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Can't ride switch

13K views 51 replies 24 participants last post by  snowman55 
#1 ·
I long board mongo pushing with my left foot but i snowboard regular and push with my right. I can scate with either foot forward but i can only push well with my left leg. The funny thing is that i can only snowboard with my left foot forward. Is there any trick to riding switch?
 
#3 ·
The same steps people take to learn how to link turns are the same you would use to learn switch. People get frustrated and give up on switch because they can just switch back to their comfortable riding position. The trick is to trick yourself into thinking there is no other option and just push through and practice practice practice.
 
#6 ·
Mounting your bindings the other way can actually be useful if you have a directional board. It will force you to learn all over again. Do everything including the lift switch.

Before you know it you'll be riding either way just fine.**



** If your normal dominate leg has more muscle than your non dominate leg you will probably be missing a little something but no worries. You'll get stronger the more you ride switch.
 
#11 ·
I learned to ride switch very early on in my riding. Near the end of my first full season.

I see a lot of people keep mentioning "just practice, or learn it from going back to the basics of learning to ride reg." But if you've been riding for some time, and with what I assume is at least a few years of skate experience? Do you even remember all the drills and practice techniques you had to do when you were first learning to ride? I was so new, I was just barely competent linking turns regular on green & blue runs, when I learned to ride switch. I took a private lesson, from an instructor. Maybe a lesson, from a good instructor, someone who will run you thru all of those, silly, boring, stupid looking drills that a lot of us had to go thru when learning to ride our regular stance, (Be that goofy or reg.) might be beneficial?

If it's been a few years since you were a NooB, and feeling like you already "know" how to ride, it might be tough to recall all those sometimes humiliatingly stoopid looking techniques and drills! I also had the advantage of being new enough to snowboarding that my ego did not suffer a hit by taking instruction or having to go thru learning switch from scratch! In fact, I eventually wound up getting a massive ego boost by having more experienced riders tell me that as new as I was, they were impressed that I could ride switch better than they could! :thumbsup:

It just might help to be reminded of some of those basic techniques for just learning to ride when applying them to your getting proficient riding switch! Maybe? Just a thought.
 
#13 ·
I learned to ride switch very early on in my riding. Near the end of my first full season. . . .
Interesting. I'm a noob, just linking turns. I was definitely planning to take another lesson or two at the beginning of this season. When reading this thread, I was wondering if it might make sense for me to start trying switch sooner rather than later. It does seem like chomps might be on to something here . . .
 
#12 ·
lot of green runs are in your future. Progress slowly and as mentioned a ton of times it really is like learning to ride all over again.

I sometimes need to mentally tell myself to put more weight on my front foot. When I feel a little sketchy or getting off balance. This was early on and sometimes still happens but now I am very comfortable riding switch.

Just time on the board and going back to the basics
 
#14 ·
When I started to learn riding switch, I had serious trouble being able to initiate toe-side turns. I took fall after fall not being able to complete the turn. What helped for me was holding out my arms to both sides, forcing my shoulders to stay aligned with the board while kind of pointing my arm and shoulder in the direction I wanted to go while turning. Not saying this is the best, or the proper way, but atleast it got me started.
(hope my description makes sense)

Also, there is a thread called "Riding switch" at page 2 in the "tips, tricks..." section with more about this subject...
 
#16 ·
the weight distribution is critical, just like the tendency of a beginner is to get too far back on it and not be able to turn, so does the starting switcher need to commit to that downhill foot. i find it easier to be going a bit faster to get it carving. eventually there is a moment where you arent sure what is backward of forward, you are just riding it. and they are one in the same.

try commiting to full runs switch, even if it takes you an hour to get down, progression maximum

and for yall just starting riding, start switch now, imo, the sooner the better

trade boards with an opposite-footed buddy for a runs, or a day
 
#21 ·
try commiting to full runs switch, even if it takes you an hour to get down, progression maximum
+100. If you ride switch in full runs top to bottom it will progress your switch ability in remarkable time. Everytime I ride I "make" my girl ride swith top to bottom at least once that day. She's not always thrilled but the results have been priceless. If you ride with friends, challenge each other to ride switch and push yourself to be better.
 
#18 ·
I do various workouts on my Indo board, and one thing I do is just put on some music and ride it for a while like I'm on a snowboard (when I'm lifting weights etc on it, I'm centered and looking ahead, when I'm "riding" on it, I'm looking in one direction and generally putting more weight on my front foot). This can get a bit boring, so I started riding "switch" on it just to spice things up. It felt a bit awkward the first time I did it but that was it. I wonder if "riding switch" on an Indo board would help people who have trouble with it.

Also, people vary in how ambidextrous they are in handedness. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same with riding switch. It probably comes more easily for some people regardless of how long they've been snowboarding.
 
#20 ·
everyone is different as we all know.
I'm not to sure I'd be jumping on the switch riding until is reg riding his/your reg riding is on lock. I got the feeling he just started linking turns. For me I had to be very comfortable with my reg riding before I felt I should try switch.
 
#28 ·
The first day I ride this year I am committing to riding nothing but switch. I'll start on the bunny hill if I have to. I think that's how it should be done. I've only got one season of riding under my belt so I don't want to wait to long before I learn it.

If you're having real difficulty with it I would suggest doing this: get a lesson and tell the instructor it is your first time snowboarding and your stance is goofy (if your normal stance is regular). If the instructor thinks it's your first time he's really going to focus on teaching you the right way and you'll learn switch as easy as you learned regular.
 
#29 ·
get a lesson and tell the instructor it is your first time snowboarding and your stance is goofy (if your normal stance is regular). If the instructor thinks it's your first time he's really going to focus on teaching you the right way and you'll learn switch as easy as you learned regular.
Ummm I would just tell the instructor you want to learn to ride switch and let him teach you.

He may even ride switch with you to give better demos or have some drills that would be better for a guy learning switch as opposed to a complete newbie rider.
Don't lie, let them teach you what you want to learn. Maybe even ask for an instructor that would be comfortable teaching you switch and that you are an intermediate or what ever level rider.

I feel this is a far better choice than the lying direction.
 
#31 ·
I didn't start learning switch quite as early in my experience as chomps or others, but I think I started working on it late in my second season. The only things I can think to add are that I love to work on switch riding on both icy days and powder days. On icy days, I hate taking as many risks in the park, so switch practice actually gives me a lower-risk challenge. On pow days, it greatly prolongs my endurance since I ride a centered stance twin and of course pow allows me to really push my progression with less risk of injury. Also, I will work on it when I'm too tired to ride regular in any conditions. Even on an average day, I make sure to do at least a few runs switch, sometimes even most, just to keep pushing my progression.
 
#34 ·
Much like Chomps I am also visual but can do technical instruction quite well. I like to mimic or see the movement of the body and I can then interrupt quite well and apply it to my riding.
This is why I spend hours watching videos. It is much easier for me to replicate the movement this way.

Keep this in mind as well, all the studying in the world doesn't replace time on the snow. Even though you know what to do, the movements required, pressure on the front foot, etc. sometimes putting that into real time doesn't always go as planned.
 
#38 ·
When I was first learning to ride switch, I'd every once in a while get into a "mode" where I would start making every move exactly opposite of what I should, or get in backseat and couldn't get out. When that happened I'd have to just stop and reset my brain, then get going again.
 
#39 ·
dedicating those full runs switch your improvement will be exponential

this year i've been working on speed, hauling ass to the point where i'm a bit scared is getting faster and faster. also slashing powder sidewalls switch and purposefully NOT reverting, coming out switch or a full 36o to switch, and trying to get some true carves with the pop and unweighting one does...all of these are superfun challenges almost like learning it for the first time, so fun
 
#40 ·
Man Up….



Monday will be at JayPeak like CassMt will work on speed, full runs, true carves, hope to improve exponential.

Spent yesterday 80% riding switch timid.

Purposefully wow you nailed it. Purpose to meet the challenge. Man up!

CassMt Thanks!!!
 
#44 ·
I'm not the most experienced one here, but the only thing that keeps my from trying out ++ is that I don't see how you could ride switch without killing your body? Just stand up for a second like I just did, plant your feet with those angles and look in the opposite way.

Why would you ever want to do that?
 
#47 ·
Spent half the day riding switch and the pack sozialized and did as well, with the difference that they are good at it; they used to practice as kids. One of them even carved. All have app. +30/+15 angles. We all began when +/+ was normal. So switch is well doable, however, it's not high on the agenda, we usually ride/charge/carve one direction, so no one ever felt the urge to change to duck.
 
#46 ·
When I was learning on the beginner hill, I forced myself to learn switch whilst leaning basic heel and toeside turns.

My buddy kept learning regular, and now switch is totally alien.

I knew once I got comfortable with regular and developed habits it'd be harder.

Now if I ride switch, I'm not too worried, but I am still working on switch way more than regular as expected.

Probably the few things skateboarding taught me that transferred over to snowboarding
 
#49 ·
I did a sweet switch tomahawk in waist deep pow the other day... I have tried a lot to practice swtch but I can ride it when I need to. With trees there are times it's pretty much mandatory to do a switch turn or two.

I have been pushing my son to train switch and one day it clicked for him, hasn't for me yet, he rides comfortable now either way. Just have to commit to training yourself.
 
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