# Best way to learn switch?



## rrrtx (Aug 18, 2007)

Just wondering best way to improve switch skills? Would riding around switch on a skateboard help at all? Anybody know of any other switch balance exercises? Offseason/season


----------



## Guest (Aug 20, 2007)

i kind of learnt to ride switch on a skateboard because i skateboarded 4 years before getting on a snowboard

i'd say it helps but if u dont really skate i wudn't know how.


----------



## Guest (Aug 20, 2007)

just do it. turn your stance around and force yourself to commit. eventually you will pick it up. thats my attitude towards doin everything opposite. I learnt to kick a soccer ball with my left foot purely by just doin it over and over and playing tennis with my left hand by just doing it over and over. we're the top species on this planet coz we adapt and figure stuff out. sounds crude and direct but it works.


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

as with everything sideways..... *practice makes perfect*, coz *repetition is the mother of all learning* _et cetera et cetera_......

for me, when learning switch, (coz 1s were easier when you had the mental confidence to land backwards); just getting to the top of a run and saying to yerself, "i'm gonna ride this entire bugger backwards" is all you have to do!

beyond mental commitment tho, i found a *duck stance *to be an absolute blessing


----------



## Guest (Aug 20, 2007)

just dooooooo it ... when i learned i had a friend ride behind me telling me to turn other wise i would just heal slide it all ....


----------



## Guest (Aug 21, 2007)

Like the others said, I don't think there's a way to "practice" switch riding without actually doing it. I think maybe skating switch would work a little, as it'll get you used to having your dominant foot not be the lead, but other than that, just going out there and practicing is really all you need. Snowolf nailed it. (Good to see you back, btw!!  )


----------



## Guest (Aug 27, 2007)

Three words. "just do it"
if u just do it for a whole day nonstop w/o swithcing back to regular you will learn right away.


----------



## Guest (Aug 27, 2007)

like they say, repitition. It's like any sport. Assuming you are right handed, and regular footed: If you wanted to learn how to dribble a basketball with your left hand, you would practice dribbling left handed alot. If you wanted to learn how to switch hit in baseball, you would practice hitting left handed alot. If you wanted to learn how to write left handed, you would practice writing left handed alot. I'm sure you get the picture


----------



## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

I forced myself to learn switch last time I went boarding by just doing it. Start off somewhere relatively flat, coz you will fall on your arse. It's basically like learning to ride all over again, except I found I picked it up a lot quicker coz you're used to the feeling of riding regular. Also try those helicopter things first, dunno what other people call them, coz they get you used to the feeling of having a lot less control!


----------



## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

i <3 balarina spins ... hehe until they make you so dizzy that they make you fall


----------



## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

Practice is one of the key words echoed over and over in this thread. 

Make sure you are balanced when riding switch. Like a lot of new riders want to tail weight the board, when going to switch, the tendency to lean away may happen without you even thinking about it. Also, go on more mellow terrain than would be normal, as again, if it's too steep, the counter-productive instinct of leaning away with your body towards the uphill will kick in. One you're balanced and comfortably making those turns on more mellow terrian, just keep working at it until it's so natural, you forget which foot is your normal one forward.


----------



## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

I think he's asking how to learn switch before the season starts. You can! Indeed good sir, you can!

Grab yourself one of these

http://www.streetsurfing.com/home.php

and ride it switch. 

Then you will be an elite ninja master, ready to conquer anything on the mountain, with your super madd awesome spin skillz and aerial acrobatics. I can't promise you will be able to land switch though....


----------



## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

those r pretty cool 
i have an freeboard so that would kinda help out if u have hills were u live


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

nice i have not really used my on a hill and had it a year so far  
but i did get towed by a bike and that was pretty fun


----------



## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

magickrate said:


> nice i have not really used my on a hill and had it a year so far
> but i did get towed by a bike and that was pretty fun


Skitching is fun! Just don't forget to wear a helmet while you do so...hitting your head and dying an unnecessary death is NOT fun!


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

yeah those flat 360 spins / turns are pretty good things to do. they help you apply what you are used to when riding regular (upper body position, foot pressure placement etc) but in reverse, so as to help you get that 'switched vibe' going.

personally, i don't care that you ride the steepest lines or hit the biggest kickers, to me, if you can ride switch and regular so well, that people cannae figure out which is which, you are a good slider.

sliding both ways equally as strong, is a sign of quality in a rider IMO.


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

not such a cretinous retard after all it seems


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

Gem said:


> not such a cretinous retard after all it seems


now who in here ever suggested you ever were Gem?


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

let's not name names


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

rrrtx said:


> Just wondering best way to improve switch skills? Would riding around switch on a skateboard help at all? Anybody know of any other switch balance exercises? Offseason/season


Break an ankle so you can't put any weight on it and are forced to ride switch :cheeky4:


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

interesting...veeeerrry interesting....


----------



## Guest (Aug 29, 2007)

Gem said:


> I forced myself to learn switch last time I went boarding by just doing it. Start off somewhere relatively flat, coz you will fall on your arse.


IMO learning on a steeper slope makes it easier to learn switch. It forces you to transition fast and you are actually moving. If it is relatively flat you may not pick up enough speed and turn slow...thus forcing you to fall on your arse.


----------



## Guest (Aug 30, 2007)

but if you've never done it before and you fall on your arse when youre going slower on a flatter slope surely it would hurt less than if you were going faster on a steeper slope? just putting that out there...


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

personally speaking (and using a hint of physics) my worst crashes (ie most painful) were at stoopid low speeds (ie less than walking speed)

thing is, when going slow, if you fall you hit the floor head on, so to speak (worst case scenario being your arse hits the ground at a right angle)

with some velocity, the angle of impact is more acute as the forward motion creates more of a 'glancing blow' with the floor.....

it is the reason for why kickers have steep landing / ride out sections.

and then you have to consider the old snowboard adage: 

speed is your friend. confidence = speed = easier movement = easier control = better riding = more confidence etc.

just throwing that out there


----------



## Guest (Aug 30, 2007)

well when you put it like that....


----------



## DrGreeNThumB420 (Aug 19, 2007)

get balance board


----------



## Guest (Sep 2, 2007)

I don't see how that would help much with switch riding? maybe a little....


----------



## DrGreeNThumB420 (Aug 19, 2007)

????? it was harder to ride when i was facin my switch direction now i have it down good....ill have to see if i have a any improvement on the mountain.....feels like it helped my balance alot


----------



## Guest (Sep 9, 2007)

my goal this year is to get A LOT better and fluid riding switch! I am going to get on the green run first day and just DO IT all the way down a couple times!


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

dinanm3atl said:


> my goal this year is to get A LOT better and fluid riding switch! I am going to get on the green run first day and just DO IT all the way down a couple times!


that's the ticket!

but you will be surprised by how tired your muscles will get....

i guess the logic is, when you learn to ride first of all, your frequent crashes and 'pit stops' afford your entire body a rest

where as when you learn switch, your basic balance skills are better, your fear is less and if in doubt, you can switch to regular riding.... all of which reduces the rest time your muscles enjoy when learning this new _style _of riding.

the result is... you get knackered! so what i would do, is pick a nice run, do it regular then switch alternately. this also reminds me how well i can ride the run regular and give my switch standard of riding something to_ aspire to_.

but that's just me, you might be made of sterner stuff! but the important point to realise is to *'just do it'*!


----------



## Guest (Sep 10, 2007)

That is good advice!!!

Maybe I will try that first and see how it goes. I can currently get everythign tightened up. get rolling on the run and ca carve and ride switch on the heel side but then I naturally want to rotate back around. Maybe force myself to stay switch for longer and make a turn


----------



## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

wolfy me old china! i am delighted to have contributed to your quiver of enlightenment!  i take that as a compliment.

dina - i hear ya loud and clear about the heelside being more comfortable than the toe edge turns when switch.

i reconciled this as being due to the 'falling leaf' kinda action you can enjoy when slip sliding to a halt.

to overcome this what i found best, when initiating the switch toe edge turn, is absolute commitment when throwing your shoulder into the turn. (snowboarding is 98% confidence and 2% skill afterall!)

for this, i found the alternating runs of regular and then switch etc to be perfect. (you can _cheat _if in doubt, by doing a few sneaky regular turns on your _switch run_ as a _refresher_) but knowing i suffered unease on the toes, i paid attention to my body posture and 'aggression' when leading with my regular shoulder. i then applied the same sensation to the other shoulder when going switch. _ et voila!_


----------



## Guest (Sep 10, 2007)

Can't wait. Will give it a try 

I need to make a post about my name. Everywhere I go I get weird things like

Dina - They think I am a girl

m3atl = metal - Something with metal


I will just make a new post


----------



## rrrtx (Aug 18, 2007)

dinanm3atl said:


> Can't wait. Will give it a try
> 
> I need to make a post about my name. Everywhere I go I get weird things like
> 
> ...



OH really... I thought it was like bmw M3 and Dinan is a body kit for BMW's and ATL of course Atlanta.


----------



## Guest (Sep 10, 2007)

hahahahahah


----------

