not as easily refined. Once I have the proper support, all I have to do
to edge in either direction is ROLL MY FOOT OFF THE POWER POINT. Because of where
my mass is aligned, I can adjust pressure to the front or back of the ski with very little additional
effort while I am edging.
The major part of the success of the system is the leverage generated. You see, as you roll your
foot/ankle off the POWER POINT, your lower leg will LEVERAGE into the side of the boot. It’s
like pushing off from the bottom center of the foot INTO the side of the boot. You should be able
to feel it from the top (usually front) part of your ankle and pretty far up the boot shaft. By
leveraging THIS way your boots don’t have to be as stiff to generate the kind of power needed to
make slicing turns. The foot and leg are held solidly by the torque created when pushing from the
center of the foot to the boot walls.