# Too much focus on toeside



## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

Welcome to the forums!

The ideal would be if you could post a video of yourself riding. Without that, and speaking from my own very limited experience, one guess would be that the problem comes from your transition from toe to heel edge. I used make the transition too swiftly, and open up too much with too much of my weight on my front foot, leading to skidding instead of carving. This could come from fear of leaning backwards down the hill or something else. Try making the transition slower and more fluent. Oh, and don't forget to bend your knees. 

But like I said, this is pure guessing.

Oh (2), and take a class or two.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

My first guess would be that you don't bend your legs enough. It's a very common issue... 

Bent knees give you the possibility to adjust to uneven terrain or to correct slight upper body imbalances quickly.On toe edge, one can compensate a bit for that lack of bent knees by using ones ancles, but on heelside you don't have that ancle backup.

Check your stance width... maybe you're stance is bit narrow? A wider stance = easier to ride low = better balance.

Next thing to check is your weight dustribution. Do. Not. Stay. in the backseat! Another veey common issue...

Exercise the riding low and centered, then you soon will find both edges comfy to ride.


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

neni said:


> Check your stance width... maybe you're stance is bit narrow? A wider stance = easier to ride low = better balance.


Now who to believe: Badass neni or my UCPA instructor? :huh:


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

for heelside, it also is important to look back over your shoulder uphill to make sure that you won't be cutting anyone off if you plan to traverse across the slope on the heelside since you are sort of "blind" in that direction. 

a lot of beginners spend too much time on their heelside edges (falling leaf), so you have an advantage there..


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Almost everyone has one side which is weaker... so focus on that one and practice it a lot more. On easy terrain that you feel comfortable in.

Bending the knees is #1 , so check your stance so that it's not too narrow and make sure your thighs are killing you at the end of the runs. 

Also looking sort of over your shoulder (where you want to go, instead of straight downhill. When crouching for heelside, try and crouch directly over your board (instead of sort of leaning back away from your heel edge) and try to lift your toes to add more heelside force. Very important is to also keep your rear arm/shoulder inline with the board... dont over rotate the rear arm.

Watch a few tutorials and get a lesson if you feel something is totally wrong. 



Ah also, when practicing for heelside try to do your skidding and controlling your speed with your toeside.... That way you can concentrate on turning heelside instead of having to also speed check/controlling speed heelside because you're going too fast.

Obviously, once your happy heelside you can go back and skid/speed checking with either.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Anticrobotic said:


> Now who to believe: Badass neni or my UCPA instructor? :huh:


Yourself, my friend. In the end, only believe yourself. Listen to ppl, their opiniones n theories, think over it, try out yourself and then go with whatever works best for you 

BTW: dunno what a UCPA instructor is, what he said and - most importantly - in which context... but try yourself. Stand shoulder wide and try to bend n balance... and now take a step outwards with one feet n try again. With narrow stance, it's almost impossible to have your body centered over the board while low in the knees, your butt will point over the heel edge. Wider stance? No problem to have your body well over the board. At least with my physiology


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Are you washing out or skidding when you go heel side? As mentioned I suspect you are being timid and not committing so are being taken for a ride instead of driving with your weight forward and transitioning.

Also, check your boots to make sure they centered. You may be having to work a little harder to get over on your heel because your are too much toe.


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