There are a lot of skiers out there telling coaches such as myself that they have been working on skiing in a more compressed style like some of the pros who are pioneering new techniques and physical principles in slalom skiing. In fact many of the top pros do appear to ski in a more compressed style, but there are several important notes about compression that are often overlooked.
- Compression is mostly a product of absorbing the load created by proper movement through the turn and a balanced stance on the ski, with an aligned body. It is not a forced stance.
- Nine times out of ten, when a skier forces their body into what they think is a compressed stance, it ends up being more of a squat rather than compression (meaning that thips are not in alignment with the rest of the body. This position is inefficient and does not allow you to control the direction and movements of the ski.
- Even if you stand in a more upright stance and try to allow the pressure created on the ski to compress your body, if your body is not properly aligned compression becomes collapsing. Collapsing gives you the same ineffective stance on the ski as squatting as described above.
Just remember to keep your body aligned meaning stand with your spine in alignment and try not to lose the hips to a squat-like stance.