# My Shredding Progression (2017 Video)



## chomps1211

Looking pretty good. :grin:

Now you just gotta start getting low! So low you're draggin yer nipples & ass in the snow!! 
:laugh:


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## RayC

its quite the rush teetering between perfection (almost...) and catastrophe lol


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## SGboarder

Almost none of those turns are carving. You're on the edge for a while but then skid/side slip. Looks like a combination of 2 things: 1. lack of confidence (especially when initiating the turn and approaching the fall line) and 2. technique: not nearly enough edge angle most of the time (probably exacerbated by the fact that the board wide/too wide) you're leaning with the upper body (or even whole body) instead of getting low in the 'cereal box' and titling the board with your ankles and knees.

Both are totally fixable and you're not far away at all from carving. But a focused lesson would be a good idea to get rid of some of the bad habits.
A softer narrower board with a slightly tighter sidecut might also help (for the moment).


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## BoardieK

SGboarder said:


> Almost none of those turns are carving. You're on the edge for a while but then skid/side slip. Looks like a combination of 2 things: 1. lack of confidence (especially when initiating the turn and approaching the fall line) and 2. technique: not nearly enough edge angle most of the time (probably exacerbated by the fact that the board wide/too wide) you're leaning with the upper body (or even whole body) instead of getting low in the 'cereal box' and titling the board with your ankles and knees.
> 
> Both are totally fixable and you're not far away at all from carving. But a focused lesson would be a good idea to get rid of some of the bad habits.
> A softer narrower board with a slightly tighter sidecut might also help (for the moment).


Looking at the board/width and the first half of the video I thought the same thing but the second half of the run was much better. I find that holding a pole also detracts from performance and agility, filmed from a different pov he would have looked better again.
Incidentally I've just gone to a slightly softer narrower board (Nitro Blacklight camber to Rome Blur) in order to improve.


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## Snowdaddy

Nice going 

How many days on snow do you have?


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## 16gkid

Looking pretty good! Now you just need to work on getting lower (bend those knees like ur gonna shit on the ground lol) and being more dynamic with your weight, with super wide Donek's, you need to be putting it up on the edges or flat basing it, it wont turn with half ass initation.


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## 16gkid

SGboarder said:


> Almost none of those turns are carving.


Watch out for the fucking carving police:dry::blahblah::blahblah:


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## Rip154

Email the guy, see if he can help you. With a board that wide, you might need some tricks to get it working.


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## Snowdaddy

I'm curious about what sidecut radius and such it is...


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## Snowdaddy

16gkid said:


> Watch out for the fucking carving police:dry::blahblah::blahblah:


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## RayC

Snowdaddy said:


> I'm curious about what sidecut radius and such it is...



29.5cm waist, 8.5m sidecut, 158cm length﻿

I appreciate all the genuine tips, I'm much more agile and moving my body as if im dancing this year. I do agree my knees aren't nearly as bent as they should be. But I have improved lots since then :blahblah:


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## RayC

Snowdaddy said:


> Nice going
> 
> How many days on snow do you have?


This is my third season boarding. Maybe 20-30?


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## RayC

2019 Footage! Icy conditions but still lots of fun


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## 16gkid

Very nice! pencil lines are looking clean, if I had to critique I would say bend the knees even more and be more deliberate with fore/aft weight loading to really drive in/out of the carves, but you are well on your way. Love the soundtrack too!


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## chomps1211

:thumbsup:


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## RayC

16gkid said:


> Very nice! pencil lines are looking clean, if I had to critique I would say bend the knees even more and be more deliberate with fore/aft weight loading to really drive in/out of the carves, but you are well on your way. Love the soundtrack too!


my exact thoughts on the bent knees! appreciate the feedback 00


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## 16gkid

RayC said:


> my exact thoughts on the bent knees! appreciate the feedback 00


TO ME, bending the knees really unlocks the "euro" carve, makes it almost easy to do, because when ur going edge to edge and ur bent down low, dragging body parts doesnt seem that far way since ur crouched so far down, i dunno if that makes sense lol. heres me messing around our little midwest hill, 
https://youtu.be/PKdQwWcHnrs?t=362


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## RayC

16gkid said:


> TO ME, bending the knees really unlocks the "euro" carve, makes it almost easy to do, because when ur going edge to edge and ur bent down low, dragging body parts doesnt seem that far way since ur crouched so far down, i dunno if that makes sense lol. heres me messing around our little midwest hill,
> https://youtu.be/PKdQwWcHnrs?t=362


that's dope. We also have mini ice coast hills :|


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## wrathfuldeity

RayC
Besides bending the knees and getting more dynamic up/down, watch your leading shoulder, you are rotated open too much. Especially on toeside...you briefly initiate going to toeside, but then you rotate the shoulder open/to heelside waay too early...hold your toeside shoulder closed/rotated to toeside longer. Compare 16's shoulders (is much more aligned to the carve)...and watch his leading hand...generally toeside, his leading hand is toside and heelside his leading hand is heelside.

Another thing...and I am very guilty of this...speed. We tend to associate carving with speed...but being able to carve at a slower speed and have pencil thin lines is a thing of beauty. On 2 memorable occasions, I've seen folks flowing lines at like 1/2 speed and even slower... @neni she was one of them. 

You are coming along nicely, get more dynamic and pay attention to your upper alignment...get low enough to try dragging your trailing hand on the snow on both toe and heelside carves. Why the trailing hand...you can do it with the leading hand...but if something fucks up, you are at much more risk for seriously ripping your leading shoulder up. And me thinks that by using your trailing hand, you are in a better position for loading up weight wise your tail for completing the carve.

moi 2 pennies tossed from the peanut gallery


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## RayC

wrathfuldeity said:


> RayC
> Besides bending the knees and getting more dynamic up/down, watch your leading shoulder, you are rotated open too much. Especially on toeside...you briefly initiate going to toeside, but then you rotate the shoulder open/to heelside waay too early...hold your toeside shoulder closed/rotated to toeside longer. Compare 16's shoulders (is much more aligned to the carve)...and watch his leading hand...generally toeside, his leading hand is toside and heelside his leading hand is heelside.
> 
> Another thing...and I am very guilty of this...speed. We tend to associate carving with speed...but being able to carve at a slower speed and have pencil thin lines is a thing of beauty. On 2 memorable occasions, I've seen folks flowing lines at like 1/2 speed and even slower... @neni she was one of them.
> 
> You are coming along nicely, get more dynamic and pay attention to your upper alignment...get low enough to try dragging your trailing hand on the snow on both toe and heelside carves. Why the trailing hand...you can do it with the leading hand...but if something fucks up, you are at much more risk for seriously ripping your leading shoulder up. And me thinks that by using your trailing hand, you are in a better position for loading up weight wise your tail for completing the carve.
> 
> moi 2 pennies tossed from the peanut gallery


great tips, will try and remember for next time :nerd:


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## zc1

RayC, did you ski before you learned to snowboard, by chance?


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## RayC

@zc1 actually never tried skiing before, why do you ask?


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## zc1

@RayC: because of the way you tend to keep your upper body pointing downhill as much as possible -- leading to the 'opening up' that Wrath mentioned you do when on your toe edge. Skiers are taught to do that intentionally as good technique.


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## RayC

@zc1 @wrathfuldeity That makes a lot more sense now! I learned from this haha

https://youtu.be/mvADH_dLb4w?t=87


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## wrathfuldeity

^ Ray,..skiers face down the hill and riders are mindful of where the leading shoulder is pointed relative to the fall line or direction of travel. Have you tried cross under turns/carves? Just to compare a different carving skill where you are in generally stay in a low position...meaning you don't stand up. When doing cross unders, keeping your leading shoulder pointed straight down the fall line and then moving the board under your body...by sucking up the knees and using the pop/decamber of the board to help move to the next edge...btw you need some speed so that you can extend and then suck up your knees.


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## RayC

@wrathfuldeity I believe I have tried those, kind of like the decamber pops into a jump so you can easily transition from edge to edge? Great feeling but it's rare that we get such snow conditions to do it (Ice Coast with no mountains)


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## zc1

That counter-rotated position is inherently unbalanced and puts you at a disadvantage if you encounter something unexpected -- you're rotationally unbalanced. It's great for Ryan Knapton because he uses it to generate torque since he's launching into noserolls, jumps on the regular (less of a wind-up required), but you'll notice that he doesn't do it to nearly the same extent when he's just carving large arcs.


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## ConcreteVitamin

Well, so when carving, should the hip/shoulder be SQUARE to the board or ALIGNED with the board?

Quoting 
https://snowboarding.transworld.net/how-to/separate-zee-knees-a-whole-new-carving-stance/:

* square the shoulders and hips to the direction of board travel, and maintain this alignment at all times throughout each carve.
* the torso and hips are facing the nose of the board. 
* The hands are no longer leading and trailing, but are back to left and right — keeping the hands on their own sides of the board


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## RayC

ConcreteVitamin said:


> Well, so when carving, should the hip/shoulder be SQUARE to the board or ALIGNED with the board?
> 
> Quoting
> https://snowboarding.transworld.net/how-to/separate-zee-knees-a-whole-new-carving-stance/:
> 
> * square the shoulders and hips to the direction of board travel, and maintain this alignment at all times throughout each carve.
> * the torso and hips are facing the nose of the board.
> * The hands are no longer leading and trailing, but are back to left and right — keeping the hands on their own sides of the board


great article! don't think there is a right answer. whatever works and is most fun imo >

edit: and most safe


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## Snowdaddy

RayC said:


> This is my third season boarding. Maybe 20-30?


Nice, I'm into season 2.5 now. My first was 3 days on a rental cause I had to be on skis to handle my kids. Second season I got in about 6 days on a board and so far I've only managed to get in 1 lousy day this winter.

I think I'll just refuse to step on a pair of skis ever again... haha :grin:

I think it's great that you guys film your adventures and try to improve your riding like that. In a month or so I'm going to get some more time to ride.

Noting beats the feeling of being on a board :jumping1:


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## RayC

Snowdaddy said:


> Nice, I'm into season 2.5 now. My first was 3 days on a rental cause I had to be on skis to handle my kids. Second season I got in about 6 days on a board and so far I've only managed to get in 1 lousy day this winter.
> 
> I think I'll just refuse to step on a pair of skis ever again... haha :grin:
> 
> I think it's great that you guys film your adventures and try to improve your riding like that. In a month or so I'm going to get some more time to ride.
> 
> Noting beats the feeling of being on a board :jumping1:


Film is the best way to improve! Sometimes our perception tricks us into believing you're doing something versus reality. I couldn't agree more. I hope to hit a REAL mountain this year, whether it be this season or next season :crying:


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## chomps1211

RayC said:


> Film is the best way to improve! *Sometimes our perception tricks us into believing you're doing something versus reality. *I couldn't agree more. I hope to hit a REAL mountain this year, whether it be this season or next season :crying:


Agree! I was in Steamboat,.. they had a pro on the slopes taking pictures of the tourists shredding that run and offering them for sale. 

I came round that bend,.. convinced I was all low & sleek,.. just _railing_ that turn. My pic was going to be epic! It was going to be all steezy & totally gnarly AF!!! 

*Wrong!* :lol: Im actually all upright & shit In those pics. Just another gomer out riding the hill. :laugh: :embarrased1: :shrug:

But DAMNED if I didn't think I was all low & fast. :laugh:

I'll definitely know to do better next time. Hahaha!!


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## RayC

chomps1211 said:


> Agree! I was in Steamboat,.. they had a pro on the slopes taking pictures of the tourists shredding that run and offering them for sale.
> 
> I came round that bend,.. convinced I was all low & sleek,.. just _railing_ that turn. My pic was going to be epic! It was going to be all steezy & totally gnarly AF!!!
> 
> *Wrong!* :lol: Im actually all upright & shit In those pics. Just another gomer out riding the hill. :laugh: :embarrased1: :shrug:
> 
> But DAMNED if I didn't think I was all low & fast. :laugh:
> 
> I'll definitely know to do better next time. Hahaha!!


I too thought I was the carving GOD, until I saw myself on video :crying::crying::crying:


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## Scalpelman

For the limited time you have on the mountain, I think you’re are progressing nicely. Keep it up. Every trip is a lesson. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Snowdaddy

Oh.... and you dropped your helmet in the lift!!!


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## RayC

it's a bad habit of mine but I am definitely pro helmet! (the unskilled and out of control can be quite dangerous)


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