# Still just mediocre



## MassSnowboarder (Mar 3, 2015)

@thedru13: I watched your video and I don't think you're mediocre--I think you're good!


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

. Thanks. Just want to get better feel like I haven't been improving much at all and want to get much more fluid in my riding. 


MassSnowboarder said:


> @thedru13: I watched your video and I don't think you're mediocre--I think you're good!


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## SlvrDragon50 (Mar 25, 2017)

Looks fine to me, but that run also doesn't look particularly difficult? I can understand standing up if it's an easy run that isn't challenging you. I'm only finishing my first season, but I feel that in ungroomed terrain you have to counter rotate more to do quick turns and whatnot but maybe I'm completely wrong.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

yah that was the bottom part of a black diamond run so it turned into a blue the a green. can post some other videos as well just have to edit them down. 


SlvrDragon50 said:


> Looks fine to me, but that run also doesn't look particularly difficult? I can understand standing up if it's an easy run that isn't challenging you. I'm only finishing my first season, but I feel that in ungroomed terrain you have to counter rotate more to do quick turns and whatnot but maybe I'm completely wrong.


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## QCMP (Aug 5, 2016)

Well, the parts I've seen you could or couldn't be more athletic. However, I used to be stuck in a situation like yours. Try different angles and personally a positiv back foot angle changed my game. 

You would look more engaged in your turns. Also squat, squat, squat. Bend those knees and engage more on your edges and start edging. We tend to go back into those easier "lazier" turns but you have to push on the technique and muscle up.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Thanks!!! And agree. My knees are shot hence why i don't squat more. The meniscus is gone in both knees so that hinders me getting low. Hate getting old. So you ride with both your feet forward similar to an alpine board stance? How forward is your back foot out of curiosity? 



QCMP said:


> Well, the parts I've seen you could or couldn't be more athletic. However, I used to be stuck in a situation like yours. Try different angles and personally a positiv back foot angle changed my game.
> 
> You would look more engaged in your turns. Also squat, squat, squat. Bend those knees and engage more on your edges and start edging. We tend to go back into those easier "lazier" turns but you have to push on the technique and muscle up.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Ur what u ride....meaning uninspired terrain makes you ride rather uninspired/flat. Get on some more steep, tight and technical terrain that is going to force you to pop and be dynamic. The first 30 secs on the right side, ride the trees. If u keep on those groomers u will zombie out. Also imo u are abit large for such a narrow width...I'm 5'6", 180# on a 155-163 but with a 24" stance.

Idk about yer knees...maybe get some new ones during the off season.


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## QCMP (Aug 5, 2016)

thedru13 said:


> Thanks!!! And agree. My knees are shot hence why i don't squat more. The meniscus is gone in both knees so that hinders me getting low. Hate getting old. So you ride with both your feet forward similar to an alpine board stance? How forward is your back foot out of curiosity?


At 5'9" and 170lbs my stance is Front: +21 and back +3 for all around B. Custom. On my big gun board (168 cm B. Canyon) I go for a F:+24 B:+9. But honestly it's all about preferences and trial and errors that I've come to this recipe.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Agreed. this was the tail end of the bowls at breck so was flat. the other video is tough to see since the gimble died. Trying to edit some different footage to show more inspired riding. Been playing around with different stance width since I was trying to keep my bindings centered on the board. I will have to try going a bit wider. 



wrathfuldeity said:


> Ur what u ride....meaning uninspired terrain makes you ride rather uninspired/flat. Get on some more steep, tight and technical terrain that is going to force you to pop and be dynamic. The first 30 secs on the right side, ride the trees. If u keep on those groomers u will zombie out. Also imo u are abit large for such a narrow width...I'm 5'6", 180# on a 155-163 but with a 24" stance.


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## htfu (Mar 18, 2015)

you seem to be a bit twisted into a forward facing position (right hand keeps coming round). i have the same problem and found that it made me do all sorts of bad things eg right knee "caving in", heelside turns washing out all the time and being more on the back foot. how i am trying to solve this is as follows :

- try to keep my right hand just below my right butt cheek, this should square you up better and keep you stacked properly over the board
- push knees out towards the tip (left/leading knee) and tail (right/back knee) as much as is comfortable (imagine you are trying to hold a massive beachball between your knees), given your knee situation this may not be a lot but even a bit more will definitely help

maybe get some one on one lessons with a good coach as they may be able to spot more or have better suggestions for improvements ...


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Hard to tell much from that video. You're way ahead of the camera and pretty much just cruising straight for the majority of it.

One thing I'll say is bend your knees more, but it could've just been due to the terrain. I'm getting older too and unless I'm buttering around and playing I'm riding lazy on that type of terrain too.

And ditch the pack. You probably won't believe how much more natural you'll feel without it.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Glad you were able to decipher what I was trying to say. You stated it much better. That is what I feel when I am riding and can't seem to break that habit. Will try what you suggested. I have tried putting my back hand in my pocket as well but wasn't very effective. And I would like to invest in some lessons. I am all self taught so having some real time instruction would be helpful. I only get out about 15 times per year since I live in PA and hate riding the local hills. I get to colorado, Maine, and Vermont a few times a year but not as much as i would like to ride. 


htfu said:


> you seem to be a bit twisted into a forward facing position (right hand keeps coming round). i have the same problem and found that it made me do all sorts of bad things eg right knee "caving in", heelside turns washing out all the time and being more on the back foot. how i am trying to solve this is as follows :
> 
> - try to keep my right hand just below my right butt cheek, this should square you up better and keep you stacked properly over the board
> - push knees out towards the tip (left/leading knee) and tail (right/back knee) as much as is comfortable (imagine you are trying to hold a massive beachball between your knees), given your knee situation this may not be a lot but even a bit more will definitely help
> ...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

thedru13 said:


> Agreed. this was the tail end of the bowls at breck so was flat. the other video is tough to see since the gimble died. Trying to edit some different footage to show more inspired riding. Been playing around with different stance width since I was trying to keep my bindings centered on the board. I will have to try going a bit wider.



On that groomed, you could rail some carves, do some cross unders, and ground spins both right and left while going fast...to get used to railing your edges...riding switch.


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

You are boarding like a skier: straight. Shake it up a bit and keep moving edge to edge. Continuous turning is my maxim; the more you do the better you get.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

thedru13 said:


> Glad you were able to decipher what I was trying to say. You stated it much better. That is what I feel when I am riding and can't seem to break that habit. Will try what you suggested. I have tried putting my back hand in my pocket as well but wasn't very effective. And I would like to invest in some lessons. I am all self taught so having some real time instruction would be helpful. I only get out about 15 times per year since I live in PA and hate riding the local hills. I get to colorado, Maine, and Vermont a few times a year but not as much as i would like to ride.


Yes its is a progression...first quiet upper body that is stacked and aligned....then move on to using your shoulders to punch your turns and support your turns...to pre-rotate in the moguls or on the steeps to billygoat. Use your shoulders like a boxer doing a duck and weave.


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## BillKingOC (Jul 23, 2016)

I realize you're on flatter terrain, but a few observations:

1. Lose the backpack unless you just got down from back country. That will help your center of gravity.
2. If you want to go faster, you need to switch edges much less. Get more comfortable leaning forward and staying flat, or just stay on one edge. The need to switch edges is psychological and a security blanket. You need to feel more uncomfortable at higher speeds and tell yourself it's okay to bail. That's when you grow.
3. Your stance is pretty open. You're not in the park. Try different stances. I actually point my rear foot forward about 3 to 6 degrees because I have no reason to ride in reverse. That will help your natural tendency to try to stay symmetrical when you really should be facing more aggressively.

As an aside, my biggest weakness is worrying about others below or around me. I literally slow down on steeper grades because of my fear that I might collide with someone. I know I have the ability to make quick turns based on my tree boarding, but I still have that mental "governor." When I'm alone, I fly. When the mountain is empty, it's so much better. 

Good luck.


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

Yeah that looked pretty shitty. Snow looked nice though. To your credit, you confidently held some speed and made a few half hearted little edge turns. But overall you looked like a scared corpse strapped to a board. Get bouncy. Get moving. Bend those knees. Feel the blood coursing though your veins. Why are you riding canard? Do you and your old knees have half pipe plans? Are you going to slide off a rail in the park and land switch? Ever considered moving that back binding angle more to the flat? Maybe you want to be a directional rider. Ever considered widening your stance? Ever considered that rotating your rear shoulder toward the front of the board can be an asset? I would love to ride that trail that you’re on. I’d be jamming back and forth across that thing from woods to woods with reckless abandon. Cross unders. Big carved turns. Varied turn shapes. Just thinking of the possibilities on that terrain you covered makes me wanna spooge. My advice is to rethink the whole thing. What do you want out of snowboarding? What do you wish your riding looked like? Weird twirly butters? Carved out turns ? Side hits? Tweaking some grabs (I don’t know what that is but I heard it during the Olympics)? Pick someone who rides like you wanna ride and figure out what they do.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Fielding said:


> Tweaking some grabs (I don’t know what that is but I heard it during the Olympics)?


That was too funny :laugh:

OP: I'm a slow learner myself... I second what most said: be experimental. Try out other boards, stance, ride with music, ride with a pack, ride new terrain. 
I learned most if in new situations in more than less optimal conditions. Can be a confidence boost. And... the mantra: ride low, get out of the back seat, ride lower!


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

I think you are doing a pretty good job. Maybe try a steeper hill?
Is your stance on the narrow side considering how tall you are?
I mean apart from that I don't really see anything in the video. The run is flat and straight so you are not really turning much. And you are just cruising so you are not trying to carve like a madman.
Not enough action to tell what's wrong with your riding.
I am just staring at the tree runs on the side and be like that's the perfect amount of slope and density to have some sick tree runs.


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## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

I think you should adjust your bindings to 15 degrees each and drive your knees out when you squat. This should alleviate some of the knee pressure. (As someone stated above, like you have a beach ball between your legs). I suspect the twisted and jammed up feeling comes from the binding angle and lack of even load distribution over the knees. Ideally, your quads, hips and glutes should be absorbing almost the entire load with your knees only serving their intended purpose, but they need the proper leverages in order to achiever this ends: drive knees out as you squat (hence 15 degree feet angles), contemplate your center of gravity in the hips (thinking about this helps), the knees and ankles are flexing but not supporting direct load. Core is activated (not rigid where you can’t breathe, but “active” like you are expecting a moderate punch to the stomach). All in all, I’m describing an athletic stance: core engaged, lowered center of gravity, muscular (not joints) absorbing the load. You should be squaring off to wrestle someone, not taking a leisurely piss. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

Cross under/over turns, carving(short or long)ones,butters,nose rolls,runs thru the trees and small moguls.Those listed would help you overcome your *plateau.* Your vid just shows nothing but riding bored except a couple of small pop off a roller? Your struggle on ungroomed trail runs could be due to your body being straight and your knees not absorbing the bumps, you have to be low and ride loosely but in balance to stay on your board. Practicing on small moguls/bumps will help you learn to manuever around them and you can transfer that to ungroomed trails and even on tree runs. Widen your stance a bit 23" to 23.5 and add a little lean on your bindings. Does the Genesis have a canted footbed? i also have bad knees though not like your but mine tends to lock up(right knee) if i stay upright to long so my binding has a 2.5 canting and it helps.


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## Pointy Deity (Dec 12, 2014)

I'll consider myself mediocre until I win the Freeride World Tour or Jeremy Jones tells me I'm the shit . Self-loathing can be a very effective motivator.

Like others have mentioned, try a wider stance. I'm 5'7" and ride the same angles and stance width as you on a 151 board.

How many days a season do you ride? I feel like I don't really start improving until I've got 15 days in (and I only get 30-35 per season).

Ride some terrain that's out of your comfort zone. Even if you leaf all the way down, the stuff you usually ride will look easy by comparison and you'll have more confidence on it.

Take a lesson. One of those pricey full-day private lessons might be overkill, but if you sign up for an advanced group or small group lesson there's a good chance you'll be the only student.

What's your goal? What kind of riding do you want to do?


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

thedru13 said:


> So I just can't seem to be able to get out of my own way. Been riding now for a while but can't seem to get any better. I am old and broken as well. Bad knees. But won't go there. So I am just not getting more comfortable riding or able to break bad habits. I feel that I don't bend enough and my stance is open all the time. What I mean by that is my back leg/hip and shoulder are always wanting to not stay centered over the board. I ride regular and get real sketched out when picking up speed. so 34mph or so based on what my app says. lol. Also riding in ungroomed terrain I struggle. I feel like I am fighting my feet in my boots and bindings and trying to move my board underneath me and not using a more natural movement to have the board follow hips and body rotation. Not sure how to get unstuck. Here is a quick video and it's not the best. I am cutting up some other footage but when I watch myself ride I just look stiff and unathletic. Thanks for any suggestions or feedback. I am in the green jacket btw. My set up. I ride a Never Summer Ripsaw wide. 163X. Burton Genesis X bindings. Size 11.5 Nike Lunaendor boots, Angles are front foot = 18 back foot = -9 about 22.5 inches apart. I am 6'2 and about 192lbs.


You seem to have a reasonable idea of what you need to work on....

1) Have you taken a lesson? if not.... do.

2) Snowboarding is a sport. It can also be a game, but if you want to move past the game part and have some progression, you need to show some level of commitment. Do some lounges, squats, leg presses, hiking, jumping on a trampoline, whatever helps strengthen your leg muscles. 

3) Bend your knees and widen your stance a little. Bending your knees requires you have some fitness. See 2) above. But it will also kind of force your hips to stay aligned and will help you drive the board trhough your upper legs and not by skidded counter rotations.

If you can't do 2) and 3) due to injury, age, time, beer, nachos or whatever the reason, then be grateful you can still get out there and slide on snow; but that will limit your progression. Progression is not 100% needed to have fun.

4) Try steeper terrain. It will force you to be more aggressive then you can take that back to those green smooth runs.

5) You're riding a garage door with edges. Try to get on a more beginner-friendly snowboard that will let you flex and manipulate it instead of allowing you to just stand on top of it and slide you down the mountain. You can go back to your garage door once you've developed the muscle strength and technique, and are able to ride steeper terrain which will let you manipulate it.

6) Choose your battles. You're old, have limited time and some physical limitations. Spend your time and energy on the things that give you a reward. Some people want to push their riding and rip everything. Rip ice, rip moguls, rip the park, rip pow, rip steeps, rip trees, butter, jibs from 8am to 10pm.............. pick what you like and concentrate on that so you don't over-exert and get tired riding stuff you dont find fun. Give 100%... 10% of the time


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Ok AMAZING responses. Thanks everyone for your open and honest ;-) feedback. Looks like i have a lot of tweaking to do. I have messed around in the past with angles and stance but always feel that it makes things worse. Always thought it was the indian not the arrow. Here is another crappy video of a "warm" up run. Legs were torched so first runs are always rough for me. 

To address some of the questions... 
Have I had a lesson? I took a group lesson a few years ago was okay helped a bit. I am probably in a position now to benefit more so from taking an individual lesson. 

Snowboarding Goals
-For me its to "free" ride and be able to carve down the mountain. Also be able to run through some glade runs and just enjoy the entire mountain across all terrain. want to feel confident on my board and not worry about terrain as much. Also really want to be able to get much better at carving and not feeling the need to speed check just carve down the hill as well as feel comfortable at speed and not out of control. 

This video isn't great and even when I watch it i think I am not this bad. Its the only vid i have from my last trip other than the one in the first post. 

Thanks again everyone this has been really helpful for me.


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## zc1 (Feb 20, 2017)

As has been said, a few bigger things come to mind:

1. Lose the pack
2. Bend your knees more if you can tolerate it (I know the injuries make this a problem, but maybe if you lose the weight of the pack then you'll be able to tolerate more bend).
3. Quiet your upper body; there was a lot of rotation & counter-rotation to initiate and terminate turns

Instead of trying short turns and a more direct overall line down the hill, when the hill is that empty maybe try some longer/larger turns with good extension, weight shift noseward, quiet upper body for the turn, then flexion to absorb the forces at the completion of the turn. Then practice really getting and staying on your edge for the traverse to the next turn.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Yah just can't seem to figure out how to get my body to do it lol. more practice. wish I could ride more days. I can ditch the backpack. has my camel pack in it for water. 



zc1 said:


> As has been said, a few bigger things come to mind:
> 
> 1. Lose the pack
> 2. Bend your knees more if you can tolerate it (I know the injuries make this a problem, but maybe if you lose the weight of the pack then you'll be able to tolerate more bend).
> ...


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

how long is your inseam? I would figure you would benefit from a wider stance like people said, but if it brings knee discomfort, yeah I don't see it helping. 

garage door with edges is a good analogy, try something smaller/softer. at your weight I wouldn't be riding a 163x, I'd go for the 157x ripsaw. check out the west or even the proto type 2 if you want to stick to NS, otherwise try a burton custom or something else cambered around a 157 with a 26cm waist. 

fwiw I get sketched out going 34mph on rutted out chopped up groomers. you never know when one of those small frozen bumps will send you flying. if it's smooth I'm fine going 45-50mph.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Inseam is 32. Curious how much wider i should go? I have 2 other boards that I don't ever ride. Maybe I can give them a go again. 

I have a Libtech 159 PHOENIX LANDO C2BTX SNOWBOARD 2012 and a Burton UnInc 160. 



jae said:


> how long is your inseam? I would figure you would benefit from a wider stance like people said, but if it brings knee discomfort, yeah I don't see it helping.
> 
> garage door with edges is a good analogy, try something smaller/softer. at your weight I wouldn't be riding a 163x, I'd go for the 157x ripsaw. check out the west or even the proto type 2 if you want to stick to NS, otherwise try a burton custom or something else cambered around a 157 with a 26cm waist.
> 
> fwiw I get sketched out going 34mph on rutted out chopped up groomers. you never know when one of those small frozen bumps will send you flying. if it's smooth I'm fine going 45-50mph.


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## zc1 (Feb 20, 2017)

thedru13 said:


> Yah just can't seem to figure out how to get my body to do it lol. more practice. wish I could ride more days. I can ditch the backpack. has my camel pack in it for water.


Do you have a hill local to you? As mentioned earlier, a private lesson there (if you're able) focusing on what you're having trouble with would likely be a great help.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Have a few. Painful to board but could do it more. Just so damn crowded and smalll 



zc1 said:


> Do you have a hill local to you? As mentioned earlier, a private lesson there (if you're able) focusing on what you're having trouble with would likely be a great help.


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

thedru13 said:


> Inseam is 32. Curious how much wider i should go? I have 2 other boards that I don't ever ride. Maybe I can give them a go again.
> 
> I have a Libtech 159 PHOENIX LANDO C2BTX SNOWBOARD 2012 and a Burton UnInc 160.


not much, just play around with it and go with something that feels comfortable having your knees bent rather than riding tall. give your other boards a go, you might end up liking them better, or they'll help you realize what you are lacking.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

First ignore anyone on the thread who tells you that you look good. Their input is not useful. They either don't know any better or are trying to be unproductively cheerful and positive. You don't look awful, but you don't look good.

Second, you're still better than a lot of people on the hill. Screw what others think, just be motivated by your own self improvement and having fun.

Your fundamental problem is you're not driving your edges and riding your sidecut. You're basically straight lining and skidding to change directions.You're making the classic beginner-intermediate mistake of ruddering with the backfoot instead of driving into the front contact points. The easiest way to correct that is going to be getting lower by flexing your knees and ankles, however if you have bad knees that could be problematic.

Also, you're counter rotating, which is related to ruddering with the backfoot. Keep that upper body quiet.

Ryan Knapton has a really good series on this. I'd recommend going through the entire thing. Part 1: 




Your current riding is most similar to what he demonstrates around ~1:04.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Awesome thanks. I will take a look. and what you describe is exactly how I feel riding. Appreciate it 



kimchijajonshim said:


> First ignore anyone on the thread who tells you that you look good. Their input is not useful. They either don't know any better or are trying to be unproductively cheerful and positive. You don't look awful, but you don't look good.
> 
> Second, you're still better than a lot of people on the hill. Screw what others think, just be motivated by your own self improvement and having fun.
> 
> ...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

2nd vid: omg you look like a timid soccer mom driving a minivan. Definitely too placid, counter-rotated, using your upper body to turn the board...but in a PLACID manner and way too narrow stance. With that stance all you can do is bend over at the waist like a soccer milf. You need to get in a squat stance like a badass women's college softball catcher. 

Widen your stance, adjust your angles perhaps use some canting. Iirc you got bad knees...see a physical therapist that rides, I'm sure they can help you. I have 30" inseam and a 24" stance.

You need to get aligned and stacked...look at the creepy basement vid. Your leading shoulder/hand is all kinds of fucked up. Your leading hand needs to point/be over the edge that you are turning to or on (you are opposite/counter rotated) Ur basically steering all kinds of wrong....you need to drive (and steer) with your leading knee....but you cant cause of such a narrow stance. Watch the creepy vid and learn about the pelvic tilt, squatting and how to move on the board.


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## Doraibu (Aug 13, 2017)

kimchijajonshim said:


> Ryan Knapton has a really good series on this. I'd recommend going through the entire thing. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvADH_dLb4w
> 
> Your current riding is most similar to what he demonstrates around ~1:04.


That's DOG SHIT! lol

yea, this tutorial video series is really good.


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

Doraibu said:


> That's DOG SHIT! lol
> 
> yea, this tutorial video series is really good.


I like all his vids but I don’t wanna ride canard stance. My body doesn’t work that way. I have a feeling that most people’s bodies don’t either. You have to keep in mind that RK is not just some bro who started riding, did some S turns, and then worked his way up to his current sick carves and butters (aka snowboard ballet). Dude was monster ripping half pipe and all kinds of freestyle shit in the late 1990sand early 2000s. His self-reinvention as a ground game maestro is super cool. It represents almost obtainable snowboarding excellence for most dedicated riders.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

thedru13 said:


> Ok AMAZING responses. Thanks everyone for your open and honest ;-) feedback. Looks like i have a lot of tweaking to do. I have messed around in the past with angles and stance but always feel that it makes things worse. Always thought it was the indian not the arrow. Here is another crappy video of a "warm" up run. Legs were torched so first runs are always rough for me.
> 
> To address some of the questions...
> Have I had a lesson? I took a group lesson a few years ago was okay helped a bit. I am probably in a position now to benefit more so from taking an individual lesson.
> ...


Okay much better this time we can actually see what you are doing.
First of all bend the knees.
Second of all drive the board instead of let the board drive you. I think it's still too hard to ask for some dynamic carving at your stage. I took me 2 seasons about 40 days to perfect my carving. Practice make perfect.
I the videos you are doing skidded turns which is fine to control speed and stuff but if you really want to ride good, you need to start learning carving by initiating the turns with front foot not back foot.
This is what you can do to practice. Slowly go into turn with even force front and back foot while trying lean your body into the corner. Now to be able to do that you need to get some speed because it's a balance act. To switch the edge, unweight the board while switching your weight to the other edge.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

Fielding said:


> I like all his vids but I don’t wanna ride canard stance. My body doesn’t work that way. I have a feeling that most people’s bodies don’t either. You have to keep in mind that RK is not just some bro who started riding, did some S turns, and then worked his way up to his current sick carves and butters (aka snowboard ballet). Dude was monster ripping half pipe and all kinds of freestyle shit in the late 1990sand early 2000s. His self-reinvention as a ground game maestro is super cool. It represents almost obtainable snowboarding excellence for most dedicated riders.


While you're right and that for most mortals double posi is a FAR better position for carving, he still has a lot of good, easily digestible tips for normals. 

I also agree on duck stance. As I've switched to double posi and felt my heelside carving get dramatically better, I'm of the opinion than folks learning should be in a wide-ish duck stance, then switch to medium double posi UNLESS they plan on riding switch a lot. For 'normal' directional turning and cruising I think it's just better bio mechanics. I have a lot of minor rear knee issues that've cleared up because I'm no longer trying to tweak in ward on toe-side carves in the direction opposite of my foot.


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

I learnt to carve double positive but my rear knee was constantly stressed and almost popped in a couple of wipeouts. Then I watched some RK videos and switched to +27 -6 and my carving has continued to improve with no knee problems (I'm 60 in a fortnight and I've just done 40 days out of 50).

I'm not arguing that my heel edge carves wouldn't be better on hard hardpack riding double pos but when you are ageing then you need to ride whatever stance your body is comfortable with - and I walk duck footed anyway!

Set your board up at home and keep adjusting the bindings until you find the settings where you can most comfortably squat the lowest, that is likely to be your own personal sweetspot for maximum mobility and advancing your skills.

Btw, do the exercises Wrath mentioned, I'm also 5'7" and ride 23" with canted bindings.


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## thedru13 (Jan 4, 2014)

Made some adjustments. I widened my stance to 25. with the board and bindings I don't have a lot of adjustability so just moved the binding out to different holes. Going to try and hit a local hill tomorrow and see how it feels. I left my angles for now at 18 and -9 I will dial in the back leg after I feel how the wider stance. I may just goto -6 on the rear leg and see what that does. Just need to stop overthinking things. Again all this input is awesome and appreciated. If I can get to the mountain tomorrow I will take some better video. Thanks again and will update with progress.


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## Aracan (Nov 24, 2017)

If the goal is, as you wrote, to carve down the hill, you need to lose the counterrotation. It is extremely limiting and you are more prone to get hurt. 
Rotate into the turn, not against it. 
Take a leaf out of the bikers' book and look where you want to go.
Point uphill with your inside hand. 
Maybe also take Fielding's advice and set the rear binding neutral or even forward.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

25" is pretty wide. I'm 6', 32" inseam, I ride at 22" double posi for carving. If I ride duck, I widen that out to 23-23.5". My experience has been that wider is better for stability, but narrower is much, much better for turn initiation. You kind of have to balance the two and given your goals and ability to stay upright, I think you're better off not going too wide.

My recommendation IF your main goal is carving is narrow that up and try double posi. Probably 22-23". I switched to double posi after 10+ years of duck and my carving depth and precision has never been better.

After 12+ years of riding, I kind of settled on things via trial and error that more or less fall in line with Nidecker's recommendations in the following video. After my own experience and seeing that videos, I think what I'd probably do with most is start them out at a wider duck stance as beginners, then transition them to slightly narrower and double posi UNLESS they are really, really committed to riding a lot of switch.


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

If you can do + + angles you’ll likely find carving is more comfortable. You’ll have a much easier time seeing where you’re going on a heel carve. Try a few runs. Set the rear with just enough + to put the heel and toe of the boot just shy of the edge of the board. Then set front binding at roughly 10 more +. Make sure the heel and toe are close to the edges. Adjust splay as needed. Depending on the board you may need to use different mount points. Probably need more setback than when you were ducking. 

The control inputs will be different. You’ll use your front heel and rear toes to decamber the board. As you turn across the fall line bend your knees. reach for your board’s downhill edge just in front of the front binding with your opposite hand. You don’t need to touch it. It’s just a cheat for keeping you over the board and your turn edge weighted.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

imho, less thinking about it all and perhaps take the stick that you appear to have in your butt out.

Seriously though, ride the board rather than let it take you for a ride.

Of course I'm mostly goofing to drive a point home. You are better than lots of people eon the mountain already. Now it's time to step it up and own it. Time to step it up from glorified sledding to actually riding.


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

f00bar said:


> imho, less thinking about it all and perhaps take the stick that you appear to have in your butt out.
> 
> Seriously though, ride the board rather than let it take you for a ride.
> 
> Of course I'm mostly goofing to drive a point home. You are better than lots of people eon the mountain already. Now it's time to step it up and own it. Time to step it up from glorified sledding to actually riding.


^^ That. All this fussing about small stance adjustments etc misses the point.

Simple advice: Ride more. Be more aggressive/assertive and dynamic in your riding. Ideally take some lessons.
Profit.

PS And as others have said: Lose the pack.


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## Kala (Mar 13, 2018)

Ι feel you about getting older and broken in my mid 30s (esp about knees issues), so I will share a few of my tips. First, I would drop the duck angles to max -3 on the back foot (in fact a +3 or +6 will be more forgiving on the knee and will greatly improve your carving ability. Second, I would get two knee pads (yes they only help for a few hours and amount to an artificial muscle, but they help vastly) and also focus on doing strengthening exercises and stretching.

Now as for the riding- it's not as bad as I was led to think from the text. One thing that struck me and that I notice a lot on the mountain is that you feel OK with the toe turn but you quickly shift to a stiff, upright, non-carving stance on the heel side. You need to bend your knees more when it comes to the heel side and focus on actually doing a course (not just skidding/breaking that is, but actually going on the edge on that side). It will help a lot if while bending knees you also extend your butt outwards as if you were sitting on a chair and also by initiating the turn by (forcefully) putting your weight on your front foot. 

Hope it helps!
k


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## lottie (Mar 9, 2018)

thedru13 said:


> Yah just can't seem to figure out how to get my body to do it lol. more practice. wish I could ride more days. I can ditch the backpack. has my camel pack in it for water.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I get the need for the camelback— even on the small “hills.” Im on a medication that makes me super dehydrated unless I drink a ton of water constantly. To alleviate the heavy pack issue I got the camelback bootlegger for snow. The Zoid pack is also slim and small and light, and I maybe should have gone with that. The bootlegger goes under your jacket but i wear it over so I don’t resemble a one hump camel. No extra room for anything else. Zoid has a very small pouch for wallet, goggle cloth, etc.


This being said, I’m no expert. My videos look more or less similar to yours and since moving to Long Island from upstate NY I’ve only gotten 8 days on the slopes so far this season versus the 25 I got last season.


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## gallagorilla (Dec 20, 2017)

Forget camelback. Get a collapsible water bottle(s) like platypus or hydrapak


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## Pointy Deity (Dec 12, 2014)

f00bar said:


> imho, less thinking about it all and perhaps take the stick that you appear to have in your butt out.


Agreed. thedru13's angles aren't what's holding him back at this point. He's doing ok, just needs to work on some fundamentals and riding with confidence, and ideally get more riding days in. The Ryan Knapton videos are great, I've improved my carving a lot this season following his advice.

Have you tried any supplements like glucosamine or CBD for your joints?

If you just need to carry water, how about one of those slim Camelbaks that would fit under your jacket? I ride with a 1.5L (I think) Camelbak and I don't even notice it's there.

I usually ride duck stance (18/-9) and tried forward/double posi (18/3) today. I'm not fully used to it yet but it's great for carving, made it a lot easier to change edges and lock into heelside carves. Didn't like it as much for steeps and trees (and obviously switch), but that'll probably change as I get accustomed to it. Don't think thedru13 should mess with this yet though... maybe after he starts dialing in carves with his current angles.


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## Cookie (Jun 5, 2018)

Hey, So I used to be an instructor. As people said before that run in the video is pretty cruisy. So you don't need a lot of movement to ride it. Your body position doesn't look too open but from what you said about your setup I would suggest opening up your back foot angle to -18 so you are centered on the board and able to flex your knees directly over your toes. This will help keep your upper body in line. Also try adding some more forward lean into your bindings to make you bend your knees more. This will make your snowboarding more dynamic. Practice holding your hands out directly over your nose and tail, when you go for your toe turn, lead in with your upper body so your front hand is over the toe edge then over the heel edge for the heel side turn. If your on a steeper slope the movements need to be faster to really drive the edge where you want it to be. I know you said your knees were weak but you have to flex down through the turn and rise up for the next one. Maybe some knee supports will help. You can put a lot of energy into the board even on mellow slopes like that, practice really driving the board through the turns to get to know how it feels then use that knowledge when it gets to tougher hills.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Also, the reality of the situation is that all of us are mediocre. The best "average Joe" riders on the mountainon any given day are mediocre compared to the highest level pros. That's just the way it goes. Few people have the natural talent to get to that level. That doesn't mean you can't have a ton of fun. Don't worry about how "good" you are, just go ride and have fun.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Again watched your 2nd vid...its frick'n summer. What struck me this time is: Your are afraid of gravity err speed...you are fighting gravity PERIOD. Thus it is a mental thing...in part because you don't understand your edges nor have confidence in said edges. You are not letting the board run on its edges.

As you get used to letting the board run on its edges...thus not fighting gravity, you will begin to use your knees differently (especially in those big open and uncrowded runs in yer vids). That is instead of asserting/driving your knees to set the edge...which you will still do...BUT you will begin to yield/absorb in you knees in order to float the small imperfections/bumps ruts and things. You need the looseness in the knees to float...because if you knees/legs are too stiff, yer toss yerself. One of the things that is perhaps not obvious (with all this knee talk) is that you will become aware that your body being in the "cereal box" will need to align with the fall line. Meaning that you will want to keep your leading shoulder/hip in the fall line and move the board under your body...instead of moving you body over the board. Perhaps this stuff is beyond where ur at...but mention it because it is where you want to go.

And the runs in yer vid are wide open...use the real state to practice getting the board on edge to carve. Btw...maybe a drill is to ride stiff/tight kneed for half a run and then ride loose kneed to finish the run.


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## Stoned_Ocelot (Jun 3, 2018)

Hey man any day on the mountain is a good day so you've got that going for you! There's been a lot of good advice on here, especially Cookie a couple above me. One thing I might add is to lead with your shoulder a bit, lean into the turn not away from it. 

Lower your center of gravity a little and get aggressive, don't be afraid of taking a small fall if it means you're pushing it.


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## Brewtown (Feb 16, 2014)

Lots of good advice but I would simplify it to just two things:

1) Crank up the forward lean on your bindings. Straight up max it out, at least for a day or two, as this will force you to bend those knees and get a feel for correct posture. You'll never improve if you don't start with the fundamentals of an athletic position. 

2) Even as is you seem a competent rider enough rider to push the speed limit. To improve at anything you need to push yourself outside your comfort zone and with snowboarding unfortunately this means you will take some spills in the process. Cautious, lazy riding will only reinforce your bad habits simply because you can get away with them at slower speeds. Think of the steeper runs as "game day" push yourself as hard as you can and just let your body react naturally, then treat the mellower runs as "practice" focusing on your technique, making different types of turns and really make an effort to cut thin lines in the snow. Eventually it will all come together.


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## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

Brewtown said:


> Lots of good advice but I would simplify it to just two things:
> 
> 1) Crank up the forward lean on your bindings. Straight up max it out, at least for a day or two, as this will force you to bend those knees and get a feel for correct posture. You'll never improve if you don't start with the fundamentals of an athletic position.
> 
> 2) Even as is you seem a competent rider enough rider to push the speed limit. To improve at anything you need to push yourself outside your comfort zone and with snowboarding unfortunately this means you will take some spills in the process. Cautious, lazy riding will only reinforce your bad habits simply because you can get away with them at slower speeds. Think of the steeper runs as "game day" push yourself as hard as you can and just let your body react naturally, then treat the mellower runs as "practice" focusing on your technique, making different types of turns and really make an effort to cut thin lines in the snow. Eventually it will all come together.


Ya I second the forward lean. I got that tip from Knapton vids and it really helped my carving. You may have trouble getting lower or widening your stance due to knee issues. Your injuries may stop you from improving much in the future, but try to experiment with different stance angles and widths. Try to squat lower particularly in the apex of the heel turn, that will help with the chatter you are experiencing on the heel edge turn.


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## Bad Mechanic (Jun 6, 2018)

kimchijajonshim said:


> While you're right and that for most mortals double posi is a FAR better position for carving, he still has a lot of good, easily digestible tips for normals.
> 
> I also agree on duck stance. As I've switched to double posi and felt my heelside carving get dramatically better, I'm of the opinion than folks learning should be in a wide-ish duck stance, then switch to medium double posi UNLESS they plan on riding switch a lot. For 'normal' directional turning and cruising I think it's just better bio mechanics. I have a lot of minor rear knee issues that've cleared up because I'm no longer trying to tweak in ward on toe-side carves in the direction opposite of my foot.


This! 

A friend of mine just finished up his first season and I set up his equipment at +15,-6. It just seems easier to learn how to ride duck. 

However, if you're not riding switch, and your body allows for it, you should probably be riding forward (double positive angles). It makes a lot of biomechanical sense, gives you better visibility, and definitely makes it easier to carve turns.


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