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 mastering movement quality, not quantity; exploring sensations and not just imitating a model; finding better postures rather than accepting an imposed motor structure.
Moovements Types
- 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.
Framework Matrix of Skiing Movements
| Cognitive-Intentional Motor Control | Kinetic Chain & Segment Alignment | Sensory-Mental Visualization | Bio-mechanical Trigger & Impulse Strategy | Energy Optimization & Habituation | Learning Progression Stage |
| Voluntary Movement Transition Transforming disorganized reflex movements into voluntary, coordinated, and highly regulated spatial displacements. | Joint Continuity Alignment Maintaining strict alignment of bones and joints to prevent a single joint movement from negatively disrupting adjacent joints. | Action-Focused Visualization Constructing detailed mental representa-tions of external environmental actions rather than internal body positions. | Ascending Kinetic Impulse Transferring generated physical impulses upward from the snow surface through connected skeletal segments. | Quality-Over-Quantity Practice Prioritizing precise movement quality and sensation exploration over raw movement quantity and mechanical imitation. | Novice Reflex Dependence Relying on innate, unlearned reflex movements directly triggered by external causes without conscious awareness. |
| Four-Phase Voluntary Execution Systematically cycling through movement planning, response programming, physical execution, and real-time correction. | Skeletal Structure Optimization Utilizing the interconnected bone and joint matrix to provide a rigid, functional framework for complex maneuvers. | Consequence Representa-tion Link Associating immediate movement production with the precise mental representation of its environmental consequences. | Descending Kinetic Impulse Directing generated physical impulses downward from the core mass to the snow to trigger technical execution. | Compensa-tory Pattern Prevention Halting sufficient but flawed movements to prevent permanent motor compensations that hinder long-term performance. | Novice Upper Body Trigger Initiating direction changes using upper body mass via trunk tilting and rotation toward the turn. |
| Intentional Analysis Loop Analyzing, interpreting, and deciding appropriate body adjustments instead of executing raw reactive responses. | Stable Postural Maintenance Maintaining a highly stable posture to ensure the harmonious, unimpeded deployment of all kinetic segments. | Predictive Effect Anticipation Stabilizing the mental image through continuous practice to accurately anticipate the effects of future actions. | Upper Body Mimicry Trigger Moving hands to mimic the physical angle and position that the skis are intended to take on the snow. | Habitual Attention Redirection Converting repetitive voluntary movements into habits to completely free up conscious cognitive attention. | Novice Snowplow Mimicry Using uncoordinated arm flaring to mechanically force the lower body into a basic snowplow stance. |
| Reactive Behavior Mitigation Eliminating unguided reactive behavior by ensuring every motor output is preceded by a clear movement image. | Neuro-muscular Chain Synergy Synchronizing muscles, bones, and the nervous system to work as a unified unit during execution. | Memory Image Clarification Refining the clarity of the mental design stored in memory to maximize real-time movement control. | Lower Chain Feet Trigger Locating the primary technical movement trigger at the lowest end of the kinetic chain via the feet. | Automation-Driven Economi-zation Automating repetitive movement sequences to significantly lower physical effort and muscle energy expenditure. | Advanced Conscious Exploration Using conscious practice to reject imposed structures and explore highly refined individual sensations. |
| Reflex Regulation Acquisition Acquiring the neurological capacity to actively regulate and replace innate reflexes with voluntary actions. | Flawed Segment Correction Identifying and rectifying a single poorly performing kinetic segment to prevent global action impairment. | Intentional Behavior Generation Coupling clear movement images with active physical intention to serve as the primary generator of motor behavior. | Dual-End Chain Utilization Engaging the trunk and feet simultaneously or independently based on the tactical racing situation. | Deficient Movement Elimination Correcting improper posture to eliminate deficient, energy-expensive movements that cause premature fatigue. | Advanced Lower Body Initiation Isolating the feet as the sole, highly responsive starting point for high-speed edge engagement. |
