In both short turns andmogulcarving turns, one crucial principle is keeping the upper body still. The quality of your turns largely depends on how well you can stabilize your upper body. A pro’s every graceful turn is a perfect combination of a fixed upper body and agile lower body. Everyone knows the upper body should stay still, but this description is too vague—so what exactly does “still” mean? To clarify this, we need to use mathematical language for a quantitative description. The movable joints of the upper body include the head, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. From a geometric perspective, I believe that “keeping the upper body still” should involve8key aspects, which can be summarized as:
Not leaning forward or backward,
Not leaning left or right.
Head up, shoulders locked,
Wrists lifted, elbows steady.
Below, we’ll explore the true meaning of “stillness” and the path to mastering it through specific examples.
1. Not Leaning Forward or Backward – Starting with Stance
The correct skiing stance is simple yet essential. When viewed from the side, it should include3.5bending movements, from bottom to top: at the ankles, knees, hips, and head. The bending at the head is relatively small, so it counts as only0.5one.
When discussing an unmoving upper body, the first requirement is to achieve “not leaning forward or backward.” This has two implications: first, the upper body must be upright—no hunching or slouching—and there should be no additional chest bend beyond the3.5existing bends; second, and most importantly, the angle formed between the upright upper body and the snow surface must remain constant. If your upper body shifts forward or backward while skiing, this angle will change, affecting the quality of your turns. The ideal angle is90degrees. Going slightly below this value is acceptable, but exceeding it means your upper body is tilting back, shifting your overall center of gravity rearward—a big no-no.
Figure1: Standard stance. Model: Xiyu, Photography:Jackal
2. Shoulder Lock and Elbow Stability – The Rewards of “Counter”
In skiing, the relationship between the upper and lower body is like that of the protagonists in a romance novel: though their hearts are closely connected, they must walk in opposite directions—only then can the most captivating story unfold. The aesthetic significance of separating the upper and lower body lies precisely in this.
During continuous turns, the direction of the skis is constantly changing. Without control, the upper body will naturally rotate to follow the skis. To stabilize the upper body, you must first suppress this rotation. The method is simple: apply a counteracting force to turn the upper body in the opposite direction of the skis—like wringing a towel, where the left and right hands move in opposite directions while the towel remains still. Hence, this action is called “counter,” as shown in Figure2.
“Counter” is an intermediate and also the most critical stage in stabilizing the upper body. Proper “counter” may seem simple, but it actually demands high precision in execution. At minimum, it should include the following three points: First, the shoulder line and elbow line must be parallel to the slope and perpendicular to the fall line; second, when pole planting, only the forearms and wrists should move—as if hammering a nail with a small hammer—the upper arms should not be involved, or it becomes like swinging a sledgehammer. Lastly, and most often overlooked, is to ski with your head up.
Practicing “counter” should follow the principle of gradual progression. Start by making slow, segmented traverses on gentle slopes, as shown in Figure2. Focus on feeling the “twist” and the positional relationships of the shoulders, elbows, hands, and head. This stage must be slow—you find the feel in slowness. Speed leads to mental blankness, which is as good as not skiing at all.
Figure2: The “counter” movement at slow speed.Demonstration:veve, Photo: Very Command
After becoming proficient in slow gliding, gradually increase your speed while firmly locking the shoulder and elbow lines. In the figure2Chinaveve, the shoulder line (green line) is perpendicular to the fall line but tilted downhill and not parallel to the slope—this is a common issue that must be corrected. A shoulder line perpendicular to the fall line turns the upper body toward the downhill side, while keeping it parallel to the slope ensures an upright posture. The same requirements apply to the elbow line as to the shoulder line; a fixed elbow line further restricts movement so that only the forearm and wrist can move. In the figure3, the "reverse twist" of Rurouni Kenshin is textbook-perfect: the shoulder and elbow lines are harmoniously positioned, the forearm and wrist form a hammer-like pole plant, the head is up and looking forward, and the entire motion is standardized and fluid.
Figure3: A standard "reverse twist" movement.Demonstration: Rurouni Kenshin, Photo: Very Command
3, Neither Left Nor Right—Draw Your Body’s Bow to Full Tension
Is not moving forward or backward, not rotating, the full extent of stillness? In a three-dimensional world, the upper body also has a left-right dimension. In classic short turns, the upper and lower body tilt together to one side, engaging the edges to execute the turn. In the figure4,Lito Tejada-Floresthe lower body axis (yellow line) and the upper body axis (pink line) are almost aligned, while the shoulder and elbow lines are perpendicular to the fall line but not parallel to the slope. The involvement of the upper body makes edge engagement easier, resulting in very efficient gliding, which is why classic short turns always look so elegant and composed. However, this also leads to a relatively slow turn frequency and larger turn radius, making it difficult to handle steeper and more complex slopes.
Figure4: Classic short turn movement. Demonstration:Lito Tejada-Flores, Photo: *Breakthroughs in Skiing*
Modern short turns (such as Richie Rude’s6-level short turns) aim to improve turn efficiency by further requiring the upper body to avoid tilting left or right. At this stage, the upper body is completely immobilized and cannot move in any dimension. With no upper body involvement, the turn is driven entirely by the tilt of the lower body to engage the edges. The tilted lower body axis and the upright upper body axis form a beautiful angle—this is the "counter flex," see figure5.
Figure5: A standard "counter flex" movement. Demonstration:qt, Photo: Very Command
The "counter flex" is the advanced stage of fixing the upper body and represents a technical level that requires long-term accumulation to achieve. The difference between counter flex and reverse twist lies in the angle between the upper and lower body axes. In figures2and3, the skiers have also achieved this angle, but it is too large, even approaching a straight line, so it cannot yet be called a "counter flex." Only when this angle is reduced to a certain degree can it be considered a true counter flex.
In figure5, theqt, with perfect shoulder and elbow lines, a sharp "counter" angle, a wrist-flick pole plant, the entire movement is fluid and graceful. There's a slight forward lean of the head, but it's within acceptable limits. Additionally, the ski is nearly perpendicular to the fall line, and the large spray of snow kicked up behind proves this was a powerful turn—the very essence of the counter.qt's video wasn't seen, but one can imagine hismogulturns must have been smooth and deep.
The path to achieving the counter begins with counter-rotation. Continuous practice gradually reduces the angle between the upper and lower body—a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative transformation, though not without shortcuts. Force is transmitted through the bowstring, acting on both ends to draw the bow taut. So how do you draw your body’s “bow” taut? The principle is the same. The "counter-torque" of the upper body and the "edge resistance" of the lower body form the two essential elements of drawing the bow. The upper body’s counter has been discussed extensively and is relatively simple; the challenge lies in edging. The degree of edge engagement ultimately determines the extent of the counter. So how do you increase edge engagement? I believe the trick lies inmogul. Increasing edge angle on flat terrain isn’t easy, but it becomes simpler onmogul. Each mogul serves as a guide for turning. When both skis are firmly planted on a mogul, you’re edging—and the angle equals the slope of the mogul. At this moment, edging requires much less effort than on flat terrain because the edges themselves aren’t bearing the load; all the pressure is on the base of the ski. Take another close look at the ski in5, whereqtis shown. It’s really that simple: the steeper the mogul you ski over, the more likely you are to achieve a beautiful counter. J
4. Why shouldn’t the upper body move?
Previously, we’ve discussed how to keep the upper body still, but not why it’s necessary. The answer isn’t complicated, but it does involve some physics. In high school, we all learned about momentum, a physical quantity that describes the motion of an object. Momentum is=mass × velocity (p=mv). The upper body makes up roughly2/3of a person’s total weight. If you keep this part still, then under the same momentum, the lower body—which accounts for1/3of the body’s weight—can achieve3times the turning speed (mv=1/3m×3v), meaning higher turn frequency. Alternatively, at the same turn speed, you’d only be using1/3of the original momentum (1/3m×v), which translates to more energy-efficient skiing.
Skiing is truly a sport full of science. Every elegant movement has a logical mathematical and physical explanation, which is why the beauty of turning has always been part of the beauty of nature.