Counteracting and counterbalancing

[Harald]

HarveyD wrote:
Harald or others,
Can someone please elaborate on the difference in these two terms? I assume that counteracting involves the mid-body as it is discussed in Expert 2. I guess that counterbalancing involves a move of the upper body over the downhill ski. Also, Harald, could you please discuss the figure-of-eight turn?

HarveyD
You are right on both counts. (figure 8 turns will come later) At the point of ski engagement in a new turn you have a number of options. In PMTS we like to engage the edge rather than steer the skis. Steering the skis is one method still taught today. It requires that the edge be set by the old downhill ski to stop the skidding (bleeding). The skier then uses the edge set to push off the dh ski and steers the body and the skis toward the new turn (repeating this exercise all the way down the mountain). The ideal turn for this technique (the one supporters believe is attainable) does not exist, as the body cannot steer the skis through rising and flattening alone (or is it flattening and rising). There has to be torque applied either from the ground, as I described, or from the body internally in the form of counter rotation. Since the originators of the rising, flattening to steering approach have resisted adding the necessary counter rotation or counteracting activity at the moment of steering, they have only the push-off to rely upon. Adding to that factor, they prefer to recommend that the hips stay square, which really produces a dilemma for the learning skier, as it is impossible to steer skis while keeping the hips square to the skis. It is for all these reasons you see most skiers using the push-off method when taught by this methodology.

Now to PMTS, we teach counteracting movements of the hip to complement the release for many reasons. A countered hip helps to align the body to accept higher edge angles and higher forces. A square hip is weak and can easily be brought into uncontrollable overrotation, depending on the method of release. A countered hip also allows the skier to feed in appropriate ski-following -- not rotation -- as the skis carve through the arc. If the hip is square or rotated early, there is limited following available, so you either get camping-out or a full body rotation. Most skiers don?t try to follow from a square start, as they sense a complete loss of ski and edge control resulting from body rotation, so they simply park on the edges, which is the same as camping-out on the edges. I see this demonstrated often on the slopes by the carver want-to-be crowd.

Counter balancing (Expert Skier II) is another way to begin a turn without pushing off the stance ski, rotating the body or counter rotating the hip. You can actually begin a turn using counter balancing while in a square hip position (especially on shaped skis). The reason is that if you focus on counter balancing it balances your body while engaging the skis. When the skis engage in the snow, the side cut and the subsequent friction on the snow begin a turn without assistance from rotation or counter rotation; this can happen when the hips are square to the skis. I?m not advocating a square hip, but this is one circumstance where it could work; however, it is not the scenario that is taught by traditional methods. What counter balancing movements achieve is great versatility when combined with an already complete transition, high C engagement, and dynamic PMTS carving.

[HarveyD]

Harald,
Thanks for this lucid description. The tip concerning flexion and counterbalancing that you posted in the "wide stance" thread further amplified this concept for me.