you can also go the other way and squeeze a foam ball or something a bit squishy between your knees.
The thing is, the key to skiing with a narrow stance is not only to just get comfortable with your feet, or more specifically your legs, closer together...but actually its about initiating certain moments in a way that will automagically keep your legs close together and a narrow stance. You won't have to even think about it, it will just be where it feels comfortable and lots of people will be saying "gee you sure have a narrow stance".
I ski with a very narrow stance, I don't know how many times a well intentioned PSIA or resort clinician has at the very least asked about it and at other times downright challenged me about it. I don't agree with them so I just shrug my shoulders anymore, or nod my head and try to move on, sometimes I will try to ski a little wider just to make them satisfied for now, but honestly it makes me ski worse. A narrow stance, and I don't mean "functional", I mean "NARROW", is more efficient if you have good balance and and good transition skills. There is a time and place for a wider stance at certain moments, but in my view that is the exception to the rule. And don't mean 50% of the time exception, I don't mean 25% of the time. I mean less than 1% of the time.
As others have hinted, by "narrow stance" I mean how much airspace between the legs. You want leg independence, not glued together (which is why I don't really like these drills with squeezing a ball or holding the legs together), but basically you want your legs very close together. Probably won't see much daylight. but the legs should not be glued together they need to be totally independent.
Don't even worry about how far apart the feet are...the feet might be wide, even while the legs are close together due to vertical separation and that is to be expected if you are really laid over. If you aren't laid over the feet will be close together too. Going wider with the legs only constrains and limits you from skiing dynamically.
LF, myself and others have already mentioned the key movement...which is at turn init, pull the new inside (downhill), foot in as close and back as you can, and balance on the outside ski. That's it. Then just feel relaxed, let the inside leg shorten. Pulling the inside knee up out of the way vertically is the only seperation you want to create: VERTICAL SEPARATION.
If you focus on vertical separation instead of stance width, init your turns properly with active inside foot... you won't have to tie your knees together or force yourself to do anything, your will just have a nice narrow stance without even thinking about it. It is a RESULT of certain movements. BTW, forcing a wider stance will kill those movements too.
The thing is, the key to skiing with a narrow stance is not only to just get comfortable with your feet, or more specifically your legs, closer together...but actually its about initiating certain moments in a way that will automagically keep your legs close together and a narrow stance. You won't have to even think about it, it will just be where it feels comfortable and lots of people will be saying "gee you sure have a narrow stance".
I ski with a very narrow stance, I don't know how many times a well intentioned PSIA or resort clinician has at the very least asked about it and at other times downright challenged me about it. I don't agree with them so I just shrug my shoulders anymore, or nod my head and try to move on, sometimes I will try to ski a little wider just to make them satisfied for now, but honestly it makes me ski worse. A narrow stance, and I don't mean "functional", I mean "NARROW", is more efficient if you have good balance and and good transition skills. There is a time and place for a wider stance at certain moments, but in my view that is the exception to the rule. And don't mean 50% of the time exception, I don't mean 25% of the time. I mean less than 1% of the time.
As others have hinted, by "narrow stance" I mean how much airspace between the legs. You want leg independence, not glued together (which is why I don't really like these drills with squeezing a ball or holding the legs together), but basically you want your legs very close together. Probably won't see much daylight. but the legs should not be glued together they need to be totally independent.
Don't even worry about how far apart the feet are...the feet might be wide, even while the legs are close together due to vertical separation and that is to be expected if you are really laid over. If you aren't laid over the feet will be close together too. Going wider with the legs only constrains and limits you from skiing dynamically.
LF, myself and others have already mentioned the key movement...which is at turn init, pull the new inside (downhill), foot in as close and back as you can, and balance on the outside ski. That's it. Then just feel relaxed, let the inside leg shorten. Pulling the inside knee up out of the way vertically is the only seperation you want to create: VERTICAL SEPARATION.
If you focus on vertical separation instead of stance width, init your turns properly with active inside foot... you won't have to tie your knees together or force yourself to do anything, your will just have a nice narrow stance without even thinking about it. It is a RESULT of certain movements. BTW, forcing a wider stance will kill those movements too.