Many people like outdoor activities and go to a ski resort in winter. Beginners immediately take a few ski lessons from the instructor. From the outside, everything seems so easy, but you need a special skill to properly descend from the slopes. It is important to learn the ways of braking in order to ride beautifully and with pleasure. The most important braking technique is the “plow” and the “stop” (“semi-plow”).
In what cases is applied
Experienced skiers go downhill without using braking, because many years of experience give a lot of different tricks. An insufficiently trained skier can often not cope with high speed on the go, so you need to learn how to reduce it. Braking by "plow", "focus" is used in cases when an unexpected obstacle appears, if one of the participating skiers suddenly falls.
In competitions, spectators may interfere. The technique of braking with a "plow" on skis is sometimes used with an insufficiently known route, on very sharp descents. This is a very effective way to pause. It helps to adjust the fast pace and pause.
Start with the plow
What is the meaning of the expression "in the plow"? Anyone who has ever seen the device and operation of an ordinary plow will immediately understand what position the athlete should be in. For a skier, this means that he must take a stance that will help him control the speed by braking or stop. Even a novice athlete can perform braking with a “plow” without difficulty. Where to start the execution of the rack? It is carried out according to the following plan:
- The front end of the skis must be reduced, and the backs should be set apart to the maximum. The ideal distance between the socks is a gap of 6-8 cm.
- Legs should be bent at the knees and ankles.
- The body must be bent forward.
- Hands slightly bent at the elbows should be extended in front of you.
- It is advisable to distribute body weight equally on both skis.
- Sticks should be directed back.
Several tricks for using this rack
There are several ways to learn how to perform braking with a “plow” on skis:
- The easiest technique is to put one foot to the side. It must be performed while in the main stance (legs are bent at the knees, the body is tilted forward, hands are in front). One leg remains in place, and the second needs to be set aside, but the toe should not move further than 10 cm from the other.
- Being in the main position, you can take turns putting down the skis: the front ends - together, the rear - apart. In this case, the skis should lean on the inner ribs.
- Reception "plow" in the jump. To do this, you need to bounce slightly and at the same time - flatten your socks and place your heels.
- The fourth effective technique is to smoothly press the skids to move the heels apart, slowly straightening the knees and ankles. As a result, the legs need to be straightened completely.
Plow braking in motion
After the beginner skier tried the “plow” stand, it’s time to test it in motion and learn to pause at the bottom of the track. Most often, long slopes with access to straight terrain are selected for the route. In such cases, there is no risk of injury due to a sharp fall.
First, the athlete climbs the slope. After that, he takes the main ski stand (described above). Then it moves straight down the track. After gaining speed, it is preparing to perform braking with the "plow": gradually straightens the legs, extending the knees. Then the skier bends his knees, presses on the inner edges of the skis and spreads his backs to the sides. Thus, this action resembles the work of a plow. On the roll-out, it brakes, transferring body weight to the inner edges of the skis.
For beginner skiers, after the first braking, they may feel numb, but do not worry - at first this is normal.
"Plow" helps control speed
On steep slopes, plow braking helps control the speed of the ride. What will it depend on? For the experiment you need to climb a sloping descent. After that, you should take a "plow" on the slope of the drain. Further in this position, you need to start moving down. You should not be afraid of high speed, because this braking is very reliable. If you systematically bend and unbend your legs, as well as press on the inner border of the skis, change the gap between the backs, then you can safely reduce or increase the speed. When the angle between the backs increases, the movement will slow down, and when it decreases, the ride will accelerate.
Improving Braking
After a beginner skier has mastered braking on small slopes, one can begin to master steeper slopes or slopes on which the terrain changes. The most common mistakes that beginners make when mastering the “plow” method are the following errors: ski socks sometimes cross, the pressure on each ski is unevenly distributed, which changes the direction of movement. Sometimes beginners do not raise their heels enough or bend a little, do not lower their knees. If such errors occur, then you should practice several more times on low slopes.
The technique of "focus"
Anyone who has mastered braking with a “plow” can easily use the “stop” method. To make it easier to understand its essence, you can do imitation of movements in place several times. Such braking is intended for slopes obliquely, diagonally. This is such a kind of ski turn or side slip. Here is an example briefing for braking "focus":
- To get started, you need to sit down a little while descending.
- Then you should perform a sharp push forward and straighten. This allows you to remove the load from the skis.
- The next action will be the rotation of the ankle joints, which helps to deploy the skis at an angle to the side.
- To perform this movement, shoulders and torso are connected.
- The larger the ski turning angle, the stronger the braking.
In the end, you can use the support on the stick. In order to completely stop, the skis must be placed across the descent strictly on the edge. Most often, this method of braking is used by men or experienced athletes, girls are better off using it on low slopes, because it requires a lot of strength and skill to perform it.
Controlled drop
What to do in cases where it is impossible to apply either the "plow" technique or the "emphasis"? There are times when a skier moves downhill at high speed, suddenly an obstacle suddenly appears on his way. In this case, it is simply necessary to brake sharply or stop.
Sometimes you can prevent a collision with an object only by intentional fall. This is in cases where the obstacle took the skier by surprise and is so close that there is no way to slow down. If you skillfully control the fall, then there is a chance of not getting injured, quickly getting up and continuing to ride.
For this case, you need to know the following tricks of a controlled fall:
- First you need to try to sit down.
- Then you need to try to roll back and to the side.
- At the same time, the skis should be deployed across the track.
- Then with the help of sticks you can easily rise and continue to slide again.
There are times that with such a fall, the skis cross. Then you should roll over on your back, raise your legs up and direct the skis to the desired position. After this, you need to roll over to one side and rise.
In some cases, tourists use stick braking. This happens when there is a lot of snow on the slopes when the fall is inappropriate. These methods are only suitable for amateurs; athletes do not use them in races.