Terminology

This page consists of a glossary and a section about some special terms. You don't have to learn the terms by heart. And not all terms are used in Pro Ski Instruction (PSI); some are included because you may come across them in other sources. However, you should look up a term if you have doubt about its exact meaning.

Some terms have a different meaning here than in other sources. The criterion for the meaning in PSI is that there should be no confusion caused by illogic or a significantly different meaning in common usage or kinesiological sciences. The meaning in common usage is determined by the Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries.

Words that are marked like this are defined themselves.

Glossary

A-C | D-F | G-K | L-N | O-Q | R-S | T-Z

Abduction

Movement away from the midline in the frontal plane. Antonym of adduction.

Adduction

Movement towards the midline in the frontal plane. Antonym of abduction.

Alpine athletic transitional posture (AATP)

The posture in between turns only, in which (next to the standard items [show/hide]):

• the knees are strongly flexed, as well as the trunk from the hip joints;
• the center of mass (COM) is backward of the feet's middle point but the shins stay in contact with the tongues of the boots;
• the arms are held diagonally in front with the elbows flexed;
• the axes through the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are as good as parallel, seen from the front and from above;
• the feet separation depends on the circumstances;
• if applicable: the weight is primarily or fully on the downhill ski.

Compare Alpine traversing posture, Alpine forward posture and Alpine sporty posture. See also About Alpine postures.

Alpine basic position (ABP)

Not used in PSI because it is an incorrect translation of the originating German Alpines (Schräg)fahrverhalten. The correct translation is Alpine traversing posture.

Alpine forward posture (AFP)

The posture at the start of the descent and in between turns, in which (next to the standard items [show/hide]):

• the knees are slightly flexed, as well as the trunk from the hip joints;
• the upper body is in a forward position, with the lower legs exerting shin pressure, so that if one were out of the skis one would fall forward;
• the arms are held diagonally in front with the elbows flexed;
• the axes through the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are as good as parallel, seen from the front and from above;
• the feet separation depends on the circumstances;
• if applicable: the weight is primarily or fully on the downhill ski.

This posture loads the tips of the skis and unloads the tails. That makes short and rapid turns much easier.

Compare Alpine traversing posture, Alpine sporty posture and Alpine athletic transitional posture. See also About Alpine postures.

Alpine sporty posture (ASP)

The posture at the start of the descent and in between turns, in which (next to the standard items [show/hide]):

• the knees are medium flexed, as well as the trunk from the hip joints;
• the upper body is in a forward position and the lower legs are exerting enough shin pressure to get the heels off the ground if one were out of the skis;
• the arms are held diagonally in front with the elbows flexed;
• the axes through the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are as good as parallel, seen from the front and from above;
• the feet separation depends on the circumstances;
• if applicable: the weight is primarily or fully on the downhill ski.

Compare Alpine traversing posture, Alpine forward posture and Alpine athletic transitional posture. See also About Alpine postures.

Alpine traversing posture (ATP)

The posture during relaxed traversing in which (next to the standard items [show/hide]):

• the knees are slightly flexed, as well as the trunk from the hip joints;
• the body is in the middle position with the center of mass (COM) over the feet's middle point, and the shins are touching the tongues of the boots but not exerting significant pressure;
• the arms are held diagonally in front with the elbows flexed;
• the axes through the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are as good as parallel, seen from the front and from above;
• the feet separation depends on the circumstances;
• if applicable: the weight is primarily or fully on the downhill ski.

Compare Alpine forward posture, Alpine sporty posture and Alpine athletic transitional posture. See also About Alpine postures.

Angulation

The formation of an angle between the upper and lower body in any plane. See also About inclination, angulation and lateral flexion.

Ankle roll

A term in some sources used for inversion and eversion. Not used in PSI. See also The two mechanisms that make skis turn and Improvement II.

Antagonistic muscle

A muscle that acts in a way that is opposed to that of another muscle.

Anticipation

A term in some sources used for prerotation. Not used in PSI. See also Improvement III.

Axis (pl: axes)

An imaginary or physical pivot around which a body (part), object or geometric figure can rotate.

Boot forward angle

The forward angle that a ski boot makes with the ski, being formed by the cuff angle and the ramp angle.

Bracing

A bodily posture with a rather straight outer leg, and a trunk that is flexed forward. See also About bracing, braquage and pivot slips.

Braquage

An intentional sideways slipping/skidding with a stable upper body, while the skis make alternate 180°turns within a corridor width of about the ski length:

Synonym for pivot slips. See also About bracing, braquage and pivot slips. Compare Turn & skid.

Base of support (BOS)

The area confined by the parts of the body and/or assist devices that are in contact with the supporting surface.

Camber ski

A type of ski that, if not loaded, rests on its tip and tail. Antonym of rocker ski. See also Ski Technology: Camber vs. Rocker.

Carve ski

Ski with a deep sidecut.

Carving

Making turns whereby the skis cut the snow (forming a rail track) in stead of skid over it (forming a fan).

Center of mass (COM)

A point representing the mean position of the matter in a body or system. In an environment with gravity, synonym for center of gravity.

Center of gravity

A point representing the mean position of the matter in a body or system, in an environment with gravity. In such an environment, synonym for center of mass.

Centrifugal force

A rotational force that repels matter away from the (virtual) center. Antonym of centripetal force.

Centripetal force

A force that prevents (further) movement of matter away from the (virtual) center, or moves it back to the center. Antonym of centrifugal force.

Chosen fall line

Synonym for descent line. Antonym of natural fall line.

Christie

Traditionally, the term for a technique to slow down after a ski jump, developed in Christiania (= the former name of Oslo), Norway. Not used in PSI. See About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Complicating exercise

An exercise whereby it's made harder to achieve the objective, with the goal to consolidate a technique that the learner already has or to check whether that's so. See also Improvement VII.

Continuous parallel

Collective term for all techniques in which the skis stay parallel, also in the turns.

Contralateral

On the other side.

Corridor width

The width of the skier's trajectory, i.e. the distance between the far end of the left and right turns. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns. Compare track width.

Counter

A term in some sources used for counterrotation. As a single term not used in PSI. See also Improvement III.

Counterflex

Short for the combination of counterrotation, forward flexion and lateral flexion/pelvic lean of the upper body. See also Improvement III.

Counterrotation

1. The movement wherein the skis and the shoulder girdle are rotating in opposite directions. 2. The posture wherein the shoulder girdle is facing the outside of the (old) turn, rather than pointing in the direction where the skis are traveling. See also Improvement III. See also rotation.

Cross-blocking

A technique applied in Slalom competition, whereby the single poles are knocked down with the lower leg and the contralateral hand.

Crud

A soft, uneven snowdeck, often formed at the end of the day. Compare crust.

Crust

A frozen top layer of snow on a softer base. Compare crud.

Cuff angle

The forward angle that the cuff of a ski boot makes with the ski, and that together with the ramp angle forms the boot forward angle.

Curriculum

Outline of the (order of) topics of an educational course. Compare teaching plan.

Direction of travel

The direction in which the body as a whole is moving.

Descent line

The shortest line between the point where a skier is and where they want to go, going down a slope (part) with a constant tilt, and in certain cases any line parallel to that. Compare fall line.

Descent speed

The speed with which one descends; the vertical speed. If one goes straight downhill, the descent speed is the same as the forward speed. Synonym of downhill speed.

Direct turning

Turning by means of a direct rotational force of the body onto the skis, around an axis that's perpendicular to the ski's surface. Compare indirect turning.

Double Twister

A Freestyle trick whereby the skis turn 90 degrees to one side and the arms to the opposite, followed by the reverse movement, after which all return to their starting position. Compare Twister. See also Improvement III.

Downhill

Unless otherwise indicated, in PSI it means down the chosen fall line.

Downhill foot/ski

The foot/ski that's downhill when traversing.

Downhill speed

The speed with which one descends; the vertical speed. If one goes straight downhill, the descent speed is the same as the forward speed. Synonym of descent speed.

Down-unweighting

The action whereby the skier unloads the skis by retracting the feet, while keeping the torso at the same level or lowering it. Compare up-unweighting.

Dry run

A practice movement whereby the effects of a possible failure are intentionally mitigated.

Dynamic parallel steering

A term in the Austrian School used for the intermediate technique between a skidded parallel and carving. Not used in PSI. See About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Edging

Forcing skis on their side. See also tipping.

Emergency stop

A forceful parallel braking technique in which the upper body is allowed to rotate into the turn. See also About hockey stop, emergency stop and twisted stop.

Eversion

The foot movement whereby the soles turn in an outward direction. Antonym of inversion.

Extension

The movement of making straight.

Facilitating exercise

An exercise in which it's made easier to accomplish the objective, with the goal to teach the learner a new technique. See also Improvement VII.

Fall line

The line that a snowball would take rolling down a slope (part) with a constant tilt, and in certain cases any line parallel to that. Compare descent line.

Femur

Upper leg bone.

Flat light

Light that's not strong enough to cause shadow, resulting in that slope irregularities cannot be seen. Generally caused by fog or heavy clouds. Compare white-out.

Flat skis posture

The posture in which the skis are flat on the snow. Compare neutral posture.

Flat slope

A slope with little steepness.

Flexion

The movement of bowing or bending of any body part. Compare forward flexion.

Flush

In skiing, the positioning of single slalom poles in a straight downhill line.

Foot roll

A term in some sources used for inversion and eversion. Not used in PSI. See also Improvement II and The two mechanisms that make skis turn.

Fore-aft scissoring

Having the body weight divided over the front half of the downhill ski and the back half of the uphill ski. The downhill leg exerts shin pressure, the uphill calf pressure. Compare lateral scissoring.

Forward flexion

If used without indication of which body part is meant, it refers to forward flexion of the trunk.

Forward lean

The traditional term used for the boot forward angle. Not used in PSI.

Forward speed

The speed in the direction where the skis are pointing. If one goes straight downhill, the forward speed is the same as the descent speed/downhill speed.

French fries

A children's term for parallel skis. Compare pizza.

Friction

Surface resistance.

Frontal plane

The plane that divides the body in a front and back half, and any plane parallel to that.

Frontal parallel axes (FPA)

The lines through the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles seen from the front being parallel. Compare transverse parallel axes (TPA).

Garland

A line of partial turns in which each crosses the chosen fall line only once:

Gradient

The degree of steepness.

Groomed

Having been smoothed by a piste machine.

Hairpin turn

A very short turn.

Hip

Can refer to either one hip joint or in plural form to the pelvis.

Hip lean

The movement in the frontal plane in which the pelvis is moved to the inside of the turn, or uphill, and the feet and shoulder girdle stay in place.

Hip joint

The joint between the femur and the pelvis.

Hockey stop

A term used in some sources for both emergency stop and twisted stop. Not used in PSI. See also About hockey stop, emergency stop and twisted stop.

Impulse

A force that acts or is applied for a very short time.

Inclination

The angle that an in the frontal plane straight body forms with the vertical. See also tilt and About inclination, angulation and lateral flexion.

Indirect turning

Turning by means of edging the skis. Compare direct turning.

Inner foot/ski

The foot/ski that's on the inside of the turn.

Inversion

The foot movement whereby the soles turn in an inward direction. Antonym of eversion.

Kinesiology

The science that describes postures and movements.

Lateral

To or on the side.

Lateral scissoring

Having the skis diverge (= form a V). Compare fore-aft scissoring.

Long turn

Short for long-radius turn. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Long-radius turn

A turn that would make a circle with a long radius. Synonym for long turn. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Liner

The inner shoe of a ski boot.

Middle posture

The posture in which the skis are loaded evenly, fore-aft. Compare flat skis posture.

Moguls

A slope with a regular pattern of bumps.

Momentum

The propelling power that an object with mass has if it's in motion.

Natural fall line

Synonym for fall line. Compare descent line.

New downhill foot/ski

The foot/ski that will become the downhill foot/ski after a turn.

New inner foot/ski

The foot/ski that will become the inner foot/ski of a new turn.

New outer foot/ski

The foot/ski that will become the outer foot/ski of a new turn.

New uphill foot/ski

The foot/ski that will become the uphill foot/ski after a turn.

Old-school parallel

A technique in which in medium-radius turns, too, the shoulders are strongly pre-rotated into the turn. See also About bracing, braquage and pivot slips.

Outer foot/ski

The foot/ski that's on the outside of a turn.

Parallelity of axes

The axes through the shoulders, hips, knees and feet being parallel with each other.

Pelvic lean

The movement wherein the pelvis ('hips') is moved into the turn and the upper body moves to the outside of the turn as much as possible.

Perpendicular to

Forming a right angle (90°) with.

Piste

A part of a slope that's defined by marked boundaries. Synonym for trail. Compare run.

Pivot

Noun: a physical axis around which something turns. Verb: to turn on a more or less exact spot.

Pivot slips

An intentional sideways slipping or skidding with a stable upper body, while the skis make alternate 180° turns within a corridor width of the ski length:

Synonym for braquage. See also About bracing, braquage and pivot slips. Compare Turn & skid.

Pizza

A children's term for a plow. Compare french fries.

Plow

The formation of a V shape with the skis. Synonym for wedge.

Plow with parallel

Plow turning with a parallel phase between turns. Compare Turn & skid.

Plow steering

The term in the Austrian School for plow with parallel. Not used in PSI. See also About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Plow turning

Turning with the skis in a continuous plow, also between the turns.

Postrotation

The continued rotation of the shoulders in the direction of the turn after the skis have completed it. Antonym of prerotation. See also Improvement III.

Prerotation

The turning of the shoulders ahead of the skis in the direction of the (new) turn, to be followed by the skis. Antonym of postrotation. See also Improvement III.

Primary mover

The body part that is the first part to move, or the part that is the main creator of a movement.

Pronation

Hand: rotating the forearm so that the palm faces downward. Foot: synonym for eversion. Note: in case no indication, it means hand pronation. Antonym of supination.

Radius

The length of the line between a circle's middle point and outer edge.

Ramp angle

The upward angle that the inner sole of a ski boot makes with the ski, and that together with the cuff angle forms the boot forward angle.

Rebound

To move back or resume its original shape due to an opposite spring force.

Rocker ski

A type of ski that, if not loaded, rests on its middle part. Antonym of camber ski. See also Ski Technology: Camber vs. Rocker.

Rotation

A term in some sources used for postrotation. In PSI: Any rotary movement or posture. See also Improvement III.

Run

Noun: a trail that has been prepared for competition.

Sagittal plane

The plane that divides the body in a right and left half, and any plane parallel to that.

Schussing

Skiing in a straight downhill line with parallel skis. Derived from the German word Schuss (= shot).

Scissoring

See fore-aft scissoring and lateral scissoring.

Separation

A term in some sources used for counterrotation. Not used in PSI. See also Improvement III.

Shallow slope

A term in some sources used for a rather flat slope. Not used in PSI.

Shaped ski

A term in some sources used for a carve ski. Not used in PSI.

Sharp turn

Synonym for short turn.

Shin pressure

The movement or posture whereby pressure with the shin bone is exerted on the tongue of the boot.

Short-radius turn

A turn that would make a circle with a short radius. See About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Short turn

Short for short-radius turn. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Short swing

A term in some sources used for for wedel/wedeln. Not used in PSI. See About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Sidecut

The tailored shape of a ski looking from above. Compare ski radius. Note that a deeper sidecut means a smaller ski radius.

Skidding

Moving downhill, straight or diagonally, on edged skis. Synonym for slipping. Compare carving and sliding.

Skidded turn

A turn in which the skis skid rather than carve. Compare Turn & Skid.

Ski radius

The size of the tailored shape of a ski looking from above. Compare sidecut and turn radius. Note that a smaller ski radius means a larger sidecut.

Sliding

Moving downhill on flat skis. Compare skidding.

Slipping

(1) To lose grip on the supporting surface. (2) Moving downhill, straight or diagonally, on edged skis; then synonym for skidding. Compare carving and sliding.

Slope

A surface of which one side is higher than its opposite side.

Slush

Melting snow.

Squatting

Lowering the pelvis while keeping the trunk flexed forward.

Stem out

Turning out one ski so that it forms a plow with the other. See also About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Stem christie

A term in some sources used for a plow. Not used in PSI. See stem out, christie and About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Straight plow

A descent straight down the chosen fall line with the skis in a plow.

Super G

Short for Super Giant Slalom.

Supination

Hand: rotation of the forearm so that the palm faces upward. Foot: synonym for inversion. Note: in case no indication, it means hand supination. Antonym of pronation.

Teaching plan

An outline of the (order of) topics of an educational course or training program. Compare curriculum.

Tilt

Creating an inclination.

Tipping

When used in 'tipping the skis': forcing the skis on their side. Then synonym for edging.

Trail

The trace that one leaves behind in the snow. Compare trail.

Track width

The width of the skier's track, formed by the distance between the left and right ski. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns. Compare corridor width.

Trail

A part of a slope that's defined by marked boundaries. Synonym for piste. Compare run.

Transverse parallel axes (TPA)

The lines through the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles seen from above (= in the transverse plane) being parallel. Compare frontal parallel axes (FPA).

Transverse plane

The plane that divides the body in an upper and lower half, and all planes parallel to that. Compare traverse.

Traverse

To ski across a slope without turns. Compare transverse plane.

Turn radius

The radius of the circle if one would turn a whole circle.

Turn & skid

A technique in which in between the turns the skier skids down a small or larger distance, and the corridor width is undetermined. The turns can be normal or jump turns. Compare skidded turn and pivot slips/braquage.

Twister

A Freestyle trick whereby the skis turn 90 degrees to one side and the arms to the opposite, and then return to their starting position. Compare Double Twister. See also Improvement III.

Twisted stop

A parallel braking technique in which the upper body stays downhill-facing as much as possible. See also About hockey stop, emergency stop and twisted stop.

Unweight

The ski instruction's verb for unload. See also down-unweighting and up-unweighting.

Uphill foot/ski

The foot/ski that's uphill when traversing.

Up-unweighting

The action whereby the skier first pushes the upper body upward by extending the legs, immediately followed by a subtle retraction of the feet, thus unloading the skis. Compare down-unweighting. Note: the legs extension may be preceded by a slight squatting, as a wind-up.

Vector

The (relative) horizontal or vertical component of a (relative) diagonal force or movement.

White-out

Heavy snowfall that reduces visibility to a minimum. Compare flat light.

Wide turn

Synonym for long turn and long-radius turn. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Wedel

The English corruption of the German verb wedeln.

Wedeln

German verb: Turning in a high frequency within a narrow corridor. See also About radius, corridor width and short and long turns.

Wedge christie

A term in some sources used for plow. Not used in PSI. See About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

Wedge out

To turn out one ski at an angle with the other ski, forming a wedge or plow. See also About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving.

About some special terms

There are a number of terms that need some elaboration. Some because they are easily confused with others, some because they have a different meaning in different sources or common usage, and some because there is something else with them. It concerns the following terms:

• Radius, corridor width and short and long turns [jump to].
• Inclination, angulation and lateral flexion [jump to].
• Alpine basic and sporty posture [jump to].
• Plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering and carving [jump to].
• Bracing, braquage and pivot slips [jump to].
• Hockey stop, emergency stop and twisted stop [jump to].
• The two mechanisms that make skis turn [jump to].

In case the grouping would seem odd here and there, the terms are amongst themselves all connected. Sometimes because some sources hustled them or their definition, how strange this may even seem.

About radius, corridor width and short and long turns

Most instruction sources speak of long(-radius) and short(-radius) turns. Those terms are in themselves correct, but they are frequently used incorrectly. Have a look at the below graph, depicting three tracks.

The p track has a narrow corridor, but actually has wide (= long) turns. The r track has a much wider corridor but much sharper turns. Still, there are quite a lot of short-turn instruction videos on the internet that actually teach p tracks in a rather fast rhythm.

That technique should be called wedeln or its English corruption wedel. That's the best term. Much better still than 'short swing', because that's a confusing term, too — the radius of the turns is long, not short.

You should also realize that degrees alone don't say much about radius. You can make a 90° turn in a sharp and a wide manner:

Some names of techniques or turns are clear, such as hairpin turns and mogul skiing.But otherwise, instructions should describe the desired turn or technique by means of the variables corridor width and radius, and if necessary the degrees.

About inclination, angulation and lateral flexion

The following definitions are used here:

Inclination

The angle that an in the frontal plane straight body forms with the vertical.

Angulation

The formation of an angle between the upper and lower body in any plane.

Lateral flexion

Flexion to the side (= angulation in the frontal plane).

About Alpine postures

In English sources, Alpine postures are often called Alpine positions. However, the correct translation of the German verhalten is (bodily) posture, not position (e.g. on the side of a slope). Especially for beginners, it's important to use terms that are as clear as possible.

PSI makes a distinction between four Alpine postures. In order from least to most demanding:

1. Alpine traversing posture (ATP)
2. Alpine forward posture (AFP)
3. Alpine sporty posture (ASP)
4. Alpine athletic transitional posture (AATP)

For their descriptions, see the Glossary (in which they are listed in alphabetical order). PSI does not use the term Alpine basic posture because that is an incorrect translation of the originating German Alpines (Schräg)fahrverhalten. Its correct translation is Alpine traversing posture.

It should be noted that what many sources call an athletic posture is here called forward or sporty. The term athletic is here reserved for the (most demanding) posture in athletic competition, the AATP.

About plow (turning), plow steering, (dynamic) parallel steering, and carving

The terms (straight) plow and plow turning will be clear and are logical. But 'plow steering' is not. This is what the Austrian School (AS) calls plow steering:

Beginners will easily confused that with 'plow turning', because the turning is still done in plow. Therefore, also considering the technique itself, plow steering is here called plow with parallel.

Another naming matter that's not logical is the difference between normal parallel turning, dynamic turning and carving:

There is a visible difference between the two, and the second is indeed more dynamic. But then, the next technique in the AS teaching plan is called carving:

While that differs from the dynamic parallel only gradually. It would be easier to just teach (the difference between) carving and skidding. The 'dynamic parallel' is then simply the intermediate technique. Carving on steep slopes is difficult, but one should of course start it on rather flat slopes.

About bracing, braquage and pivot slips

As said, bracing involves a rather straight outer leg, whereby beginning adults generally forward flex the trunk to lower the center of mass, for extra stability. Due to their short length, children (have to) forward flex much less, often even have a typical 'back-seat' posture:

You might have a different understanding of bracing, because two rather credentialed authors, Yacenda and Ross⁷, regard the old-school parallel as bracing, too.

That's clearly incorrect. Apart from the very different postures as shown in the photos, you cannot make short turns with bracing, while you can with the old-school parallel:

A term that's sometimes confused with bracing is braquage, introduced in the same book as above⁸. However, it's the French equivalent of pivot slips. They both mean: an intentional sideways sliding/skidding with a stable upper body, while the skis make alternate 180°turns within a corridor width of about the skis' length.

About hockey stop, emergency stop and twisted stop

The hockey stop comes in two forms: the upper body stays downhill-faced (type A) or it's allowed to rotate into the turn (type B). And that's not just a matter of definition or style, but of power, too. The instructor in the below video demonstrates type A (from 0:15). After that, there is a group of learners who try to copy him. And then there is a second group of learners, from 0:45, who do type B.

As you can see, the second group has much more braking power than the first. That power issue plays an important role in skiing as well. Therefore, in PSI, 'hockey stop' is replaced with either the emergency stop, in which the upper body is allowed to rotate into the turn, or twisted stop, in which the shoulders should stay faced downhill.

The two mechanisms that make skis turn

There are two physical mechanisms that make skis turn. The first is an indirect mechanism: loading + edging of the ski(s). A ski that's loaded in its center and is on its edge will make a curve, even though this mechanism can only produce relatively long turns:

The second is a direct mechanism: a rotary force around an axis (which may be a vector) perpendicular to the ski's surface. The line through the blue arrow S, and any line parallel to that, is that axis:

The rotary force is a circular force around that axis and can be created by:

• whole-body rotation;
• rotation of the pelvis in the transverse plane (with the shoulders kept in place);
• rotation of the upper leg in the hip joint;
• rotation of the lower leg in the knee joint, which requires the knee to be flexed (more flexion = better):
• combinations thereof.

Some will say this type of rotation can also take place in the ankle or foot, but a well fitted and adjusted modern ski boot does not allow that movement (more information). The direct mechanism can produce short turns. The two mechanisms can be combined and can then produce very short turns.

References

1. Wiener Ski- und Snow­board­lehrer&verband/­Snow­sports Academy. Ski Lehrer Buch, 2nd edition. Austria, 2016.
2. Professional Ski Instructors of America/American Association of Snowboard Instructors. Alpine Technical Manual. USA, 2014. [link]
3. LeMaster R. Ultimate Skiing. USA, 2010. [link]
4. Harb H. Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier. USA, 2004. [link]
5. Tejada-Flores L. Breakthrough on Skis. USA, 1993. [link]
6. Heckelman M. The New Guide to Skiing. USA, 2000. [link]
7. Yacenda J, Ross T. High-performance Skiing. USA, 1998. [link]
8. Joubert G. Teach Yourself To Ski. USA, 1970. [link]

Change log

• V. 1.1: deleted Traverse position; introduced Alpine traversing posture; rephrased, added or deleted some other terms or definitions.
• V. 1.2: shortened the section About inclination, angulation, counterrotation, counter(ing), separation and anticipation; moved the deleted part to Improvement III; rephrased, added or deleted some terms or definitions.
• V. 1.3: split the section About bracing, braquage, pivot slips, and hockey and emergency stop into two sections; rephrased, added or deleted some terms or definitions.
• V. 1.4: introduced Alpine sporty posture (ASP); rephrased, added or deleted some other terms or definitions.
• V. 1.5: introduced Alpine athletic transitional posture (AATP) and Alpine forward posture (AFP); rephrased, added or deleted some other terms or definitions.
• V. 1.6: introduced the term counterflex.