As a ski race coach, who skied in some world cup races as a competitor and coached world cup racers, I find there is no commonality between ski school, instructor skiing and world cup racer skiing.
There is such a large difference between the two that maybe they could even be classified as different sports. Like the difference between the bobsled, luge and the Cresta Sleds.
The movements and maneuvers that traditional instruction uses in their national systems would never hold up in the world cup arena.
Some examples are obvious, instructors teach and use up extension movements and skiers in slalom use retraction movements.
Instructors teach leg twisting and steering while world cup skiers use tipping and inside leg flexing and tipping movements.
World Cup skiers use relaxing and momentum to drop inside the turn to create angles, ski instructors use extension and push-off to move themselves into turns.
These are not subtle differences, they are totally opposite bio-mechanics. Yet the traditional instruction world still clings to the idea that their instruction systems are based on world cup skiing. You can be the judge. If you look at the posts on this Blog about World Cup skiing and skiers you will begin to notice some differences. Hopefully for your own sake!
The difference is clear in this comparison. Upper body discipline being the most obvious. Although this also shows in the lower photo, instructor skiing, already square to the skis at the falline, dropping the inside hand, losing hip angle and leg length position. The hard edge sets, due to excessive unweighting between turns, by instructors, is very obvious in versions of their higher end skiing.
There is such a large difference between the two that maybe they could even be classified as different sports. Like the difference between the bobsled, luge and the Cresta Sleds.
The movements and maneuvers that traditional instruction uses in their national systems would never hold up in the world cup arena.
Some examples are obvious, instructors teach and use up extension movements and skiers in slalom use retraction movements.
Instructors teach leg twisting and steering while world cup skiers use tipping and inside leg flexing and tipping movements.
World Cup skiers use relaxing and momentum to drop inside the turn to create angles, ski instructors use extension and push-off to move themselves into turns.
These are not subtle differences, they are totally opposite bio-mechanics. Yet the traditional instruction world still clings to the idea that their instruction systems are based on world cup skiing. You can be the judge. If you look at the posts on this Blog about World Cup skiing and skiers you will begin to notice some differences. Hopefully for your own sake!
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