Centered Sliding - Page 1
By Todd Murchison, December 10, 2000

Snowboarding, Telemarking, Alpine Skiing, Monoskiing, Snowdogging . . . there are many of ways to slide down the hill. Each has its own techniques, equipment and adherents. Each of them has instructors, coaches and books dedicated to helping people master each sport – and they have each spent a lot of research and time teaching proper stance. Well, they could have saved themselves some trouble by just sharing information, because when it comes to stance there is not a whole lot of difference between these sports.

"Wait a minute" you say, "that’s not true. Heck - Snowboarders stand sideways, Monoskiers have their feet locked together, Telemarkers kneel down every turn . . . how can you claim they are the same?"

Simple – those are just surface differences, the underlying truth is the same: great athletes in every sport have learned how to use as natural and functional a stance as possible. That stance may vary slightly depending on what kind of toy you are sliding down the mountain on, but we all strive stand as close to how we stand when walking and running . . . a natural stance. We can get quite good at contorting our bodies into other positions, but when it comes down to it our bodies are designed to really be good at walking and running. The more often you can use your body in a way that is similar to this, the stronger, faster and better balanced you will be.

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