# Tips on learning to ride switch?



## BRsnow (Jan 26, 2008)

I have always been so so in riding switch as I do mostly trees and tend to stay out off of groomers and the park. However I recently picked up a board with reverse camber (arbor coda) and switch has never been easier. I was seriously tired from riding the back areas of steamboat this weekend and needed to ride switch once on was back near the from of the mountain. With the crowds on the final run I would not have ridden switch in the past, but it seems the reverse camber makes it simple. Outside of cheating with a reverse camber, just practice. I just learned over time when I got into trees that were too tight and I had to ride the other way. I ride 15/-6, but not sure it makes a difference....BR


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I don't know about your limitations with the knee or your angles. I ride duck anyway so I didn't have to adjust anything.

I was at the hill mid season and I spent 2 days riding switch. I started on the green runs and just slowly learned the motions all over. I still got on/off lifts goofy, not sure if you needed that info but there it is.

One thing I noticed I had to really concentrate on keeping my weight on my front foot. This helped a lot to engage the turns. Exaggerate your turns, this also helped me and as I got better I was able to tighten them up. I can now ride greens and blues, haven't tried blacks but that's fine. I am comfortable not riding switch on the blacks yet.

Hope this helps...


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## ChrisMB (Nov 17, 2010)

I ride a mirror duck (18, -18), but I learned most of switch on a stance basically the same as yours. Honestly though just practice. You basically have to learn everything over again. A tendancy I had was when I fell, while practicing, was just go back to regular. If you can get rid of that urge and just keep going on switch you'll probably get it in a day or 2 and be pretty proficent at it. Also try to keep you weight centred, I had a tendancy to lean back.


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## tj_ras (Feb 13, 2011)

Id try riding at 0/0 at least if i were u. Might make it alot easier, or ride with a little less forward.


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## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

tj_ras said:


> Id try riding at 0/0 at least if i were u. Might make it alot easier, or ride with a little less forward.


Are you serious with the 0,0? Do you ride with those angles?


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## tj_ras (Feb 13, 2011)

No i ride slightly medium duck. But the op says he cant ride duck becuase of a leg injury so 0/0 would be closet he could go to duck. I used to ride reverse duck but was told not to, and now i understand why, duck is very nice.


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## StarCommand (Dec 21, 2010)

I'm working on switch a lot more lately. it's taken some major determination to not switch back to regular when things get squirrelly.

I took a lesson and my instructor suggested keeping the weight on the front foot -- which is a really weird thing to do when you're not comfortable charging the hill -- and then he said it helps if when you turn heelside you open up your knees, and for toeside, try to bring your knees together. It helps to get you linking a few turns so you can feel what needs to happen. I'm at the point now where I can 180 into switch and keep riding, but I'm nowhere near as comfortable riding switch. I do push myself to ride switch on terrain I'm not quite comfortable with yet. I slam all the time, though. Just takes practice. I know if I dedicate a good day or two to only riding switch I'll get better. It's just not fun recuperating.


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## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

snowvols said:


> Are you serious with the 0,0? Do you ride with those angles?


I knew a guy who used to ride 0/0. He got pretty good at it too, both regular and switch. Not saying you should try it, but just saying that its not unheard of. Try like a 9/-6 or something


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## BliND KiNK (Feb 22, 2010)

heheh.. 0/0 is just kind of harder to support your balance.. I tried that once lol


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## Hellude (Nov 12, 2010)

one thing that might help is to practice on a steeper slope, a gentle red or steep blue instead of starting on a green run. If you are not afraid of the speed the steeper slope makes it more difficult to catch an edge.


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## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

BliND KiNK said:


> heheh.. 0/0 is just kind of harder to support your balance.. I tried that once lol


Yeah, I don't know what his reasoning was. He was a freeride only guy so I guess the stability issues weren't as big of a deal.


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## Breckenridge (Oct 1, 2009)

I ride 0/0 all the time. It gives more power to backside spins and landing big drops toeside. Switch ? practice, practice,practice. I mean don't ride regular AT ALL for three full days.


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## BliND KiNK (Feb 22, 2010)

Nao I'm interested because I always thought that 0/0 was a big... n0/n0.... see what I did there?


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## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

Breckenridge said:


> I ride 0/0 all the time. It gives more power to backside spins and landing big drops toeside. Switch ? practice, practice,practice. I mean don't ride regular AT ALL for three full days.


What do you feel like you give up riding 0/0, if anything? I tried it for a few hours one day with my friend and while regular riding was okay, I felt super sketch on jibs and medium landings.


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## jyuen (Dec 16, 2007)

doesn't a 0/0 stance put a lot more stress on your knees? especially if you have a wider stance?


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## itzzzberny (Mar 6, 2011)

can you even properly fit your boots/bindings with 0/0? isn't there too much over hang?

why not try 15/-15 or 10/-10 . also check if your stance is centered or set a bit back from center.
i ride 15/-15 centered. i like my setup to be the same for both regular and goofy.


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## DC5R (Feb 21, 2008)

I ride a completely centered stance with 15/-15 duck. It's helps a lot to get a similar feeling when riding switch as when you're riding normal. Riding switch is like learning to ride a snowboard again, so the only advice I have about riding switch is practice, practice, practice. And trust me, eating sh8t while learning is normal .


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## justdust (Jan 27, 2009)

I found switch to feel much more normal after spending a couple of days just linking ground 360s on greens...three clockwise...three counterclockwise... repeat...startling slow and getting faster as I got more comfortable...before I knew it I was coming out of spins switch without even realizing it. The spins just seem to ingrain edge control in your muscle memory in a pretty efficient manner.


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## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

jyuen said:


> doesn't a 0/0 stance put a lot more stress on your knees? especially if you have a wider stance?


This is why 0/0 seems odd to me. No one walk with their feet at 0/0 in real life everyone is slightly ducked out when standing or walking. Less stress on the old man knees is the way to go :thumbsup:


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## Kesserendrel (Mar 23, 2010)

About the ground 360s...

That seems like a great idea. My instructor had me doing those in my first-ever lesson, just to build the ability to slide out of jams "switch." Those I can do, and they will help me ease into it -going longer and longer before the next 360, for example.

I was really hoping I'd be able to avoid the "fall repeatedly and hurt for days" template I followed my first 2-3 times on a board. I learned late last season, at age 29, and I found it remarkably more painful learning to board at almost 30 than learning to ski at almost 5. How about that...


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## itzzzberny (Mar 6, 2011)

Kesserendrel said:


> About the ground 360s...
> 
> That seems like a great idea. My instructor had me doing those in my first-ever lesson, just to build the ability to slide out of jams "switch." Those I can do, and they will help me ease into it -going longer and longer before the next 360, for example.
> 
> I was really hoping I'd be able to avoid the "fall repeatedly and hurt for days" template I followed my first 2-3 times on a board. I learned late last season, at age 29, and I found it remarkably more painful learning to board at almost 30 than learning to ski at almost 5. How about that...


I'm only a year behind you. i really suggest investing in pads(knee, hip), wrist guards and helmet. they will limit the soreness the next day. for every 1 day healing period for me 8 years ago will take me 4 days now.


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## Breckenridge (Oct 1, 2009)

I usually ride 10/-10 but have tried alot of variations and 0/0 is my second choice. I ride only twins that are centered with angles the same because it provides exact, predictable, consistency in all terrain, in all conditions. I like 0/0 for its power and control. The more your foot turns outward, the closer you are getting to the side of your foot than the toe and as a whole, there is less strength. Canting of the feet is also altered with increasing angles limiting front to back weighting also. Now imagine a beginner with a 15/0 stance. One foot is already at zero and usually it's the knee with less pain. If he rides both directions equally, (the goal) than zero degrees is sometimes his front and sometimes not. Not ideal. Beginners that ride with alot of body movement/twisting feel they must adjust angles for direction. They should adjust their body, not their angles. With the exception of compensating for injury, deformation,or uneven body mechanics, there is no reason both feet shouldnt be exactly the same even when riding only one direction. Everybody's body is different and my natural gait is fairly straight, so what 0/0 is to me might translate into 5/-5 for somebody else. Riding a centered twin makes switch riding easier because it rides the same both directions,with time... allowing you to forget whats happening down there, and just ride.


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## tj_ras (Feb 13, 2011)

Those of you who are saying ride 15/-15 or some variation of +/- equal stance are missing the point that if the OP goes past -3 degrees on his back foot it affects his/her knee. 



snowvols said:


> This is why 0/0 seems odd to me. No one walk with their feet at 0/0 in real life everyone is slightly ducked out when standing or walking. Less stress on the old man knees is the way to go :thumbsup:


Are you seriouse? I along with tons of other people ive met/know walk with there feet perfectly straight 0/0. My mom is a chiropractors assistant and she and her boss will tell u that the proper way to walk is with your feet perfectly straight.


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## cdnrider (Feb 13, 2011)

itzzzberny said:


> I'm only a year behind you. i really suggest investing in pads(knee, hip), wrist guards and helmet. they will limit the soreness the next day. for every 1 day healing period for me 8 years ago will take me 4 days now.


i will be 37 in august, so that means . . . it takes a long f'n time to heal! when i go to the park/practice riding switch, i have learned to wear my inline hockey girdle and newly acquired snowboard helmet. it is nice because the girdle is very low profile, but every time you fall backwards on your @$$, ahhhhhhhhhh, nothing! unlike the stomp pad sized bruise on my left @$$ cheek i used to get. 

as i get older, i understand my limitations better. riding switch is learning the falling leaf all over again, then linking large turns, tighter turns etc. like others have advised, apparently eating $hit is the only way!


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## itzzzberny (Mar 6, 2011)

cdnrider said:


> i will be 37 in august, so that means . . . it takes a long f'n time to heal! when i go to the park/practice riding switch, i have learned to wear my inline hockey girdle and newly acquired snowboard helmet. it is nice because the girdle is very low profile, but every time you fall backwards on your @$$, ahhhhhhhhhh, nothing! unlike the stomp pad sized bruise on my left @$$ cheek i used to get.
> 
> as i get older, i understand my limitations better. riding switch is learning the falling leaf all over again, then linking large turns, tighter turns etc. like others have advised, apparently eating $hit is the only way!


How are those inline hockey girdles holding up? I was actually about to buy a pair for hockey, now it seems like they will have a double purpose now.


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## Breckenridge (Oct 1, 2009)

OK.....OP: Since you have an injury I would suggest putting your injured leg in its most comfortable position and set the other foot the same as a starting point. Then adjust as pain/function dictates, trying to maintain equality as much as possible. In addition.. eating shit is not required to learn switch.Learning to not eat shit would help more than advice.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

I was riding switch most of last week due to my knee getting twisted. I ride -9/15 and had no problem. When on softer powdery runs I would ride with my weight on my back foot/left foot which is my normal goofy stance. When on packed powder, groomed and icy I would have more weight on my forward foot but had to ride switch to do it as im not usually left foot forward. Was a good learning experience and I only ate it twice getting my.muscle memory confused while going into a quick turn. I think I would have been happier at an equa angle but it was comfortable and very doable as it was. I was only going down vails blue runs though since my knee was/is jacked up.


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## cdnrider (Feb 13, 2011)

itzzzberny said:


> How are those inline hockey girdles holding up? I was actually about to buy a pair for hockey, now it seems like they will have a double purpose now.


you will not regret it!


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

And they seem to be cheaper than the stuff specifically made for snowboarding, while having more padding. Hmmmmmm.


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## cdnrider (Feb 13, 2011)

Donutz said:


> And they seem to be cheaper than the stuff specifically made for snowboarding, while having more padding. Hmmmmmm.


the ones they sell for snowboarding/skiing don't offer much padding, especially where you need it. i know my 220lb @$$ would still be sore. girdles specificall designed for inline hockey are still low in profile but offer much better padding. oh yeah, and like donutz said . . . proabably cheaper too.

In-Line Hockey Girdles

and no i do not work for them!


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## jello24 (Apr 10, 2010)

cdnrider said:


> the ones they sell for snowboarding/skiing don't offer much padding, especially where you need it. i know my 220lb @$$ would still be sore. girdles specificall designed for inline hockey are still low in profile but offer much better padding. oh yeah, and like donutz said . . . proabably cheaper too.
> 
> In-Line Hockey Girdles
> 
> and no i do not work for them!


which one do you use? some of them look too bulky especially the white mission and its massive kidney pads... you have the RBKs?

i knew i shoulda used those instead of buying high priced protec pads that are pretty useless...


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

There were mentions of spinning ground 360's down the hill. This was the key to unlocking my switch riding. If you think about spinning 360's on the ground, you are constantly alternative between heelside forward and toe side switch turns or toeside forward heelside switch turns, depending if you rotate clockwise or counterlockwise and whether your forward stance is regular or goofy.

After doing that, I found I could start making turns more comfortably switch. If I ever started rotating all the way back to forward, I would do more 360's and then go back and try switch. Eventually, you can link switch turns, ride down blacks switch, hit jumps and jibs swtich etc.

The hard part is it's just NO FUN not being able to even ride down the hill switch. And if you don't ride swithc, you won't get better. But once you can at least make it down switch, it's fun again, just like when you were learning to ride forward. The key to getting this foundation down for me was spinning around in 360's going down the hill. Within one weekend I went from barely being able to make switch turns to riding single blacks switch. You will progress very quickly.

The spin routine I would practice is this (FHS = forward heelside turn, FTS = foward toe side turn, SHS = Switch Heelside Turn and STS = Switch Toeside Turn)

FHS->STS->FHS->STS->FHS->STS->FHS->STS ... since I'm regular, this would be four CCW rotations
FTS->SHS->FTS->SHS->FTS->SHS->FTS->SHS ... this is four CW rotations

Do this all the way down the trail

Then do half the number of rotations and switch...

FHS->STS->FTS->SHS->FHS->STS->FTS->SHS 360 CCW, 360 CW, 360 CCW, 360 CW

FTS->SHS->FHS->STS->FTS->SHS->FHS->STS 360 CW, 360 CCW, 360 CW, 360 CCW

Then do "180 flip flops"

FHS->SHS->FHS->SHS->FHS->SHS->FHS->SHS you will be facing down the hill doing this

FTS->STS-> TS->STS->FTS->STS-> TS->STS you will be facing blind doing this. Look over your shoulders slightly and use peripherals but you should keep your shoulders and head as "blind" as possible otherwise you will likely revert

I'm not sure if this is the best way to learn how to ride switch, but I got my switch from abysmal to on par with my regular all the way on blues on and some blacks in two days doing this.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Few things:

1. Seems around here a lot of the people that are learning switch don't have the same knee bend going into turns switch like they do regular, concentrating on this may help.

2. Your upper body is going to want to turn downhill when you begin practicing switch. Fight it.

3. Most people I see also tend to get on their back foot when riding switch, it'll seem like you're very forward over your (new) front foot, but it's only because of having to pay more attention to your stance.

On the halfpipe note, one of the most fun combos for newer pipe riders are air-to-fakie (personally love doing frontside shifty-to-fakie) and then a cab (switch frontside 3) on the next wall. Just be careful when you pop because it's easy to spin too flat or too early and then catch the nose of the board on the vert. I remember in the early days switch frontside 180's were easier than regular 180's because you don't land switch, you land in your normal stance. It just seemed to come around easier and gets you a good feeling of scissoring your legs if you do it quick. 
If you can do switch fs 180's, you can spin a switch fs 3 in a pipe. What REALLY takes time to learn though are your switch heelside transitions in the pipe.


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

Deviant said:


> Few things:
> 
> On the halfpipe note, one of the most fun combos for newer pipe riders are air-to-fakie (personally love doing frontside shifty-to-fakie) and then a cab (switch frontside 3) on the next wall. Just be careful when you pop because it's easy to spin too flat or too early and then catch the nose of the board on the vert. I remember in the early days switch frontside 180's were easier than regular 180's because you don't land switch, you land in your normal stance. It just seemed to come around easier and gets you a good feeling of scissoring your legs if you do it quick.
> If you can do switch fs 180's, you can spin a switch fs 3 in a pipe. What REALLY takes time to learn though are your switch heelside transitions in the pipe.


This explaination makes me wish I could be practicing 1s and 3s riiight now....


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