In "Skiology Part 1" I explained the importance of being able to recognise information that helps you to work effectively with your body and skis and warned that there is a lot of mis-information out there that needs to be avoided. A brief summary will help act as a reminder :

Skating is the basic underlying movement pattern for skiing. (Each stride becomes an arc/turn due to the skis. This leg action is the opposite to the commonly taught action of rising up or stretching at the start of a turn and sinking down at the end)

Skiing is about being stable while enjoying accelerations that throw you well out of balance. (Be extremely wary of the uninformed instructor who expounds the virtues of balance.)

There is a subtle difference between skating and skiing. When skating you push the body forward with each stride. When skiing, the action remains identical except that you push the body backward – gravity does everything else necessary to keep you travelling forward overall. To get the feeling there is a very simple exercise: try walking backward – yes, that simple – skiing is a reverse gait!

The main reason we walk or skate backward in skiing is to compensate for the initial acceleration and then deceleration during an arc/turn.

Walking backward is a very natural and powerful action. If you are trying to push a car from a standstill it is easier to get it moving by turning your back to it and pushing backward. Ice skaters often skate backward (travelling backward) because they can access greater power and acceleration from the legs and body.

(Note: Those who have studied skiing to some extent will have heard about "foot forward" techniques. This is where the outside foot in the turn is pushed forward during the turn. In addition, the inside foot can be pulled backward (as in Telemarking). Rather than trying to deal with this as some abstract "technique" it is simpler to recognise this as the act of skating or walking backward – it’s the same thing. )

Notice that when you walk backward you begin a stride on the front of the foot and you finish on the heel. Likewise an arc in skiing is begun lightly on the front of the foot and finishes by pushing up from the heel. Racers need the back of the ski boot reinforced to ensure correct feedback between the body and ski during this powerful finishing phase of an arc with the ankle straightening. Traditional ski instruction teaches the opposite – to sink down and bend the ankles at the end of the arc/turn – don’t ask why because there is no justifiable reason and it leaves most people on an eternal intermediate plateau.

The ski has two ways of turning you – and because of this a ski design is always a compromise. The ski turns you by either carving or pivoting.

CARVING: To carve, the ski runs cleanly forward along its edge, cutting into the snow or ice like a knife. The shape of the ski and its flex pattern help to determine the arc that will be carved.

PIVOTING: Pressure against a ski tilted slightly on its edge when it is travelling both forward and sideways will cause the ski to pivot. The classic "snowplough" position has both skis perfectly placed for pivoting – though unfortunately they are pivoting against each other when the skier moves forward, which makes it a very inefficient and confusing way to learn to ski. For this reason I never teach beginners to ski in a snowplough stance – though it can serve as a useful exercise for advanced skiers.

The ski is not a passive object – it acts as an extension of the human body. Appropriate overall management and timing of body movements to suit the terrain, snow conditions and the skier’s intentions all play a part in determining whether an arc will be carved, pivoted or somewhere in-between.

A carved arc requires the turn to begin with an overall movement of the skier’s body toward the centre of the new arc - most easily done by inclining whole body in towards the arc centre.

A pivoted arc requires the turn to begin with an overall movement of the skier’s body slightly toward the outside of the new arc, slightly flattening the skis and causing a slight drift sideways. Notice that where the novice skier might twist or force the ski sideways across the direction of travel (snowplough, stem, steering) the more experienced skier leaves the skis where they are and moves the body around instead. There are several ways to achieve and refine this – but simply actively pressing down on the new outside ski at the start of the turn is enough to get the body to move in the required manner to make the ski begin to pivot.

The backward (reverse gait) helps both carving and pivoting in another way that has not been mentioned yet. Stand on one leg. Pull the other foot behind and go through the imaginary action of kicking a football (exaggerated reverse gait)– so the foot ends up high in the air in front. Notice that the foot travels through an arc – a vertical arc. If you now stretch this leg out to the side and repeat the action (with a sideways angle at the hip) you will notice that the foot now traces out a horizontal arc. This horizontal arc is not the driving force behind the pivoting action of a ski, but it does allow the body to avoid resisting the pivot and so the skis work more effectively – in a pivoted arc the skis turn much more than the body. Carving also exploits this natural arcing with both the angle at the hip and and/or the entire body inclined over – changing the vertical arc of the "kick" into a more horizontal one. The arc made by the carving or pivoting ski actually compliments natural body actions very well and it is important to tune into this fact.

The body moves in arcs – to be more precise – in spirals. The arc made by a ski on the snow is also a spiral, starting gradually at the top of a turn and tightening up at the bottom. This spiral form (The Golden Mean) is nature’s way of providing a combination of efficient change and stability. Whereas "balancing" is about resisting change – skiing is about playing with changes – accelerations. The skier who tries to "balance" will always appear mechanical and restricted. The skier who searches for freedom of movement will discover a whole world of possibilities and rewards.

The novice skier tends to lean against the ski boots for stability – levering against the skis. This tendency to fight for control inhibits progress. To discover the stability that comes from a correctly functioning ski the skier must let go and allow the ski to work.

The intermediate or advanced skier frequently searches for "balance" – or even more nonsensical "dynamic balance". Again, this seriously inhibits progress. Put on a pair of Salomon Snowblades or even more radical Ski Boards and pick up a little speed on snow. When you begin a turn try to fall over into the turn by inclining too far over– you will find it virtually impossible to fall. If you are looking for "balance" you will only perceive this as a risk and never discover even a fraction of the possibilities available. Try to avoid keeping your eye-line horizontal with the horizon – incline your head along with your body and allow it to align with the forces passing through the body. The term "balance" is technically wrong in any case – replace it with "stability" and you can then communicate intelligently with fellow skiers.

The new breed of race carving skis like the Salomon SuperAxe Equipe 3V allow the skier to exploit this "out of control" control to new limits – that’s why they are being used to win world cup races. My own skis are now only 168cm long whereas only a few years ago I was using slalom skis 200cm long. Don’t be afraid of the new technology, it is really good and will help you to explore new limits that older technology simply did not permit.

Pole Plant: So you were taught to sink down and plant the pole at the end of the turn. If your aim is to stop dead then fine – otherwise don’t do this. Effective use of the legs provides stability by pushing up through the end of the turn (unless at very high speed) and the poles are barely needed.

The skis become flat between turns when they are going across the slope – and at this point with the skier standing upright, either the downhill, uphill or both poles can touch the snow for feedback, adjustment, security or support. This is the moment where there is no feedback coming from the skis as they are flat and there is little or no pressure against them.

Facing Downhill: A common over simplification in ski instruction is to tell the skier to always face downhill. In very short turns allow the hips to follow the skis around and in long turns allow the whole body to follow the skis around. There is only a problem when either the whole body (including hips) is artificially kept statically facing downhill, or either the hip, upper body or the whole body is used to actually force the skis around.

Posture: Keep the pelvis neutral (not tilted up or down at the front) with respect to the back – know your own body! Keep the upper body and pelvis working as a unit with both tilted slightly forward.

Breathing: Breathe out forcefully as you push up through the end of the turn. Breathe in between turns.

Heel Pressure: Work predominantly from the heels – not from the balls or middle of the feet. Stay on the heels when flexing but keep the shin in light contact with the front of the ski boot. This keeps the legs and ankles strong, allows the quadriceps and reflexes to work – keeps the knees in front of the body and allows both powerful leg actions and absorption of bumps.

Clothing: Get rid of your cotton polo ski shirt and replace it with a polar fleece shirt. This way you will not freeze on the chairlift after sweating from your skiing. This is especially important if you are wearing Goretex or similar waterproof/breathable outer clothing.