LEARNING - Bodily and Postural References - The Ski Education Journal

When skiing, we encounter a variety of references. Different skiers use different references. For some, postural balance references are the most important, while for others it is sliding or movement references.

Key Feet/Legs References

The Three Joints Reference: the ankles serve as the primary interface for sensory modulation; the knees as regulators of temporal pressure (speed), while the hips provide the structural stability and torque necessary for high-force management. The efficient mobility and alignment of all three joints is a refence for a centered stance.
The support foot (outer/downhill) functions as the primary structural support and pressure-bearing axis, whereas the steering foot (inner/uphill) acts as the primary agent for trajectory steering and edge-angle initiation and control.
The short inner/uphill leg relates to the steering foot little toe and the long outer/downhill leg to the support foot big toe.
The pelvis acts as an “anchor” by firmly placing it towards the inside of the turn (centripetal posture).
The centripetal posture of the pelvis can be coordinated simultaneously with the shortening of the inner/uphill leg.
The toes control the tips of the skis; the heels control the tails.
The big toe controls the inner edge; the little toe controls the outer edge.
The ball of the foot is the reference point for ski pivoting.
Inside knee drive reference, as a lateral femoral rotation, is executed when pointing the right knee towards the right when turning right and the left knee towards the left when turning left facilitates the setting of the little toe edge.
Shortening the supporting leg will facilitate the initiation of a direction change to that side.
Legs should act like springs and a key reference for this is to work the angles of the ankles between a more “closed” position (bent forward) to a more “open” position (less bent).
The space between feet, as maintaining a consistent separation between boots, serves as a reference for lateral stability and leg independence.

Feet References

The soles of our feet provide us with reference points in relation to the ground, acting as true “tactile retina” (plantar proprioceptive feedback) The simple contact of our feet through the boots and skis with snow texture induces us to take that sensation as an essential postural reference. Basic feet references can be as follows:

Learning to ski from the ankles down.
Applying the Pareto Principle to skiing, where 80% happens in the feet and 20% in the rest of the body.
The tips of the skis are extensions of the big toes and the tails are extensions of the heels.
The toes control the tips of the skis and the heels control the tails.
When wedging, the toes control direction and the heels control speed by spreading the ski tails apart.
What makes it easier to start a turn to one side is to roll the closest foot on that side.

Basic Kinesthetic Feet References in Skidded Turns

When using kinesthetic references (sensation of movement), as we first use our feet as a reference before determining the position of our body in space and how it moves, it is advisable to coordinate basic kinesthetic feet references before starting our movements.

Coordinating balance and guiding action on the ball of the support foot while shortening the opposite leg.
Coordinating balance on the ball of the support foot while pointing the knee of the opposite leg in the direction of the turn (inside knee drive).
Coordinating balance on the ball of the support foot and the lightness of heel of the steering foot.

Kinesthetic Feet References during a Direction Change with Body Oscillation

Anterior-Posterior (A/P) Pressure Management:the longitudinal pressure shift—often described as the “rocking chair” effect—facilitates the progressive engagement of the ski’s sidecut, transitioning from a reactive initiation to a stable, carved finish.
Beginning the turn by balancing on the ball of the support foot.
Before the middle of the turn, feeling support on the inner arch of the same foot.
At the end of the turn, feeling support on the inner heel.
Repeating with the other foot in the opposite direction.

Hands/Arms References

Anterior positioning: the arms and hands are maintained in an anterior-lateral position relative to the torso, acting as dynamic stabilizers to counteract inertial disturbances.
Synchronized drive: the outside hand follows the trajectory of the outer ski, facilitating a unified lateral displacement of the body’s center of mass.
Slope correspondence: to ensure postural efficiency, the forearms should maintain a parallel relationship with the terrain’s gradient. This adaptation preserves the vertical alignment of the torso and prevents compensatory leaning.
Visual/Peripheral integration: a fundamental principle of upper body discipline is the constant presence of both hands within the peripheral field of vision. This visual feedback loop prevents “inside-arm lag,” a common technical error where the trailing limb triggers a parasitic rotation of the pelvis and shoulders, ultimately leading to the loss of edge engagement on the outer ski.

Postural References

Controlling our body motion in space presupposes the existence of reference systems. Body stabilization requires the appreciation of separation between the current position and a certain reference position (Paillard, 1971).

References influencing our skiing posture may come from:

Information about our head, arms and hands positioning (bones direction).
From support surface information about snow, skis, and feet.
From vertical and horizontal information.
From information about our body’s longitudinal axis.
From our motion (speed, vibrations).
From our spatial positioning (self-centered, geocentric, or exocentric).
From environmental elements (topographical references).

The Significance of References in Postural Organization

We rely on references for our postural organization. We seek to compare information about something that we identify to establish our own posture when sliding.

The reference set is called Reference Frame which includes the following:

The Vertical Reference refers to axis vertical detection, and it is one of the most used since we have a sense of verticality incorporated in our visual perception of the environment.
The Horizontal Reference as the perception of our gaze horizontality and the automatic stabilization related to that.
The Spatial Reference involves our perception and location into the surrounding space, i.e., the space of central vision for objects positioning in relation to us, and the space of peripheral vision as warning and location function.
The Body Axis Reference is our perception of the longitudinal axis that allows organizing body lateralization using a balanced performance of both sides of our body.
Podal Reference in terms of perceiving feet positioning related to our support surface (plantar proprioception).
The Manual Reference is applied when using our hands’ location for postural reorganization after balance disturbances.

Basic Postural References

The most important function of posture is to ensure balance. Efficient posture serves as a fundamental reference for generating efficient movements and actions.

To maintain an efficient posture, it is necessary to determine the following support references of the feet:

The ideal reference is to keep our feet about the same distance as the width of our hips. If they are too close together, we lose stability; if they are too far apart, we lose our ability to turn properly.
In straight runs, support is on the entire sole of both feet.
In curved trajectories, support is on feet borders on the side we are turning to (big toe side and little toe side) and mainly on the support foot.

Maintaining a proper shoulder and hips posture allows for an efficient upper body posture (joint stacking), which is characterized by the following references in the frontal plane in straight trajectories:

Shoulders should be aligned vertically over the knees.
Hips should be aligned vertically over the ankles.

In curved trajectories:

Shoulders should be oriented toward the tip of the inner ski in slight counter-rotated postures, and to the outer ski in more counter-rotated postures.
Hips should be displaced toward the steering-foot side.

In relation to ski position:

In a wedge, both feet should be tilted toward the big toe sides.
In parallel, feet should be tilted toward the side we are turning to (big toe edge and little toe edge).

Deviating from these basic postural references will require greater muscular effort to maintain a balanced posture.

References for Postural Alignments

These references help us to locate our body in time and space. Although they feel initially a bit structured, with practice will become natural.

The upper body should be inclined as much or more than the shins (nose over toes).
When turning or when traversing across the fall line, the outer/downhill shoulder aligns with the support foot and the pelvis is displaced toward the steering-foot side.
The chin tends to align over the support-foot toes.
Facing both shoulders toward the tip of the outer ski improves upper body posture.
Keeping the outer/downhill shoulder and arm aligned in the frontal plane with the outer/downhill foot will avoid shoulder rotation, improving outer hand drive.
Aligning the shoulders’ line slightly ahead of the bindings (protraction) ensures an attack position that stabilizes balance when absorbing the crest of terrain undulations (bumps/moguls), ensuring that the pressure remains directed over the center of the skis rather than being forced into a defensive, rear-weighted stance.