# Too much focus on heel edge



## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

You kinda answered yourself. You seem to not want to do what it is you have to do.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

If you are doing a striaght airs with maybe a board grab or shifty off of level kickers you need to leave the lip completely neutral and flat based. 

And the more you ride and the more experience you get the more natural your riding will become and you'll be confindent in any position. Keep working on the areas you have trouble with and don't let them control you.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

There is nothing wrong with jumping on an edge or landing on one if you know how to control it.
In fact if you want to do any kind of spin you need to jump off an edge.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

Mystery2many said:


> If you are doing a striaght airs with maybe a board grab or shifty off of level kickers you need to leave the lip completely neutral and flat based.
> 
> And the more you ride and the more experience you get the more natural your riding will become and you'll be confindent in any position. Keep working on the areas you have trouble with and don't let them control you.


This is what I'm thinking too. I just have the hesitation about "if im not on edge, i dont have control". I need to trust myself and the board to be flat.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Adam718 said:


> This is what I'm thinking too. I just have the hesitation about "if im not on edge, i dont have control". I need to trust myself and the board to be flat.


Well, yes and no. If you are riding counter rotated, your back board can easily slide out. Try riding straight with no pressure on either edges at different speeds.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

How comfortable are you at flat basing on groomers? How long can you ride completely flat before you start to edge again? Practice that as much as possible till you are completely confident when flat and only need a slit shift to turn without completely getting on your edge.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

speedjason said:


> Well, yes and no. If you are riding counter rotated, your back board can easily slide out. Try riding straight with no pressure on either edges at different speeds.


Youre right. Great point. That's why this season i've been putting more effort into riding with my lead shoulder pointing in the direction I want to ride. I'm still not where I need to be, but it's definitely something I've been addressing more.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

Mystery2many said:


> How comfortable are you at flat basing on groomers? How long can you ride completely flat before you start to edge again? Practice that as much as possible till you are completely confident when flat and only need a slit shift to turn without completely getting on your edge.


If it isn't windy and it isn't steep then I can ride flat for a while (it gives my muscles a break from holding an edge). Sometimes I feel my board being a bit catchy if I'm flat basing, but I could do it. My stance isn't perfect but I'm working on it.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

As a total park beginner I took my first lesson last weekend. We spent a pretty good part of the lesson just practicing flat basing. Once I was comfortable going about 5s he said that was pretty good and we moved on.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

I guess flat basing and not counter rotating is what I have to work on. Thanks for the feedback buds.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Adam718 said:


> If it isn't windy and it isn't steep then I can ride flat for a while (it gives my muscles a break from holding an edge). Sometimes I feel my board being a bit catchy if I'm flat basing, but I could do it. My stance isn't perfect but I'm working on it.


to flat base...you got to be in the box, shoulder and hips closed and basically in a neutral position...and if it feels catchy...just shift your hips toward the nose a bit. catchiness...means you are not closed...i.e., you are rotated (not parallel with the board) in the hips, shoulders and are perhaps also in the back seat. You can flat base while in the backseat...but you got to be closed. Start learning to flat base while on the nose. learn to by going on the bunny hill, getting off the lift and riding 1 footy as long as possible. Flat basing is a useful skill to have.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

wrathfuldeity said:


> to flat base...you got to be in the box, shoulder and hips closed and basically in a neutral position...and if it feels catchy...just shift your hips toward the nose a bit. catchiness...means you are not closed...i.e., you are rotated (not parallel with the board) in the hips, shoulders and are perhaps also in the back seat. You can flat base while in the backseat...but you got to be closed. Start learning to flat base while on the nose. learn to by going on the bunny hill, getting off the lift and riding 1 footy as long as possible. Flat basing is a useful skill to have.


What exactly do you mean when you say shoulders and hips closed? You mean my arms should be down and hugging my sides? Also, how much knee bend is optimal?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Adam718 said:


> What exactly do you mean when you say shoulders and hips closed? You mean my arms should be down and hugging my sides? Also, how much knee bend is optimal?


 watch and study...there is alot in there if ur paying attention...you can thank me later


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

You want to improve really fast?

Sounds like a pretty dumb question?

Of course you do.

Do as many carves as you can do.

Not big long sweeping turns.

Tonnes & tonnes of tiny little carves, as many as you can.

Just keep doing that.

If you consciously make an effort to do as many carves as possible.

You see the difference the first day you do it.

TT


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

wrathfuldeity said:


> watch and study...there is alot in there if ur paying attention...you can thank me later


I'm sorry, but every time I see this I can't get past the first 45s of it. That outfit is just not a good look. It reminds of a Will Farrel SNL skit or something,


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

f00bar said:


> I'm sorry, but every time I see this I can't get past the first 45s of it. That outfit is just not a good look. It reminds of a Will Farrel SNL skit or something,


Really?
You must still be in grade school.

I've seen it a couple of times. Showed it to my wife, she's seen it a couple times too. At no point did either of us think there was anything wrong with the outfit. 
On the contrary, the fact that someone is willing to put naskibg tape all over himself for the sake of showing some people how to stand on a snowboard is... pretty cool.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I watched it and really enjoyed it. But to be honest, the first minute I thought the video was trolling me, the pelvic thrust did it. But I kept watching :hairy:


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

jdang307 said:


> I watched it and really enjoyed it. But to be honest, the first minute I thought the video was trolling me, the pelvic thrust did it. But I kept watching :hairy:


Wax on, wax off.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

I watched it twice. I like the cereal box reference. Going to focus on stance a lot more when I ride this weekend. I may not even hit the park or any jumps, I might just ride groomers and work on flat basing and stance from morning until night. Get it embedded into my muscle memory.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

Adam718 said:


> I watched it twice. I like the cereal box reference. Going to focus on stance a lot more when I ride this weekend. I may not even hit the park or any jumps, I might just ride groomers and work on flat basing and stance from morning until night. Get it embedded into my muscle memory.


Now that's what I'm talking about. Practice like that will help your overall riding and style.


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## snowbrdr (Oct 18, 2010)

wrathfuldeity said:


> watch and study...there is alot in there if ur paying attention...you can thank me later


I will thank you now. Thank you! Good tips I will work on this as well. I knew to keep upper body quiet but did not know about staying in the box. I do naturally roll hips forward so good there, but never thought about the front knee as the guiding element in turns. I feel like I need to go back and analyse how I am initiating my turns. I generally felt like it was simple leaning and staying forward a bit.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

So I went riding Saturday and spent a while working on my stance form, keeping my lead shoulder aiming in the direction I want to go, flat basing, and leaning forward. After a few hours of getting used to that, I got antsy and went to the terrain park to do some jumps. I was doing CONSIDERABLY better than before. I was going into the jump without my heel edge dug into the snow like I used to, so I went straight into the air for indy grabs and landed stable almost every time. I did not feel like I my board was going to slide out at all.

Proper form and practice makes perfect 

I hope to get 1-2 more solid day of riding in before the season ends so I have my technique down for next season.


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## Nocturnal7x (Mar 6, 2015)

Adjust your highback angle forward. Make it easier to put pressure on your heels but also positions you better to be on your toes imo. And yes, be on your toes more. Im a nub so take this advice for what its worth.


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## jesboogie (Oct 26, 2014)

*Cereal Box FTW*

Love this analogy :happy:


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

Nocturnal7x said:


> Adjust your highback angle forward. Make it easier to put pressure on your heels but also positions you better to be on your toes imo. And yes, be on your toes more. Im a nub so take this advice for what its worth.


I'm not a fan of forward lean. I've adjusted it before and feel best with no forward lean at all.


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