Curling toes

[DerKommissar]

So- this may be a strange post, but it's a question I wonder about that I can't really answer without asking. For whatever reason, I can't curl my toes down. They're flexible at the first metatarsal, but not the next two joints (worse in my big toes, but I can't really bend the rest much either). Trying to make them bend with my finders is uncomfortable. I can exert downward pressure and I walk and run fine, but I've started to wonder what effect this might have on my skiing. I did not even know people could curl their toes until about 10 years ago (I'm 50- about 6 ft. 1 inch and 180 lbs). My wife and kids can pick things up with their feet, but I struggle to keep flip flops on. It does not hurt unless I try to force them to bend, but even that is more of an uncomfortable/resistance feeling rather than outright pain.

As far as skiing goes, I'd say I'm 7/8, but without the kind of polish that comes from having many lessons. I doubt I'd be rated above 7 by an instructor even though I can do the more advanced terrain due to my technique (Skied as a kid, came back to it in my early 40's, have have rapidly been improving). Given the importance of feet to skiing, I'm just wondering what effect this may be having on my progression and on ski boot choices. Or- is this common and I'm just overthinking in the offseason with nothing else to do?

Thanks for any thoughts, or feel free to ignore.

 

[Dave Marshak]

You don’t need to curl your toes to ski. If you can pressure them you should be OK.
OTOH this is summer so this thread may go on until opening day.

dm

 

[Jilly]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (loaded statement), but the idea is to get weight/pressure to the front of the ski to engage the tips in the turn. The method described in the NZ posts is just one way of describing it.

 

[martyg]

Everyone curls their toes when gripped. NOT curling your toes leads to weight being efficiently distributed. So you are ahead of the game.

 

[martyg]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (loaded statement), but the idea is to get weight/pressure to the front of the ski to engage the tips in the turn. The method described in the NZ posts is just one way of describing it.

Probably not.

At the lower end of the spectrum there is a lot of emphasis on getting skiers forward - because really they are way too aft - and that direction gives them something to focus on. However it is a poor way to communicate the sensations that they are after.

Really, in 95% of situations (and everything in skiing is based on intent), your weight should be equally distributed between the two big pads on the front of your foot, and your heel. Another way to think about it - your tibia intersects with your foot aft of your arch / forward of your heel. Stand on your tibia. The three points of contact resonates better with some students / the one point better with others.

Great ore-season drill.., when waiting in line at the grocery store, when chatting with someone, when doing squats see if you can capture where you are standing on your foot. Build that sensitivity now.

 

[Chris V.]

You don’t need to curl your toes to ski. If you can pressure them you should be OK.

Any bit of plantar flexion you might want comes from opening the ankle joints with calf muscles. Toe curling has always been a negative IMHO and experience--a dysfunctional form of tension that impairs mobility in the feet in general, and is likely to lead to discomfort in these very tight spaces we call ski boots.

 

[mike_m]

Dorsiflexing (lifting) the front of your foot will close the ankle joint and allow you to press forward and maneuver from the calcaneous bone at the front of the heel of the outside foot. This is the strongest part of your foot, directly under the ankle and the bones of the lower leg. If you do a squat in a gym, you will press up from this part of your foot. If you lift one foot and balance on the other, you are most stable standing on that part of the support foot. Conversely, pressing the toes/front of the foot down (plantarflexing) has the effect of pushing you backwards, not a beneficial position when skiing. As some of you know, I’m currently training in New Zealand with some of the most respected coaches from around the world and have done so for a number of years. All advocate skiing with dorsiflexed feet.

 

[DerKommissar]

Dorsiflexing (lifting) the front of your foot will close the ankle joint and allow you to press forward and maneuver from the calcaneous bone at the front of the heel of the outside foot. This is the strongest part of your foot, directly under the ankle and the bones of the lower leg. If you do a squat in a gym, you will press up from this part of your foot. If you lift one foot and balance on the other, you are most stable standing on that part of the support foot. Conversely, pressing the toes/front of the foot down (plantarflexing) has the effect of pushing you backwards, not a beneficial position when skiing. As some of you know, I’m currently training in New Zealand with some of the most respected coaches from around the world and have done so for a number of years. All advocate skiing with dorsiflexed feet.

That's a move I was working on while turning last season to get more forward. Glad to hear it's the right thing to do.

 

[DerKommissar]

Everyone curls their toes when gripped. NOT curling your toes leads to weight being efficiently distributed. So you are ahead of the game.

Great! Nice to know having flippers could be a positive here.

 

[geepers]

struggle to keep flip flops on.

No authority on skiing but as an Australian do consider myself well versed in the art of wearing flip fops or thongs as we call 'em. (Yes, aware that thong means something else to others but in the Land of Oz it means lightweight summer footwear.) Whatever they are called toe curling is not a requirement for keeping them (loosely) attached to the feet.

Best technique for lightweight summer footwear is not to think about the toes at all. And if they still come off best thing is to put them in the bin. Otherwise you may trip over in the garden, break a wrist and lose a ski season. Voice of experience.