# Switch riding, can you ever be fully equally able sliding both ways



## readimag (Aug 10, 2011)

That is a great question I am personally great at riding switch cause like you I did practice all the time at it. But think of it this way it takes 2500 times to make a habit and 10000 times to break it when it is wrong. While I am fine with riding what ever way I need to at the time, but when doing tricks I always feel better doing anything on my backside. So when trying to break anything you learned one way just keep doing it the way you want to learn, I would do 50% as much as you can. Dont want to one day feel better riding the other way and have to do this all over again.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

I'm gonna try 50-50 this year. Would be much easier on a true twin. When the powder is good I don't want to spend even 5 mins changing my bindings.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Sure it can be done.

I'm not great at riding switch, but back when I played a lot of basketball I was just as comfortable with my left hand as I was my right and I am strongly right handed. Learning to dribble left handed was more awkward IMO than riding switch.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

So what you are saying is yes it can be done, but you can't do it and your not very good at riding switch?

I'm just messing. 

I played some Basketball and dribbling with both hands came fairly easy to me just like riding switch.
Still I was always better with my right hand just like I am better riding goofy than regular.

I agree it can be done. Thats what I am aiming for and I would like to hear from anyone who has achieved that level of comfort both ways or close to.


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## ChuChu (Dec 28, 2009)

Think about it this way:

If you look at a professional baseball player who is a switch hitter, are they equally good hitting left & right? I've never seen it. With enough practice you can be good with your weak side but it's never going to equal your dominant side.


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## readimag (Aug 10, 2011)

I shoot gun for a living and I have to shoot both left and right at the same level. Yea it took tons of time for me to get as fast with my left but I think it was easy cause I know what I had to do with my body. I would say I shoot a better group with my left now granted it is slower then my right but it feels easy like I am breathing now. As I said anything can be made to be easy with practice jsut need to stick with it, everything is hard when you first start.


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## turbospartan (Oct 27, 2010)

It definitely can be done. I ride switch a lot and I'd consider myself better at switch than some of my friends are when they're riding regular. 

With that said, unless your bindings are setup perfect "mirrored" (such as 0 and 0, or 15 and -15, etc.) - there will always be a difference. 

When I'm charging or doing something super sketchy, I'm definitely relying on my normal stance.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

dreampow said:


> So what you are saying is yes it can be done, but you can't do it and your not very good at riding switch?
> 
> I'm just messing.
> 
> ...


Riding switch great simply isn't all that important to me. I'm decent at it and that's good enough for me.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

So far we have a bunch of people who are decent to good at riding switch. 
I would say I am good at it and can do 80% of what I can in goofy. 
I Would like to get that closer to 100% and will be riding more switch this year.

There are lots of riders on this forum, no one out there who has got that level? close to it?

Lets hear ya.


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

It can be done. Look at Travis Rice. And since snowboarding is always compared to skating, look at Bob Burnquist as well. I'm pretty sure he rides switch better than he rides regular these days.


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

I think JP Walker set the gold standard for switch riding. The blueprint is simple: do everything switch. Skate switch. Load the lift switch. Get off the lift switch. Ride switch. Walk up stairs with your switch foot first. etc.


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## Chopfuey (Aug 2, 2011)

Have been working on my switch here and there for the past 3 seasons. Definitely not where I want to be, but I believe it's definitely possible to be at the same level as your regular stance. If you dedicate some time it should be relatively quick and easy to learn switch with the prior experience riding regular.


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## davidj (May 30, 2011)

Almost from the start, when I learned to link turns, I started working on switch riding. Now I ride 50-60% switch (goofy is my normal stance) on any given day. Some days on the slopes, I end up the day feeling more comfortable riding switch than regular. But I definitely have to work more on switch to be equally comfortable both ways.

I'd say I'm 90% when riding switch, compared to regular. Note that I'm no expert, just an intermediate. The only times I've found that I favor goofy is if there are narrow, icy and steep cat tracks. Then I'm not as confident that I can make as quick turns as I need, to control/scrub off speed.


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## jlm1976 (Feb 26, 2009)

I am pretty much identical switch and regular everywhere but the park. Freeriding/freestyle outside of the park I don't really pay attention to which way I am riding anymore. The way I got there was lots and lots of work. As soon as I learn something regular, I apply it switch.


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## ELCO5280 (Oct 5, 2011)

I switch the beer from my left to right hand effortlessly.

As far as bording I can definitely use some improvement riding switch. I can carve and land jumps switched but for some reason get real sketchy trying to hit jumps switch or riding steeps/bumps switch.

I like the idea of setting up my bindings for and ride everything goofy for a day.


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## S4Shredr (Oct 23, 2009)

Can it be done? Yea, its possible. 

That being said, there will more than likely be certain things that you feel more comfortable doing one way or the other so being 100% the same either way, I would say, is next to impossible.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Corollary question: How hard is it to learn switch with a directional board?

Last season I worked on riding switch but never quite got comfortable. I only have directional freeride, all mountain, and pow boards and don't plan to buy a twin tip just to learn this one skill on.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

davidj said:


> Almost from the start, when I learned to link turns, I started working on switch riding. Now I ride 50-60% switch (goofy is my normal stance) on any given day. Some days on the slopes, I end up the day feeling more comfortable riding switch than regular. But I definitely have to work more on switch to be equally comfortable both ways.
> 
> I'd say I'm 90% when riding switch, compared to regular. Note that I'm no expert, just an intermediate. The only times I've found that I favor goofy is if there are narrow, icy and steep cat tracks. Then I'm not as confident that I can make as quick turns as I need, to control/scrub off speed.


QFT The best way to try to get as close as possible to both regular and goofy riding is to learn both as soon as you start to learn to snowboard. I have a friend that didn't know if he was goofy or regular when he was learning so he just learned both parallel to each other and now he literally doesn't have a dominant stance. It's actually kind of annoying riding with him because each lift ride up you could be sitting on either side of him.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> Corollary question: How hard is it to learn switch with a directional board?
> 
> Last season I worked on riding switch but never quite got comfortable. I only have directional freeride, all mountain, and pow boards and don't plan to buy a twin tip just to learn this one skill on.


As Snowwolf says this makes it inherently harder to learn switch. Both my boards are also directional freeride.
I can center the bindings but the flex and side cut are not twin so it is much harder to control at speed.
I would say up to 70% of top speed its fine, but then you really start to notice the tail is softer (because its the nose) and its easy to wash out.

I am also not really wanting to buy a twin so I spend one day of a 3 day trip in switch (I am goofy so regular).
I set up my bindings that way so if I ride goofy I am at a disadvantage and can maximize my ability and thus speed of learning switch.

Guess if I really want to get as good both ways I should be spending 2 days switch and 1 goofy.

I just enjoy riding both ways and really find it uses my whole body better. It also gives you the freedom to freestyle the the whole mountain in more ways.

I also agree with others that the best way to get good with switch is as soon as you have something down in your regular stance to start doing it in switch. I was riding switch from the beginning as soon as I had basic linked turns in goofy I started trying it the other way.

Do teachers recommend this? 
I know its not for everyone, but it does seem a god idea to me. Again in football (soccer) we do just that. Get it down on the dominant foot and as soon as that is fairly OK its time to learn how to do it with your other foot.
People who don't do that early on often have a huge difference in skill level on one side.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

I didn't even really try switch until I was pretty good, which has made learning it a fairly slow process. Even though I want to master switch, I find myself hesitant to actually do it since riding in my normal direction is so easy and fluid compared with the other. I can maneuver in and out of switch and link turns on blues, but doing any serious riding pretty much results in eating shit at this point for me. Just one of those things you have to force yourself to do.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

ThunderChunky said:


> QFT The best way to try to get as close as possible to both regular and goofy riding is to learn both as soon as you start to learn to snowboard. I have a friend that didn't know if he was goofy or regular when he was learning so he just learned both parallel to each other and now he literally doesn't have a dominant stance.


That describes my daughter. She couldn't decide which way was more comfortable so she just kept doing both.


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## Phunky (Oct 5, 2011)

short answer: Yes

long answer: Yes

It just takes practice...


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> That describes my daughter. She couldn't decide which way was more comfortable so she just kept doing both.


She'll probably end up being really good at riding then. It just allows you to have so much control and perspective. It may take a little longer to learn cause you're learning double the amount of stuff, but it will definitely pay of when you start to ride park.


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## davidj (May 30, 2011)

davidj said:


> Almost from the start, when I learned to link turns, I started working on switch riding. Now I ride 50-60% switch (goofy is my normal stance) on any given day. Some days on the slopes, I end up the day feeling more comfortable riding switch than regular. But I definitely have to work more on switch to be equally comfortable both ways.
> 
> I'd say I'm 90% when riding switch, compared to regular. Note that I'm no expert, just an intermediate. The only times I've found that I favor goofy is if there are narrow, icy and steep cat tracks. Then I'm not as confident that I can make as quick turns as I need, to control/scrub off speed.





ThunderChunky said:


> QFT The best way to try to get as close as possible to both regular and goofy riding is to learn both as soon as you start to learn to snowboard. I have a friend that didn't know if he was goofy or regular when he was learning so he just learned both parallel to each other and *now he literally doesn't have a dominant stance*. It's actually kind of annoying riding with him *because each lift ride up you could be sitting on either side of him*.


Update... now I'll say I can ride 100% both ways. No dominant stance anymore and just as annoying as Thunder's friend. :hairy:


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

ThunderChunky said:


> She'll probably end up being really good at riding then. It just allows you to have so much control and perspective. It may take a little longer to learn cause you're learning double the amount of stuff, but it will definitely pay of when you start to ride park.


Follow-up: basketball has displaced snow sports and she only goes snowboarding a handful of times per season now. Sigh...


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## stillz (Jan 5, 2010)

Switch vs natural is a really broad brush comparison, and it will always feel slightly different on a directional board. It might be more useful to compare them across specific tasks.

For example, I think my switch riding in bumps and more open trees/glades is actually stronger than my natural right now because I've been specifically working on it (plus, I think the "hooky" turn initiation on a directional board might actually help here). It's a little slower, but more deliberate and with better fundamentals. But my switch ollie sucks, and I tend to air much less often while riding switch. On groomers, most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I can ride open steeps switch reasonably well, but I can't make my turns as small as I can natural stance. I'm still not comfortable switch on anything super technical/consequential, like tight trees or narrow chutes.

You'll get good at whatever you practice, so it's not just about time spent riding switch, it's what specific things you're making yourself practice. To be truly equal, you have to make yourself do everything switch that you do natural, and maybe even learn some tasks switch FIRST, then learn it natural afterward.


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## TimelessDescent (Oct 26, 2014)

I wouldnt try so hard to get as good switch. Its always good to try to improve but it sounds like youre where most people want to be already.

Tennis players could probably benefit from playing at an elite level with their opposite hand...but most all tennis players can only play at a high level with their dominant side. Same goes for boxing or other sports that involve a dominate side. If it were easy to get as good with the opposite side of your body many pros in many sports would train this and use it to their advantage. Boxers do switch it up here and there but if they are getting their ass kicked they get back to their natural stance fast.


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

Ronnie O'Sullivan, arguably the most gifted snooker player ever, is better than most playing left handed but he's even better right handed. 

Anderson Silver, ditto. 

Pele, ditto.

I think it doesn't matter how good you are on your weaker side, its still your weaker side. Unless of course you only ever practice switch and never ride natural but that would be pointless.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

I would say my switch riding is 50% as good as my goofy riding. With practice I am sure I can get it as good.


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