 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just read a little about how to describe the settings for bindings.
I should have written +15/-15, which is known as mirror duck stance.
Rich
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ah .. now it all makes sense!
+15/-15 is something worth experimenting with .. especially as i'm just as happy riding switch 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Here we go,
I am right handed and right dominant footed.
I snowboard goofy and skate regular.
I also longboard regular.
I kitesurf regular as preffered.
When i skid on ice i go left foot forward.
When i try to skate with a snowboard regular it just feels wrong, also when i snowboard regular its just not right.
I am now concerned that maybe my boarding could be better if I went through the hardship of changing my boarding to regular. 
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surfstar, If you do all of those other sports in a regular stance I think you should try and swap.
I tried to ride a bit in switch over the last two weeks, just for fun. Its amazing what you can do and whilst you will never be anywhere near as good as on your preferred stance, you can get down a blue reasonably well after a committed hour of riding in switch.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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OK, so last week I finally 'cracked' my snowboarding. I mean, I could link turns comfortably before, but last week something clicked, and I've gone from "conscious incompetence" to "conscious competence". If you get me.
Anyway, one of the things I cracked was having a go on some steeper terrain. I really enjoyed hooning around on the blacks, and this is where this here thread comes in, see.
I set up regular, duck stance with +15 -10 angles or something close to that. However, whenever I was on the very steepest bits of the runs I was doing, I tended to get a little confidence boost from riding switch. Despite: the board not being a true twin, and the duck setup favouring the angle of my left foot. This is a bit paradoxical, no?
As for riding draglifts, scooting with one foot unbuckled, and riding along the flat whilst carrying some speed to avoid having to stop, I can only do these things left-foot-forward. The notion of doing those goofy ranges from 'silly' to 'scary'.
So, expert snowboarding friends, what the DAMN TARNATION is going on there? Am I secretly goofy, actually ambidextrous in the foot department, or just weird?
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paulio, i found i was riding easier riding switch when i was riding a board that was too long for me (i'm 5'5"ish tall and was riding a 155.) that board was also not a twin, and i found i could control the "shorter nose" easier when i was riding switch. is it possible you were doing the same? just a thought.
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That's plausible as one day I was riding a 168, which was preposterously too large for me. However the same happened when I was on a 160, which is more or less 'correct' for my height and weight (6'1", 90kg)...
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| Quote: |
| ...However the same happened when I was on a 160, which is more or less 'correct' for my height and weight (6'1", 90kg)... |
haha then you're just a freak... 
seriously though, it's all about confidence when it comes to riding switch/trying to ride "the other way" on your board. it may be worth spending time on a lesson to improve the skill. i had tried to teach myself to ride switch properly in the past in order to overcome the scary feeling of riding "incorrectly", but when i did lessons in jan, i could sense the improvement after the first session.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It was only on the steep stuff. On a normal bluey reddy sort of slope, regular was fine/preferred (although still over-rotating when turning onto my heel, which I started a thread about elsewhere once, and was still making me swear).
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i was doing the same when i was a beginner - any steepish stuff and i'd start riding switch on that 155 board cos i felt i could control it better. when i got some more lessons under my belt, and a shorter, flexier/softer board, i started riding much better. both regular and switch.
as for the over-rotating thing (can't remember if i looked at that thread) are you maybe leaning over the back of your board/heelside too much? or are you doing that fishtail thing that a lot of ppl do?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've decided I've probably got a deep-set fear of heel-to-toe, due to one too many bad faceplants. So when going to heel edge, I instinctively scrub off all my speed and end up perpendicular and swearing before sluggishly getting back on the toe again. I just can't ride in a nice nearly-straight line on my heel. I just end up snowploughing like a punter. I am a punter of course, but I'd prefer not to resemble one.
What fishtail thing?
Edit to say that overall though, I'm mainly quite delighted that I can mostly muck about riding normal and switch to my heart's content - a lot of my boarding pals who've been doing it a great deal longer than I have hardly ever ride fakie because they've become over-accustomed to riding the normal way around and are a bit scared of it.
But I MIGHT, just maybe, try setting up goofy next time. Just for shits and giggles.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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when a rider's back foot washes out as they try to slow down and/or turn onto an edge. it's a beginner error that some ppl don't lose as they progress.
i've been trying to find a video of it on youtube, but can't seem to use the correct phrase to find one. maybe someone else can come along and explain better than i can.
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Yes, that sounds like me.
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You know it makes sense.
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| paulio wrote: |
| I've decided I've probably got a deep-set fear of heel-to-toe, due to one too many bad faceplants. So when going to heel edge, I instinctively scrub off all my speed and end up perpendicular and swearing before sluggishly getting back on the toe again. |
If you are having problems going from heel to toe are you sure you don't suffer from heel lift?
In the days that I used to hire boots and board I used have similar problems going from heel to toe - turned out that the combination of narrow ankles and my arch collapsing slightly when leaning forward to toe edge meant that I had no control when going over to toe edge - it's only with a properly fitted pair of boots that I could feel the front of the boots with my shins.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I find the best thing to do is to go from regular to switch quite often, if you get good at riding switch it will help you a lot when riding off piste, as I find that there are some lines that only work when riding switch, also helps if you come out of a 180 and have to change direction sharpish to avoid a tree/piste pole/person
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mr Technique, I'd agree with other posters, your issue is more likely down to a preference for heel-toe vs toe-heel (or. Vice versa) rather than regular vs goofy. A lot of people find one much easier than the other when learning. I'm trying to perfect my switch riding at the moment, and i do find heel-toe turns a lot harder.
Btw, i'm 5'11", 90kg and my boards are 168 & 169! Ok, i do have a 161 too, but that's for messing around, not for serious riding! Fear not the long board! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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stevomcd, When I was working on my switch I also found heel to toe a lot harder, yet this is my favourite turn when riding normally.
If I am standing on the ledge of a very, very steep drop, I will want my first turn to be heel to toe as I will be certain 100% of it being perfect. Once I have done this turn, all ensuing turns feel fine. If my first turn is a toe to heel, I make the turn but have some stupid mental lack of confidence, until I get the second turn in.
Riding in switch, was the opposite. Getting onto heels was pish easy but getting onto toes saw my weight going back and the turn being a drawn out into a carve rather than a slide. These turns got better but were never as good as I wanted, until my skiing wife and mates wanted a boarding lesson on our last day. They were all goofy so I decided I would teach them in switch, so I was also right foot forward. We spent 4 hours on the nursery slope (the one outside the Loop bar - forgot its name) and by the end of this I really had cracked it, albeit on a gentle slope. When my 'pupils' were knackered/bored they got the bus back to Boisses but I rode back, determined to test my new skills. Down the blues towards Brevieres I was easily riding sections in switch or regular, with a full complement of turns in each stance. It felt fantastic to spin around along the piste picking a foot to lead with, then changing then turning a few times and changing again. It was all blues back but riding like this was a revelation for me. It's something I want to really work with so I can ride switch as well as normal.
If you want to crack it, I would devote a whole morning or afternoon to riding on gentle slopes and go back to basics. It is hard to go against all your years of leg 'muscle memory' and it does help if mates can comment on your stance. It's well worth persevering, though.
Next trip's skill glean is landing in switch from kickers.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'd like to add that I'm a complete mess too, full of contradictions. Check this out:
Skateboard = always left foot forward (wasnt that good at it really)
Football = right footed
table tennis = right handed. I write with my right hand.
my left eye is my strongest though if that means anything.
Snowboard = goofy.
When I hired my first board, the guy pushed me from behind and I stepped with my right foot forward. I was goofy according to him. But I was sure that I should have been regular. When I began I could ride switch from more or less the beginning. Don't know why. I felt ok going with either foot forward. My mind said I should be regular but my body for some reason felt slightly better goofy. When I bought my first board the following year is when I found out I was goofy.
By messing around with bindings I settled on goofy +18/-15. It was the only setting I felt comfortable with without severe pain on my front foot. The way I understood it was that your strongest leg should be forward as when you are learning you need to be leaning more forward to make turns easier. Having your strongest foot at the back makes no sense whatsoever. As you progress, you shift your weight about differently and initiate the turns from your centre of gravity (not shoulders). Hence the reason some people get confused with their riding style after a short while. As they get better they feel better at riding switch then this question comes up!
Just my opinion, I'm no maestro, but I'm getting a clearer picture each time I go.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I'll also add my two penneth...
I board regular, dh on a mountain bike left foot forward naturally, but am right-handed and have better ball control with my right foot.
Looking at what everyone on here is saying, I don't think it is black & white in terms of the relationship between your dominant hand/foot and which you feel most comfortable leading yourself down a mountain with. A lot of it could be do simply with personal preference or even more environmental, i.e. how you were set up when you first stood on a board.
In any case, everyone who has learned to snowboard has the ability to learn how to ride switch and at some point in your snowboarding career you should be looking to learn how to do it properly. There will always be a stronger direction (regular/goofy), but the closer the gap between this and your switch riding, the better snowboarder you will become.
On my 2nd season I set my bindings to +15/-15 (and wiiiiiide!) and forced myself to spend about a week learning to ride switch. Not all day every day, but making sure that I was at least concentrating on my technique a fair bit. I never have looked back and it's surprising how much more fun being snowboarding becomes when you're not scared of finding yourself hurtling downhill the wrong foot forward. In fact, teaching myself to ride switch actually helped me improve my regular riding technique because it makes you think about what you are doing and how you make turns!
Go for it!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
I board regular, dh on a mountain bike left foot forward naturally, but am right-handed and have better ball control with my right foot.
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peachos, that would be "normal" - I'm exactly the same.
To chip back into the overall discussion, fundamentally snowboarding is a 2-footed sport and as long as you're happy with the way you're riding, it doesn't really matter. Being able to ride in both directions is a great skill to have (although you can have a whole lot of fun on a snowboard without ever riding switch).
One thing I was thinking about the other day - people have been talking about their "strong" foot and why that MUST be the front (or back, depending on the theory being recanted!) but do we really have a "strong" foot/leg? We use our legs more or less evenly so they should be pretty-much equally strong. We maybe have a better co-ordinated foot (anyone who's seen me try to kick a ball with my left foot would agree) but I don't think strength is really an issue (unlike with arms, where your "preferred" arm probably is quite a bit stronger).
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FWIW I surf goofy (25 years) snowboard regular (15 years) and not bisexual, never skied, played golf or eaten quiche.
Also shite at riding switch on a board. Go figure.
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