Cycle/Progression of Efficient Movement Patterns

by Stan Aunan

Trainer Steven's Pass Ski School

PSIA-NW Tech Team, DCL

Summer 2002

One of the pivotal events in digesting new information is gaining ownership of it. If we understand a concept strongly enough to take hold of it, use it in a slightly different manner and meet with success, it becomes ours. After developing a fundamental, working knowledge of an idea, experimentation is the next step to making it yours.

A concept relatively new to our division, yet old enough for some to have gained ownership of is the Efficient/Inefficient Movement Patterns. The concept includes a number of other concepts, some of which seem separate from each other; Centerline, the Skills Concept, the Teaching

Cycle, Teaching for Positive Transfer, Common Skill Features, and more. Here are a couple of ways some of our membership is actively using the idea and helping it evolve and gaining ownership in the process.

Consider, for a moment, the list of Efficient Movement Patterns as a progression for teaching a first time skier.

Step 1: Teach them to flex the ankles, knees, hips & spine to stay balanced over the feet.

Step 2: Teach them to engage and release edges with diagonal movements of the feet, legs and hips.

Step 3: Teach rotary movements that originate in the feet and legs.

Step 4: Teach people to direct balance to the outside ski in a tUll1

Step 5: Teach people to use pole and arm movements that complement desired turn

outcomes.

Get through it all, and, voila, a dynamic skier. The beauty is that this idea contains no stipulated activities or a task yet involves them all. We are open to use any activity that can create a desired movement pattern. The movement patterns work like building blocks, each pattern building upon the previous one as a skier develops. Each step actually prepares the student for success in the next phase. Once an instructor begins to understand the movement patterns as outcomes, seeing when people are 'getting it,' or whether the teaching approach needs to be adjusted to better achieve an outcome becomes easy. As for the lack of specific activities, studying the efficient Movement Pattern more closely to learn about the specific movements under each of the movement categories makes activity selection easier.

Another part of the beauty is that this kind of progression applies neatly to any level of skier! As skill levels go up it begins to work simultaneously as a tool for analysis and a progression for teaching. Every skier falls into the Progression of Movement Patterns somewhere. Once we see where they are, where to start is readily apparent and so is where to go. Using the Efficient Movement Patterns in this way develops an understanding of relationships between them. Not only do the movement patterns work as building blocks, they function as pre-requisites to some degree.

For example:

A skier who cannot flex the ankles, knees, hips & spine to stay balanced over the feet will not be able to engage and release edges with diagonal movements of the feet, legs & hips.

A skier who cannot engage and release edges with diagonal movements of the feet, legs and hips will not be able to employ rotary movements that originate in the feet and legs and shape the turn through the finish.

If a skier cannot utilize rotary motions that originate in the feet and legs they will have problems with directing balance to the outside ski in turns

Etc, etc.

An awareness of cause & effect relationships is a natural part of the concept. Again, understanding the more specific movements within each category can really simplify activity selection to help improve the targeted movement pattern. To further develop the ability to use the list as a tool for analysis, explore the Inefficient Movement Patterns. They match up nicely with the efficient ones making it easy to make decisions. Spot an inefficient movement, and its counterpart on the corresponding efficient list will cancel it out. This makes problem solving pretty easy.

Consider the list again, this time as a teaching cycle of sorts. For first-timers we might use only the first three movement categories. Let's start cycling them through the series of movement patterns in boots only. Once they get ready to get on skis we can cycle through the first three movement categories again, having actually created some 'previous experiences' for them to relate to. Each time we present a change of situation we can cycle through the same movement patterns, placing our guests in a familiar environment while developing skills and experience. This approach makes beginners feel very smart, and very successful. It might look like this on paper.

Work through Movement Patterns one, two and three during each cycle

Cycle One: Boots only activities

Cycle Two: Skis on, Static activities

Cycle Three: Skis on, Basic Gliding

Cycle Four: Controlling Speed

Cycle Five: Changing Directions.

Again we find that this cycle will apply to any level of skier, and any situation. As the experience level grows we can move further into the Cycle of Efficient Movements. The Cycle applies neatly to Powder, Bumps, Short Radius turns, etc. Each situation has subtle differences in the application of the movement patterns, but they are so fundamental to skiing that they are still common to every situation. Through the Cycle of Efficient Movement Patterns, skiers get the chance to make changes in a simple, easy to achieve manner, and instructors get to work in simple, easy-to-see-results situations.

So don't be afraid to take our organization's information and concepts and change them for your own use a little bit. That is actually what they are there for!