Lynch[425]

I need some serious help with this haha. I did search by the way before anyone goes "RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE USE THE SEARCH TOOL RABBLE RABBLE" didnt find anything, maybe something I would have had to search tons of pages for but I decided to make a new thread

its pretty much the most frustrating thing ive tried to attempt so far. I just cant get it. Im getting better, but without getting this down I will fail no matter what. so far ive been up 4 times, for a considerable amount of hours each time, this weekend will make it 6 times since stevens pass opened on thursday.

I was planning on taking at least 2 classes sometime. its funny because most skiiers(SP?) say take them. and most snowboarders say dont haha. anything will help thanks

boarderaholic

IMO, take lessons. But the best way I can describe it, without showing you is to keep your knees bent, start the turn with your eyes, and start the turn with your eyes, and look where you want to go. Have your arms out, and rotate with your upper body, and the lower body will follow, just don't forget to keep those knees bent, and remember to stay relaxed throughout all of this.

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Lynch[425]

thank you. I notice that almost always my right(back) leg in most cases has alot more pressure on it, and is usually more tense then my front

Snowolf

Definitely, a lesson will really help a new rider learn the foundational skills of riding properly.

I wrote an article on this and it is stickt`d up top in the basic how to section. In breif, here are a couple of tips I pass on when I teach new riders.

First off, a lot of people are spooked by turning to their toeside for fear of the falling forward. it is something that is hard to get over. First off, your stance on the board is critical for good board control. You need to ride with your center of mass between your bindings and over your board. As you are traversing across the hill, ready to go toeside, shift that weight a tad toawrd the nose of the board. Remember, the heavy end of the board will go down the hill faster so this helps getting the board to pivot downhill as well as weight your front foot.

Rotate your front shoulder to place it over your toe edge, flex the front knee and ankle joint to release the heel pressure you are holding in your traverse. The nose of the board will drift downhill and very quickly, you will be pointed straight down the hill. At this point, both the front and the rear foot will be nuetral and the board very flat based.

Here is where 90% of the problems begin. New riders tend to lean uphill at this point because it feels counter intuitive to "lean downhill", but you must overcome this. Watch people, and watch what happens when a new rider tries to turn and then leans way back untill they fall.

Now, with your weight shifted toward the front foot, shoulder rotated over the toe edge, flex the knee and ankle more to push down on the toe edge of the board with the front foot only. What will happen is the edge will dig into the snow and begin a turn to toeside. Hold this for about 1 second, then slowly begin to apply toe pressure with your rear foot. You must wait a second or two untill the turn is established; if you do this too soon, you will be pointed down the hill on edge and falling over. You need a bit os centrifugal force in the turn to work with. As you approach the midpoint of your turn, you will be riding on the toe edge of the board and leaning a bit to the inside of the turn over your toe edge. As you approcah turn, completeion, begin to ease up on the toe pressure with the front foot and set up to roll into a heelside turn using the same technique.

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laz167

I know how you feel cause when I first started I couldnt do Heelside for the love of god..Cause I was so scared of falling on my tailbone.But the only advise I can give you is "no fear" and for me when I do Toeside picture Micheal Jackson...Huh? you say? what I mean is lean into it with kinda your toes kinda like MJ.Thats the way I showed my GF and she caught what I was saying more than getting technicle with it.Hope that helps some.

Lynch[425]

thanks to both of you! I know alot of it is fear. Im pefectly fine with heelside turning, Ive got it down really good. im hoping to get it soon because I know once I can do both turns, riding is going to be so much more amazing

Turbomarco

Like Snowolf said, don't lean back, thats how I bashed my head on the ice. Don't use your body to swing the board to turn, use the board's sidecut to turn, thats why its there. Don't use your arms and swing it around, instead, use the 4 pressure points on the board (these points are essentially both your toes and heels applying pressure).

Lynch[425]

today was my 7th time up in 2 weeks, so im making really good progress. today I think I really got the general idea of it down, and I was doing it alright, now i believe I just need to pefect it. I also noticed alot of my problems could be in my boots and bindings angle

lisevolution

just continue going... the more you do it the easier it becomes. Adjust your angles a little bit at a time till you find the setting that is the most comfortable for you in most conditions

Biglost

One of the things not mentioned is snow conditions. 2-3 inches of fresh powder on a groomed hill makes for perfect learning conditions. More forgiving if your turn is not perfect, not to mention softer when you do fall. I know those are ideal conditions and not always available. It is how I was able to teach my 51 year old wife to board.

Hard and Icy - bad for beginners.

Soft and powdery - good for beginners.

Also, remember to keep your speed up. Think about how difficult it is to ride a bicycle slowly, the same hold true with boarding. You don't have to go fast, but you need to go fast enough to maintain balance.