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"Now that it seems to you that you have doubled the range of your motions, as I asked", said the instructor to his uncertain student, "double them again, square the result, multiply that by 3.5 and you will have accomplished half as much as you need to". So advised the instructor to his fearful student, who seemed more like a zombie than a living human. Of course, a few learners will move too much, but even these will likely move in the wrong direction or at the wrong moment or pace, so they, too, can benefit from a pair of eyes outside their own bodies to help them understand the effect of their motions.
MOTION is the special province of the animal kingdom. Plants, mainly, are rooted; mostly they just sway or drift. Animals go where they please, and when, and how. It's great to be an animal. Let's capitalize on our special attribute!
To use the body in a physical way that involves the blending of balance and motion gives a sensation of pleasure that may be narcotic. Snow-boarders know this, as do ice-skaters, and, I suspect, so do tumblers, gymnasts, acrobats, dancers, roller-bladers, sail-boarders, surfers, mountain-bikers, rock climbers, and probably golfers and tennis players. Football place-kickers probably know it, too, but I doubt if many other sports participants can relate to what we skiers feel, and I wonder if the competitive fires enjoyed in these other sports are adequate compensation for not having these sensations of managed balance and motion. Skiers, though, can compete, too, in ski racing and other means.
CONTROLLING MOTION is a major focus of skiers--at least it is of those who survive. Controlling motion on skis may involve changing direction or changing speed or both. By turning our direction of travel we can avoid things, or, if we prefer, hit them (like a ramp to lift off)! To change our speed we have three choices, and the first is again a change of direction, for if we ski more steeply downhill, we can speed up; less steeply, we can slow up. A second way to change our speed--if the snow is soft and deep--is to sink our skis into it so there is resistance on them and our legs. The third way is to put the skis in a tilted position so their edges scrape the snow, creating friction. (Here, someone usually notes there is a fourth way--you can also fall down; of course this creates even more friction).
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Two four-letter words are key to this
sliding sport: MOVE and MORE. Yes, move the body parts into new positions to
point the skis, tip the skis, and pressure the skis. And, for most, move more,
because our uncertainties inhibit us into too much caution and the skis don't
get our intended directions strongly enough to do what we want them to.
Favored are the animals that fly or swim. Watching flocks of birds veer in unison or
porpoises surfing in formation can give us humans pangs of jealousy. We, however, can
dance with intricate fluidity. We can harmonize with the undulating haunches of a trained
riding horse. We can flit underwater with the aid of swim fins or surf down wavefronts with
boards or just our bodies. We can sail over water with the wind, or soar on it
with wings in the sky. We can slide across ice
surfaces, even twirling and leaping as we go. With wheels we can do more on
solid ground. Skiing, too, is about the
human body in motion, allowing gravity to propel us. Skiing is setting our bodies free from
attachment to Earth. It is another, special, way to do the animal thing of going where we please, and when, and how.