# leaning back during turn?



## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Hi, I am an intermediate boarder and am really trying to get better at carving rather than skidding (which I feel I do quite well!). Anyway, while boarding this weekend, I noticed that if I lean back slightly after I initiate my turn, I can get my board to really catch and hold a edge very nicely. Is this right?

BTW, true carving is such an incredible experience! All the chatter is gone and the turn is fast, smooth, quiet, and stable. Carving is soooo much more satisfying than skidding, which I see a lot of snowboarders doing.


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Thank you snowolf! Getting the hang of carving is really difficult, especially the two, independent feet thing. I have a tendency to initiate my turn with both feet, which causes the board to turn too much and skid. This technique is great when I need to stop quickly or make aggressive turns but isnt really all that great for a good carve. Anyway, thanks again. Gotta keep practicing.


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

Last night was the first time I had to truly carve out of necessity (slipping over chop was painful on the knee - its messed up - so cutting through the chop was much more comfortable). This is not to say that I don't normally carve, but I just don't think about it as much usually :dunno: unless I'm creating art on the corduroy . 

As usual, snowolf is right on. 

As the slightest bump or change in pressure was felt in the knee, I was very aware of how much pressure I was putting on the rearmost foot. At different points in the arc and transition, you apply varying pressure on the feet. Learning to adjust that pressure takes time. The corn snow we've got during this part of the season allows consistent edge bite and seems like a good time to practice feeling out what pressure is necessary to alter the radius of your carving arc.


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## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

personally, i have found that any carve is lost if you apply anything other than 50-50 weight / pressure distribution.

(i might be wrong tho...)


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

if ive got a lot of nice new snow i like to really lean back and whipout the end of the carve kind of like a real slow lazy down unweighting. but its just a nice feeling for me but for anyone still learning a lot i always tell them not to lean back because until a certain point leaning back will make it hard for them to turn. maybe because leaning back when youre learning a lot is usually a sign of some level of panic...


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks for the reply everyone. I have been thinking about my initial post and I believe I know what I am experiencing. Right now, I initiate my turns with both my feet at the same time. Sometimes, this causes the board to turn too sharply on edge (since I am bringing the rear of the board around too quickly when I use both feet), thereby initiating chatter and skidding. I guess this is akin to when a car loses traction through a corner because it is going to too fast for the corner or when it tries to turn too sharply. I think the latter situation accurately describes what I do. When I lean backwards a bit, I am unweighting the front which helps to reduce the sharpness of the turn and allows the edge to actually grip and carve, providing that "on rails" sensation when properly carving. Or the other scenario is that during my skid, I have scrubbed off enough speed so that the edge can actually catch. Either way, my problem is that I turn too sharply to the point where the edge cannot grip, creating chatter and a skid. I need to get better at initiating turns with just one foot gradually. Does this make sense? Or do I just suck???!!


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## tboooe (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks Snowolf. The one thing I do well is steer only with my feet, leaving my upper body fairly steady. I see so many boarders use their upper body to lean over the edge while their body is almost in a straight line, with no knee bend. Actually, this was what I used to do myself when I first started. It has taken me a few days to really get comfortable only using my feet to steer. Another thing I see alot is people using their foot to push the rear end around and pivoting around the front foot. I wonder where people get this habit from? Is it taught?

I like your idea of gliding with only one foot. I do this to an extent when getting off the lift anyway. I really want to make sure I am great technical snowboarder now so that I dont carry any bad habits forward, even if it makes things easier now. 

Again, thank you for the tips.


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

quick question maybe someone can answer here:
i've got no issues with foot or knee pain, but after riding a few runs, my upper leg, on the front part of my body, on my rear foot(the muscle right below my hip, but on the front of my body, sorry i have no idea what its called, and i dont think "upper dorsinus" is correct ;p) is absolutely killing me. my GF suggested doing some leg stretches (going out in a few minutes, planning on trying that), but i want to make sure there isnt an issue with technique (although it could be lazy muscles). I carve rather well, and am comfortable on most terrain, iniate turns with the front foot, and rudder with my back. Stance is 15/-15 but i've had the issue since i've started. 
any help would be awesome^^


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I would try adjusting your stance. It almost sounds like to me that +-15 is a little too much angle for you. I ride +-15 but if I make it say +-18 it hurts. So dial it back a notch. Try +-12 and see how it feels. If you like that angle maybe do a +15 -9 or 12. Play with it and see if it makes a difference. At the very least you can rule out that it's a stance issue.


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

I'm guessing you are talking about your hip flexor. If you pulled it, it might hurt for a while whenever you board even if it feels fine walking/running. I pulled my left hip flexor doing fakie 180s mid season and I still couldn't do them by the end of the season even though I never felt pain doing anything else. Stretching is always a good idea before you go do anything physically stressful. Stancewise I have no clue, but +/- 15 is no prob for me even w/ a strained flexor.


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2008)

thanks for the tips 
didnt get to ride today, mountain decided to close. ill make sure to have my friend watch me and check if im leaning back too far, ill just have to learn how to ride a bit better.

interesting idea about the hip flexor, i dont have issues doing any other streneous activity, ill look into it :/


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