# Board Flex



## DC5R (Feb 21, 2008)

IMO, twisting of the board is the wrong way to think about initiating a turn. It's not the twisting, but the minor weight shift which engages the edge/sidecut of the board, thus resulting in the turn. I'll let Snowolf or someone else explain the actual mechanics.


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## Cr0_Reps_Smit (Jun 27, 2009)

^ "twisting" the board torsionally isnt the wrong way, actually its how i would teach older riders(people over the age of 9 or 10) how to turn. when you initiate the turn it begins with the front foot twisting either toe side or heel side followed by the back foot after you get pointed down the fall line a bit. of course theres many different ways to turn like just shifting your weight from toe to heels but torsional twisting isnt a wrong one.


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## Cr0_Reps_Smit (Jun 27, 2009)

Psychobilly said:


> Hi... Well, even though I suffered through a lot of pain last winter (my first time snowboarding) something good must have come out of all that PAIN as I am anxious to get back out this winter... can't wait. During the summer months I have been researching/watching tips on this torsional flex.... Now, the way I understand it is when you want to initiate a turn you almost "twist" the board using your front foot (toe to heel then heel to toe).... My question is, will I notice this flex immediately, will I know when to engage the back foot and also how much time should I allow before initiating a turn... some people say that I rush my turns which leads to catching an edge.. pain!
> Many thanks as always.


also to answer your question, when you initiate your turn with your front foot you should feel your edge engage pretty quickly and youll want your back foot to follow right about halfway through the turn. it all really depends on the speed and the size of the turns your making though so its best to feel it out. the main thing you want to focus on is keeping your body "stacked" over your board; meaning that your shoulders, hips and ankles should make a straight line over your board and your knees nice and bent to help absorb any impact and bumps.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2009)

honestly i learned to turn in 1-2 to runs, and all i was told to do was to just lean on heels and lean on ur toes its that simple.


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## Cr0_Reps_Smit (Jun 27, 2009)

yea but the word "lean" is deceiving because you really want to just be applying pressure to those edges by weight distribution. if you try literally leaning back and forth you'll throw your weight over the snow too much as apposed to keeping it over your board and have a more likely chance of tipping over or catchin a edge.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

technine42 said:


> honestly i learned to turn in 1-2 to runs, and all i was told to do was to just lean on heels and lean on ur toes its that simple.


same here.
the more you think about it, the more anxiety will build up and that is no fun
its all about weight distribution and knowing when to shift your weight at the right time


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## spirited driver (Aug 19, 2009)

Ah yeah, "torsional flexion"- if I heard our lead instructors use that term one more time last season I was gonna puke. Of course, they also use the terms flexion and extension pertaining to the ankle and those technically don't exist, at least not named that way. :dunno:


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## spirited driver (Aug 19, 2009)

Well, it's called plantarflexion and dorsiflexion, not flexion/extension. Just a technicality, but still, if you're gonna name-drop...


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## spirited driver (Aug 19, 2009)

Snowolf said:


> Oh I see what you are getting at. I would say though, that when instructing you as the instructor need to avoid overly technical terminology. It is much easier for the student to get "flex and extend the ankle" than to be overloaded with medical terms. Too many instructors talk more than they ride and their students loose interest...


For sure, exactly! That was my original idea, was that sometimes at my mountain, I hear these ridiculous terms come out of our instructors' mouths, and I agree, if it's just going to get lost on the student, then what's the point?


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