# New guy here, needs coaching



## CERBERUS.lucid (Oct 17, 2013)

:eusa_clap: First off GREAT job! I'm fairly new as well and have gone about 8 times this season so far. I don't feel comfortable giving you advice since I feel like we are at the same skill level but I would say (and this is advice I try to practice as well) bend your knees more so you can get more on edge, and try to not kick the back end out on the turns. I do it as well to speed check and to help get the turn completed but it looks more fluid and stylish when I see more advanced people leaving thin edged lines on there turns...

Again I feel my riding resembles how your riding and am also curious as to what the more experienced riders in this forum have to say, and what advice they will have.

Keep it up :thumbsup:


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## Radiation74 (Nov 25, 2013)

Today was my eighth time, and we've had more snow, things were a little slower. I am nervous about going to fast, so that's probably why I rudder. I haven't had a lesson, but am considering getting one to help me ride switch. I think I have progressed since the video, but who knows, I actually look better in the video than I did in my head. Ha.


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## trapper (Jan 15, 2013)

Where was that?


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## CERBERUS.lucid (Oct 17, 2013)

Getting comfortable with speed is essential, its also something I'm getting adjusted to as well. I can bomb hills on the street with my longboard fine but when I'm on a blue run I tend to always play it safe (for now anyways)... but I always tell myself that you just gotta put in the miles & days (and falls) on the mountain to get better. The more I fall the more I learn how to handle the speed and physics of snowboarding, I call it earning my stripes & every scar is worth it

Best and only advice I feel confident in giving you is always push yourself, and when you eat it, think about your error (really analyze what went wrong), and try it again...

Once again :thumbsup:


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## Radiation74 (Nov 25, 2013)

Martock, Nova Scotia.


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## Radiation74 (Nov 25, 2013)

CERBERUS.lucid said:


> Getting comfortable with speed is essential, its also something I'm getting adjusted to as well. I can bomb hills on the street with my longboard fine but when I'm on a blue run I tend to always play it safe (for now anyways)... but I always tell myself that you just gotta put in the miles & days (and falls) on the mountain to get better. The more I fall the more I learn how to handle the speed and physics of snowboarding, I call it earning my stripes & every scar is worth it
> 
> Best and only advice I feel confident in giving you is always push yourself, and when you eat it, think about your error (really analyze what went wrong), and try it again...
> 
> Once again :thumbsup:


That's good advice , thanks.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Lessons are a good idea, not only to fix the things you know you need help with, but also to fix the things you may not realize you're doing. For instance, in that video you have a strong tendency to face downhill at all times. When you're heelside, you're square to the board, but when you're toeside, your upper body is rotated so you're facing forward on the board.

While it's possible to get really good with bad habits, it's _easier_ to get really good when doing things right. Lessons are worth the $$. Take one every year at the beginning of the season.


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## Radiation74 (Nov 25, 2013)

So I should be square to the board, I'll work on that.


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## jml22 (Apr 10, 2012)

haha vertical recording 
It depends on what style you want to learn/create

I would say you need to bend your knees a lot more and dig in a lot harder to carve. You have a nice smooth transition but it seems a bit timid at first. If you bend your knees and dorsiflex your ankles into your front edges to initiate you can get a lot more aggressive.
Think of it like this, knees down for toe side, butt down for heelside.
Also be mindful of your shoulders, not a huge fan of the open shoulder toe side like that, seems lazy. Close it up and aggressively carve. Of course, i've seen people give advice to keep your shoulders open, shrug.
Looks great for 5th time riding though, enough to have a blast out there.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

need to get your weight forward and initiate your turns from your front foot. you're "ruddering" sliding the tail to turn


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

I would say you bend your knees more as you go faster.
stand that board up more so you are carving instead of skidding.
great job for 5th day. I am about where you are.
but man that snow is so smooth. not the choppy shit I have here.


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## hardasacatshead (Aug 21, 2013)

Doing great dude. 

Main things to work on IMO:

1) Turn your shoulders so they're in line with your board, i.e. face perpendicular to the direction you're heading and turn your head instead of your shoulders. Knee, hip and shoulder should be on the same plane. 

2) Initiate turns with the front foot. At the moment you're kicking your back leg out a bit too much. 

For toe side turns push your front knee forward to initiate the turn, then allow your back leg to follow, then bend your knees and push your hips forward to put weight over the edge while keeping a nice upright position. Think of it as if you're strapped into your board and you're taking a piss but you don't want to drip piss on your board so you push your hips out. Also, remember if you shake it more than 3 times you're playing with it. 

For heel side turns look back over your shoulder at the place you want to head while simultaneously lifting your front toe to put some torsion on the board and transfer weight to the heel edge. Again, let your back foot follow the front and sit into the turn a bit while keeping your back upright and maintaining a centred stance. 

That's a couple of things I think you could work on, but as the other guys said getting lesson is well worth the bucks and it can help iron out bad elements of your technique before they become bad habits. 

Oh, keep those knees bent. 

:thumbsup:


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## ksup3erb (Jan 25, 2013)

Finish your turns. I.e. turn shapes should be big smilies with you nearly going back up the slope. 

And get more in the front seat and more flexible in the knees. 

Overall you look pretty confident. Keep it up!!


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## BubblesUSMC (Dec 18, 2013)

First of all thanks for posting a video... makes my life easy.

Second, great job, you are doing wonderful skidded turns, but now is a good time to correct bad habits before they get locked into your regular riding.

Its seems others have said the same. 
1. You are counter rotated, this is normal as everything you do in life is facing forward, not sideways like on a board. I like to make my students grab their snow pants on the inside of their thighs, so when they start counter rotating during turns they will feel their pants shift.









Fixing the counter rotation will put your body in a better riding posture, correct a lot of other minor things I see without even having to talk about them, and give you more power and stability as you progress and start riding faster.

Once you fix this counter rotation I would start moving to better edge control and going to more of a blended carve turn rather then skidded. You'll never completely "throw out" skidded turns... they are turns you will need for quick speed checks and danger situations, but it takes FAR more energy to do skidded turns rather then letting your board turn for you.

I will try and describe this next part as best as possible but I don't have any pictures to show you. To start with these turns find a mellow green trail and be at a medium speed... the speed you were riding at in the video is just fine.
1. Start traversing across the hill on your heel edge. make sure you are cutting across the hill on the edge and not SKIDDING. if you are skidding then you will need to increase the edge pressure on the heels until it is a nice sharp line in the snow behind you. When you are ready to make the turn.

2. Keep your weight on your front foot, and slowly start rolling to the toe edge. The board LIKES to turn and WANTS to turn, this action allows the board to start doing what it wants to. This transition is not super fast, its super smooth, gently let the pressure off your heels and start pressuring the toe edge, as the board starts to turn you will increase the pressure on the toe edge until you are traversing the other direction.

(sometimes flipping this around and doing this technique starting on your toes and going to heels is easier. I usually do it this way as the toe side turn is what most students feel the most uncomfortable with, and this generates confidence and power in their riding once they feel the new control they didn't have on that edge previously).

3. you will notice the difference in this turn is that you are CONTSTANTLY building speed throughout the turn, that is the difference between skidding and starting to carve. That's ok! you will get used to it in time and it is very easy to blend the skidded turn you are doing now at the END of this type of turn to scrub off speed.

Again, I don't like anything without visual demonstrations, I'll have to work on getting some pictures of my lessons and teaching to give better mental pictures of all of this.

BUT GOOD JOB! Keep it up! Don't forget, a lesson never hurts and at your riding level you will have a ton of fun! They might even have you start riding switch soon!


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## Radiation74 (Nov 25, 2013)

Great tips, more than I expected to get. I knew I wasn't riding the way I should, and I'll try to put all these moves into my repertoire. Thanks a lot. I'll post a pic the next time my son goes boarding with me, he's the camera man.


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