Movements can be defined as displacements variations in space of one part or the whole body. In our skiing motor development, we transform reflex and disorganized movements into voluntary, coordinated, and regulated movements.
While all skiers may have the same capabilities for moving, the expert is distinguished by movements’ quality while other skiers are recognized by movements’ quantity. A common misconception is that, as the movements we perform are sufficient to achieve our goals, we do not improve them, impairing motor behavior as time passes; causing motor compensations which further hinder our technical performance. This is why conscious practice allows us to master movement quality, not quantity; exploring sensations and not just imitating a model; finding better postures rather than accepting an imposed motor structure.
As we ski, we make use of voluntary, reflex, and automatic movements.
- Voluntary movements are considered when there is a dependency between our mental representation (movement image) and the execution of that movement. Facing a situation, we intentionally analyze, interpret, and decide the appropriate movements. These are directed to goal achieving and their execution improves with practice. Voluntary movements include four phases: planning (searching for solutions); programming (developing responses); execution (putting them in action); and correction (rectifying them if necessary).
- Reflex movements are directly fired by an external cause, being defined as innate motor responses (not acquired by learning). They are fast and involuntary responses in which we may not be aware of their execution. During our skiing motor development, we acquire the capacity to regulate these reflexes replacing them with voluntary actions.
- Automatic movements are voluntary movement repetitions that, after a certain time, they convert into habits in which our attention does not intervene, with the purpose of saving energy expenditure since they do not need our prior analysis and interpretations. They combine features of reflex movements and voluntary movements. We can say that our body tends to automate repetitive movements and, in expert levels, automation is the skiing economic side related to effort.
Movement image
Movement image, visualization or mental representation is the idea that precedes movement execution. To be considered voluntary, movement images together with our intention should be motor behavior generators. If we don´t have a movement image, then our skiing motor behavior will be considered as a reaction. It is understood that movement production is associated with our representation of movement consequences. According to Berthoz (2010), movement mental images are the person’s action representations, not representations of himself or his body.
Our motor behavior is performed to produce an effect in the environment and it is closely related to our mental representation of those effects. When this relationship is stable through continuous practice, it facilitates the possibility of anticipating the effects of our future actions.
Movement image is our mental design of the motor execution and its control will depend on the clarity of this image that will be remembered in our memory.
The Kinetic chain
The kinetic chain is the sequence of movements in which each body segment is an important part of an action implementation. These segments are coordinated, transferring the generated impulse (ascending or descending) from or to the snow to trigger the technical execution. This chain comprises muscles, bones, and the nervous systems working together to produce the desired movements.
The generated impulse is transmitted by each body segment and it is fundamental that we keep a stable posture to allow the harmonious deployment of all movements. If our posture is not proper, then deficient movements are generated consuming greater energy expenditure.
The kinetic chain provides movements’ structure through bones and joints. A movement of one joint affects another, so this is the reason of a proper bone and joint alignment in skiing. Correct muscular usage also influences the proper maintenance of our movements’ chain. If there is a segment with flawed performance in the kinetic chain, the global action will be impaired.
In the execution of the technical gesture, it is essential to determine what part of our body generates the first movement. The trigger movement is the one that gives origin to the chain. For the beginner, as the trigger movement tends to be in the upper body where body mass is greater, when learning to snowplow he moves his arms mimicking the position the skis should take. This also is observed when learning to turn using, as a primary movement, the trunk’s tilt and/or rotation towards the turning direction.
In advanced levels, because of experience and conscious training, the trigger movement is located, in the majority of the cases, at the lower end of the chain, i.e., the feet. The racer takes advantage of both ends of the kinetic chain together or separated; trunk and/or feet according to the situation.
