Flow like water

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The main philosophy behind the isocentric skis is to ride without effort and to allow the body to move naturally and freely instead of forcing it into predefined positions. Ski is designed to serve the body and not vice-versa.

“Flow like water” is the motto of the wave body movement technique which encompasses the free spirit of the isocentric skis. Inspired by the elements from ancient movement techniques such as traditional dances, martial arts, and meditational movements, the focus is always on core stability and flexibility, avoiding any unnatural positions that could lead to unbalanced force distribution and injuries.

With the use of the isocentric skis, natural physical activity can be developed and transferred from the skiing slopes to everyday activities like walking, sitting, running, etc. This way everyday movement as well as other sports activities benefit greatly since the softness and elegance gained at skiing subconsciously remain inside the body and are transferred to any other movement.

Professional skiers benefit as well, since daily training, becomes less strenuous for the body, especially the joints are disburdened. This way, new dimensions of speed and stability, responsiveness, manoeuvrability, and safety can be achieved.

Imprints

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The capability of analytical thinking is the fundamental domain of the human being and is a reflection of the power of his insight. Creation is an analytical elaboration of the outer or the inner world and thus always carries some logic. The structure of this world is built with mathematical exactness, and the same is true for the human’s inner world. Therefore, extreme precision and consistency are needed to manifest a mathematically exact objective rule through an art form.

Art is the representation of the abstract worlds through tangible forms, and the top-quality works are those that transfer the objective rule with great precision from the world of the unknown or the subconscious to the world of the known or the conscious. Everything that is analysed is taken out of the realm of mystery and thus out of the subconscious, therefore all discoveries are unique and unrepeatable.

In this process, through the analysis of elementary processes and forms, the aura of virtual worlds disappears and only the silence of farewell remains. Time is passing into an increasingly primary form and is revealing counterfeits faster and faster. This is why all subjective forms have an ever shorter lifetime and only the real works remain, the works that have captured the spirit of some relationship through human sacrifice.

This world is a world of imprints. Everywhere is full of imprints: imprints of time, imprints of relationships, imprints of some stories and worlds. A compassionate person sees these imprints, listens to them and brings them to life, giving them form and content. If he sees an imprint of a hand, he gives it a hand, if he sees an imprint of an eye, he gives it an eye. But if one is arbitrary and only sees himself, he will put a foot into the imprint of a hand and put an ear into the imprint of an eye.

On the elementary basis, all works are divided based on the sacrifice of their author. Because it is not necessary to be a genius to understand something, it is enough to give yourself and you will find out exactly as much as you will give.

Therefore, one needs to have a heart and forget about himself, because a selfish man is blind and his works are empty.

Idea

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The most important part of each project is a pure idea. The basis of the design of isocentric skis and snowboards are straight, pure lines; pure in form, but at the same time agitated; traditional, but modern. All elements of design originate in the natural environment: the style of snow, ice, and winter.

The idea lies in space

An artist should always read ideas from the environment, as the environment hides the perfect solution in itself. A solution for each space already lies in it. If the artist listens, the space whispers the solutions and draws the lines. The real and the only right solution is therefore not egocentric, but “isocentric”.

Originality

The essence of culture is ever new creating and approaching perfection – a continuous search for originality. For this reason, a true work of art can only be based on an original idea, which automatically invites everyone to create originally, to create with the freedom of spirit. Masterpieces always possess the biggest possible counterpoint: they reach back into history and look far into the future.

Matching with the environment

A product that is based on an original, unique idea can enter any cultural and geographical area but still matches perfectly. Such a product can be placed anywhere in the world and it would be in its natural place everywhere. If the product is based on a good idea, it will match every location, every culture, every tradition.

Quality

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“We are not as rich to buy cheap”, is an old folk proverb. It didn’t arise without a reason. Back in the day, quality products were highly appreciated and valued. People were aware that obtaining a cheaper, low quality product will not work in the long-term, but rather deliver poor results and very soon need a replacement; resulting in a higher end-cost compared to the efficient long-lasting high-quality product.

Since the early days, craftsmen were highly valued. Tools, weapons, household items and nursing utilities were products which importantly influenced the comfort of life and sometimes even decided its fate. The knowledge and skills for their manufacture were not accessible to everyone – they were transferred through generations from masters to their apprentices; often within a single-family line, from father to a son. And only through life-long training and patience one could become a true master of his art. Therefore, the price was not even a question – it was a logical result of the time and the effort that went into the product.

With industrial revolution man’s perspective has changed. The previously exclusive items became widely accessible and man slowly started to lose his appreciation for the meticulously hand-crafted products. Initially, these were even frowned upon as old-fashioned and imperfect compared to the identically produced industrial ones. The price of the hand-crafted object of course hardly competed with that of the mass-produced ones.

However, with time people became aware that mass-produced items are robbed of their soul. These objects cannot touch the human soul in the same way a hand-made product made with love and devotion can. This is why more and more companies around the world are turning back to the personally made products – whether by using contemporary technologies or solely by using traditional crafts and methods.

Isocentric skis are also taking a step in this direction. However, we are not solely going back to the roots, but building on the knowledge of our forefathers, using the available knowledge and technologies to grow higher, stronger. Quality and devotion of the old masters is our guidance, because we are aware that:

Only what is made with love and devotion, carries a blessing within.

Development

iv Ski

As a sporting nation, engaged with development of new and better techniques for enjoyment in outdoor activities, Slovenes are one of the contributors that enabled the revolutionising of skiing in the 90’s. The new era of “carving” skiing style began after the launch of the first commercial ski with an emphasised sidecut in 1991, developed and made in Slovenia.

Today the market is flooded with seemingly countless variations of skis that with all their novel designs and technologies at the end of the day do not make any meaningful change to the average skier. This is because the development that occurred over the last 20 years in the ski construction is more or less just a fine tuning of the emphasized sidecut design. Although several novel ski designs were introduced, such as the rocker technology for the deep snow conditions, and new materials were added to the ski construction; any notable change, a truly original design construction that would really take skiing to a new level hasn’t come about yet…

…until now. Now, the change is here, and again, it comes from the same small country that obviously has a special sensibility for revolutionising the skiing practices and for discovering daring ski designs way ahead of their time.

Pioneers of the turns

iv Ski

The ski is older than the wheel. It originates from the prehistoric times when it was used by the northern tribes as a means of transport over the snowy landscape and as a hunting aid.

Historians of skiing divide the development of skiing simplified to: 1. prehistory (from 3,500 years BC to 1888); and 2. modern skiing (from 1888 onwards). The first period is characterized by usable skiing, since the skis served to facilitate the movement through the snowy landscape for hunting, trade, gathering logs, moving to warmer places, and also conquests. Skiing for fun and competitions was practically unknown. The beginning of the second period marks the year 1888 with the crossing of Greenland on skis by Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen and escorts. The news about the usefulness of skis spread around the world. The enjoyment of winter nature, the strengthening of health under the fresh mountain air instead of sitting in the foggy and smoke-contaminated cities and the possibility of skiing for fun were the first promotors of the winter tourism.

However, in the above presented historical overview of the development of skiing, there is an anomaly: even before the 1888, skiing was practiced merely for fun and pleasure. This is a verifiable fact, because residents of Bloke are the first skiers in the world to be observed of skiing – not out of necessity but – for fun! Already in 1689, Johann Weikhard von Valvasor described their “skillful snake-like winding on wooden boards down the snowy slopes”. His description counts as the first written description of skiing in the Central Europe. This is why the residents of Bloke are considered as the pioneers of the turns, although their unique skiing style was later not imitated nor has exhibited a development of the skiing technique.

Isocentric skis, which are based on the Bloke skis represent the contemporary version of these ancestral skis. And most importantly, they carry the original spirit of wit, exploration and ingenuity of those first Bloke residents who did it just for fun.

Discovery

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All discoveries people have ever made are merely the recognition of their predicament. So how can anyone claim to be smart, when all that he has discovered is how wrong he was? If something was already there, as it was – how can anyone claim to be intelligent when all he did was open his eyes to see the actual state?

Whether by discovering a natural law or an invention making use of a specific natural law – the basic rule is the same. Because, nothing of what is out there, is there due to the merit of human, but is there due to the merit of life. Even human himself.

In the end, everything will be simple and normal. People will see they were only children playing to be big and only those who admitted they are small and clueless could unveil the veil of the unknown and stare into a clear view of reality.

Softness

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The technique of skiing with isocentric skis requires greater softness and more subtleness than the present skis. To achieve this, skier must subordinate himself to the skis – just as a musician subordinates himself to his instrument, to master it and to elicit from it the subtlest sounds.

Isocentric skis are – especially under the legs – significantly softer than the carving skis and therefore require less aggressive driving, less pressing in turns. If isocentric skis would be driven with the same technique as the carving skis, aggressively and with heavy loading in turns, they would respond in a completely different manner and would not provide the actual effect of isocentric skiing. Thus, to enjoy all the benefits of the skis, it is necessary to first master the technique, to learn of softer and lighter skiing. In the final sense, this results in faster and more skilful driving.

In turns, the attack angle (incidence angle) is smaller than with the carving skis. Relatively compared, if the attack angle with carving skis is 45 degrees (diagonally), it is around 36 degrees with isocentric skis – the difference is around 20%. Since both, the skier’s attack angle and the angle of the skis are smaller, turns must be driven with minimal loading – exactly the opposite as with carving skis. This way the friction losses are reduced and unnecessary slipping is prevented. At the same time, a lower energy input enables achievement of the optimal driving trajectory or can at least minimize the deviation from it. A subtle feeling for precisely the required loading of the skis is exactly what the top skiers have and is the differentiating factor that separates the champions from mediocrity and decides about the hundredths, tenths and even entire seconds in the final result.

However, if with the conventional skis, this feeling is something only the best, most talented and persistent skiers can attain, it is accessible to everyone with isocentic skis. In other words, isocentric skis lead to a smooth driving style, because it is not possible to drive them in any other way. This is why, isocentric skis have a tendency to completely polarize the ski world: you can either love them or hate them, there are no intermediate possibilities.
Due to the described way of skiing (minimum losses, optimum driving trajectory, minimum burdening of the body), the skis have a very high acceleration and are becoming increasingly fast during skiing – especially on steep terrains. Then, even a lower force is required for a balanced driving and the skier needs to be very stable and responsive not to become stiff with fear and to avoid panicking. When carving skis become dangerous, isocentric skis become virtuosic. Therefore, they act as a snow fin – as a fish fin or a flipper, which at sufficiently high speed reveals all its elegance, power and exactness; of course, without causing any negative side effects to their carrier.

To summarize, isocentric skis enable faster driving, lower burdening and greater virtuosity – and for this, only one thing is necessary: to subordinate yourself to the skis and allow to learn from them.The skis are completely subordinated to the terrain and by learning from them, one learns from the actual ground he is skiing on. This way, it is possible to completely merge with the environment and to achieve the ideal driving line… as if it was given from the mountain itself.

Smart

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Man thinks only his head or his brains can be smart. However, also his hands, his feet and his entire body can be smart – if only he lets them be. The human body with all its internal and external parts has a mind of its own, its own life and its own feelings. A man can either let them be and pulsate freely in their own rhythm or can frustrate them with his own rules and ideas. This way, man can – merely by the means of his psychological relationship with his body – on one hand develop a strong, healthy and agile body or can on the other hand gain chronical pains, unnatural body postures and other malfunctions. In the final sense, the body is merely an extension of the soul, of the mind, and if one is strong enough, he can with his faith overcome any bodily limitation.

This way, man can allow his body parts to develop their own intelligence, their own mechanisms and let them work without any conscious control over them. This way all great athletes or great craftsmen work – through hours of practice their body parts have developed a mind of their own so that man does not need to control it anymore.

But the problem of contemporary physical culture is that the society, media and the products are trying to box man’s mind and body into completely arbitrary defined artificial trends. This way they are killing the spirit and the spark of living life that dwells inside every human being, waiting to grow into a bonfire – but being only smouldering embers.

Isocentric skis are developed in the spirit of the freedom of the body, soul and the spirit. The design, construction and the basic skiing concept is rooted in one main idea: letting your body and soul breathe freely, letting them be what they are and build on their true basis. It is not about enforcing any pre-defined patterns or rules or even suggesting what is right and what is wrong; it is about saying: “just let yourself go and you will fly.” Because your body and your soul already know everything – if you would only let them be smart.

Once you will let them be, you will be amazed by the skills, simplicity and the power which was sleeping inside, waiting to be unleashed.

Forms of the new era

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Man is psychologically evolving since his very emergence. With time, he is becoming more and more pure in awareness. With man’s psychological development, his habits, needs and taste change. Old forms seem awkward and clumsy. Contemporary forms are clear and minimalistic, stripped of any unnecessary additions. As the unknown is being recognized, man stares more and more into the actual reality of everything – into nothingness. And nothingness is the purest form possible. This is why, overexaggerated decorations seem old-fashioned or nostalgic and cannot embrace the spirit of the presence. It is the same with old techniques and habitual or kinesiological patterns. Only the patterns which have their basis in the presence, in the vertical of time, are accurate and alive.

Isocentric skis very precisely capture the spirit of the present time. With their single line design, compact construction, intelligent technology and versatile performance characteristics, they define the concept of sport and recreation which is perfectly suitable for today’s time. The skiing routine is stripped down to its very basis. There is no need for cumbersome repetition of unnatural muscle straining movements, as the movement comes naturally. A new, free and playful skiing era is defined.