To understand our skiing motor behavior, it is suitable to differentiate between movements and actions. By movements we mean a position change, a certain motion between points in space or a specific body segment movement. Movements are the tools we utilize to achieve actions, they lead to actions and are essential components of them.
Actions instead produce something and have a purpose. They are movements’ continuous flow, coordinated in a specific way, a programmed sequence of movements with a specific goal. The action is what we do and the movement is how we do it. Actions are behaviors leading to a result while movements do not necessarily lead to a result. A series of coordinated and sequentially synchronized movements produce one action and one or more actions constitute a technical gesture.
As movements are part of actions, then there is no action without movement. Actions are not a set of simple movements; they are sequences of determined movements that resolve a motor goal. In skiing we do not move just because; we move to create actions that produce effects. The beginner tends to concentrate on movements; the intermediate skier is prone to pay attention to actions while the expert performs movements and actions without considering them (automatism) since his mind is directed to the attraction points of the terrain layout.
In the action, we materialize body movements. These are oriented at generating actions such as, e.g., maintaining skis-snow contact (pressure control action) through legs flexion and extension movements, and in edge controlling actions, we employ feet, hips or body inclination movements.
As examples, the action of changing the edges is composed of the movements of feet rolling and pelvis translation. The action of shifting our weight is constituted by releasing the pressure on one foot and the movement of loading the other foot. The action of carving the skis is set out by the movement of inclining our legs to the inside of the turn we wish to do.
In general, when concentrating on technical improvement, we tend to pay more attention to movements when in fact, the pretended actions should determine the necessary executing movements.
Language and action
The theory of Embodied semantics argues that, after referring to actions’ linguistic stimuli, sensorimotor brain areas are activated generating a language-action relationship. Several scientific studies show a strong connection between language processing and motor processes.
A feature of language is to describe actions and this word processing collaborates in our motor system activation. According to Hauk et al. (2008), when using specific words for action execution, pre-motor and motor areas are activated, known as motor resonance. In this way, there would be a correspondence between the semantic content of the action and the activation of these motor areas. In addition, language guides our attention to the sensation of the action to be executed, constructing an indispensable reference.
Motor resonance based on language is modulated by skiing linguistic input allowing an immediate and localized experience, i.e., oriented to a specific action. This phenomenon would consent the activation of the specific motor program because we understand the verbal description of an action simulating it mentally.
The verbalization related to the description of an action activates the motor cortex (Hauk et al., 2004); Pulvermuller et al., 2001; Tettamanti et al., 2005). In addition, language facilitates the implementation of the ideo-motor perception participating in determining the execution possibilities of a certain action.
We conclude that we achieve a precise perception of our skiing actions when we verbalize them because this procedure triggers our own internal knowledge of the action by mental simulation mechanism as well as the activation of motor cerebral areas.
Learning new motor actions
Certain motor actions are already incorporated into our neuronal wiring as, for example, in walking or running, the flexion and extension of our legs (crossed extensor reflex) or the weight change from one foot to another (stepping reflex) are executed automatically. While skiing, edge change through feet lateral rolling, legs, and hips tilting to assume the centripetal posture, or the rotation of our feet and legs for skis guiding are not common actions. These must be adapted to the novel activity and in so doing will create specific neuronal wiring.
The repetition of these actions will cause a new neural network and its strengthening will make information between neurons more and more fluid. Then, we will need not to concentrate whenever performing edge changing or steering actions because these will become automatic as the neural network used for this purpose has been consolidated.
