Agree. Learning to move the torso up/down/around over the feet, as if the feet were stuck in place on the ground, is easier than learning to move the feet around under the torso, as if the torso were stuck in place up there in the air. On dry land our feet stick to what's under them. It's familiar.I've been thinking about this a lot. I think skiing from the center is an advanced technique. Moving isn't.
In the old days skiing was all about movement. Up/down. creating counter, actively twisting the skis off the tails, rotating.
Then it all became "oh with the new skis you don't need to do that anymore." Just stand on the center of the ski, keep your upper body quiet and tip side to side. Add some rotary and you're all set.
Just like the PMTS method, this is hard to do well. It's awesome when you master it, but it's not easy.
On the other hand extending to release, going up and down, moving your upper body around -- that's all easy. Limiting, but easier.
So I contend that mastering fore/aft is a basic skillset. Not trying to always be in the center. Knowing what being forward does, what being back does and what being centered does.
Using your legs to do everything takes a ton of practice. Using the forces of fore/aft and up/down are simple foci. Do what you need to get there, and try please not to flail around in the process!
To start learning on snow to move the feet around under our torso, as if it were stable, takes a big leap of faith. Or many small increments of newness that build up over time. Treating the torso as stable while making the feet do their thing independently under it is an advanced skill because it is so very different from dryland perambulation.
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