# Can’t stop spinning to switch side and need help figuring out stance.



## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

Ok so on a skateboard I am goofy, but on a snowboard I feel better board control riding downhill regular except when it comes to toeside turns, those I feel I do better goofy. But I don’t feel I have as good board control (maneuvering) downhill riding goofy, but learning toeside turns has been helping with my goofy stance. If that makes sense. So for now I will stick to goofy. Yesterday I was able to toeside turn a bit but instead of braking I kept sliding downward with the board parallel to the mountain.

Also, I cannot stop from spinning to switch. What am I doing, where am I applying too much pressure? I’ve also read and seen too many diff tutorials on toeside turns. Am I leaning towards the tail slightly while at the same time applying pressure to front toes?


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## bazman (Jan 15, 2017)

If you're goofy you're goofy.

Sounds like you need some lessons to get the fundamentals down, you should progress quickly being a skater


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Maybe you have too much weight on your front foot. Once you have initiated the turn try stepping down a bit more on your back foot until you feel the entire edge bite. This should help you stop spinning. Might be the same reason you sideslip.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

bazman said:


> If you're goofy you're goofy.
> 
> *Sounds like you need some lessons to get the fundamentals down,* you should progress quickly being a skater


^this^

It might be something as simple as riding with your shoulders too open. That's what caused my spinning problem. :shrug:

Let a professional evaluate & advise you on the flaws in your riding!!


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Well, first, take a lesson or go with a buddy who can tell you what you're doing wrong. 

If you're spinning around and don't want to you're not using the edges correctly. When you're on that bunny hill facing down and side slipping on your heel edge, try releasing the pressure on one heel but digging your heel in with the other. Hey! You turned. Now do that with the other foot. This is torsional flexing and it's how you turn and steer. As you advance and do carved turns this is way more subtle and there are other factors at play but right now if you're out of control and spinning you're not putting pressure on the correct edge.

I started out regular and I sucked just as bad riding regular as I did goofy. Neither felt more natural and I'd been skating and surfing and skimboarding regular my whole life. To learn to ride switch I had to go back to basics and ride goofy; it was almost as difficult as re-learning to snowboard. I've been trying to get back to the point where goofy and regular feel the same for years now, but it's difficult because I'm way better at regular.

You're in the enviable position where you suck equally at both, and one option is to forget about regular and switch and just learn to do both right from the start. This will lengthen the time it takes you to learn by a bit, but I think overall if you want to do switch and freestyle riding you'll be better off. Depends on your goals though.


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

Snowdaddy said:


> *Maybe you have too much weight on your front foot*. Once you have initiated the turn try stepping down a bit more on your back foot until you feel the entire edge bite. This should help you stop spinning. Might be the same reason you sideslip.


More likely exact opposite.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

SGboarder said:


> More likely exact opposite.


Yes, also quite possible.

Edit: But his edge won't bite if he's not tilting the board enough either. So if it's a flat skidded turn then probably too much weight on his back foot. He says he's skidding downhill.

Take a lesson or put up a video


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## boisell (Feb 14, 2016)

Cbradionyc said:


> Ok so on a skateboard I am goofy, but on a snowboard I feel better board control riding downhill regular except when it comes to toeside turns, those I feel I do better goofy. But I don’t feel I have as good board control (maneuvering) downhill riding goofy, but learning toeside turns has been helping with my goofy stance. If that makes sense. So for now I will stick to goofy. Yesterday I was able to toeside turn a bit but instead of braking I kept sliding downward with the board parallel to the mountain.
> 
> Also, I cannot stop from spinning to switch. What am I doing, where am I applying too much pressure? I’ve also read and seen too many diff tutorials on toeside turns. Am I leaning towards the tail slightly while at the same time applying pressure to front toes?


Def take others advice for a lesson, it will work wonders for you. As for the spinning around, I find a lot of my beginner friends lean back on the board (put weight on back foot) because it's very unnatural to lean down a hill, it's often a subconscious reaction of your brain doing some minor panicking . For the toe/heel stops, just make sure you applying equal pressure when toe/heel sliding to stop. For a toe side stop, drive those knees back into the hill while keeping your back straight. Don't worry, it'll all click somewhere between the 5th and 10th time on the hill. Keep shredding!


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

drblast said:


> Well, first, take a lesson or go with a buddy who can tell you what you're doing wrong.
> 
> If you're spinning around and don't want to you're not using the edges correctly. When you're on that bunny hill facing down and side slipping on your heel edge, try releasing the pressure on one heel but digging your heel in with the other. Hey! You turned. Now do that with the other foot. This is torsional flexing and it's how you turn and steer. As you advance and do carved turns this is way more subtle and there are other factors at play but right now if you're out of control and spinning you're not putting pressure on the correct edge.
> 
> ...



Ok yea so if I am riding goofy and my board spins to regular then that means I am leaning back a little then? That makes sense Bc I’m not comfortable goofy yet for some reason I think Bc of my posture. I noticed I stopped spinning the board to regular when I just allowed ,self to get in a slight toe side carve

I def wanna be a freestyle rider and I kinda like that I am somewhat comfortable riding switch


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

Snowdaddy said:


> Yes, also quite possible.
> 
> Edit: But his edge won't bite if he's not tilting the board enough either. So if it's a flat skidded turn then probably too much weight on his back foot. He says he's skidding downhill.
> 
> Take a lesson or put up a video


Well first, I am a woman :wink: I go by she lol but all good

So I was able to initiate the toe side turn but I think it’s a matter of digging the edge in without falling over as much. When I do the toeside and am facing uphill, the board skids down flat instead of braking for a bit. So basically I need to just work how to dig the edge without leaning too forward to brake. I’m also in NYC so it’s on the icy end. What I really want to know which I don’t think I’ve understood from the posts or videos is, when initiating a toeside turn am I getting on my front toes and THEN back toes? Is it like a pedal motion like others have taught me where the back does the opposite until it’s time to dig the edge in?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Snowdaddy said:


> Maybe you have too much weight on your front foot.



On contrary. Being in the backseat provokes the spinning. Classic beginner problem. Can be stopped by: ta-daa: more weight on front.

I understand your enthusiasm... but... your recommendation is so very off, I'm tempted to recommend getting lessons to you, too


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

boisell said:


> Def take others advice for a lesson, it will work wonders for you. As for the spinning around, I find a lot of my beginner friends lean back on the board (put weight on back foot) because it's very unnatural to lean down a hill, it's often a subconscious reaction of your brain doing some minor panicking . For the toe/heel stops, just make sure you applying equal pressure when toe/heel sliding to stop. For a toe side stop, drive those knees back into the hill while keeping your back straight. Don't worry, it'll all click somewhere between the 5th and 10th time on the hill. Keep shredding!



So if I am riding goofy and the board spins to regular, I am leaning on the back foot too much? Def is minor panicking but thankfully I have dropped in on some mini ramps a few times before I snowboarded which helped lesson SOME of the fear and understand to drop the shoulder a bit. 

Thanks I think a major issue is not keeping the back straight which is why my toeside brakes tend to skid downward. Thanks for the advice I’m going to do 1 more lesson for sure


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

neni said:


> On contrary. Being in the backseat provokes the spinning. Classic beginner problem. Can be stopped by: ta-daa: more weight on front.
> 
> I understand your enthusiasm... but... your recommendation is so very off, I'm tempted to recommend getting lessons to you, too


 someone else mentioned I may be too much on my back foot. Not understanding though physically how being on the back foot would cause it to spin to be switch. Could you explain? It just helps me when I understand the mechanics of why


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

Cbradionyc said:


> someone else mentioned I may be too much on my back foot. Not understanding though physically how being on the back foot would cause it to spin to be switch. Could you explain? It just helps me when I understand the mechanics of why





neni said:


> On contrary. Being in the backseat provokes the spinning. Classic beginner problem. Can be stopped by: ta-daa: more weight on front.
> 
> I understand your enthusiasm... but... your recommendation is so very off, I'm tempted to recommend getting lessons to you, too



Ok so is it that I am leaning on the back foot while at the same time applying pressure to front heel? Is that what causes the turn?


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## boisell (Feb 14, 2016)

Cbradionyc said:


> boisell said:
> 
> 
> > Def take others advice for a lesson, it will work wonders for you. As for the spinning around, I find a lot of my beginner friends lean back on the board (put weight on back foot) because it's very unnatural to lean down a hill, it's often a subconscious reaction of your brain doing some minor panicking <img src="http://www.snowboardingforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" />. For the toe/heel stops, just make sure you applying equal pressure when toe/heel sliding to stop. For a toe side stop, drive those knees back into the hill while keeping your back straight. Don't worry, it'll all click somewhere between the 5th and 10th time on the hill. Keep shredding!
> ...


Without seeing you actually ride, the back foot weight is just a guess, but since it's pretty common, my guess is that's the reason. The reason you spin is that with your weight on the back foot, when you turn toe or heel side, you are already creating some spinning momentum and because your weight is on one foot ( your back foot in this case) that foot will become your downhill foot due to the momentum carrying you past your horizontal stop, if that makes sense. The key is that when you go into a turn or stop is to try and keep your weight centered on the board.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Cbradionyc said:


> Well first, I am a woman :wink: I go by she lol but all good
> 
> So I was able to initiate the toe side turn but I think it’s a matter of digging the edge in without falling over as much. When I do the toeside and am facing uphill, the board skids down flat instead of braking for a bit. So basically I need to just work how to dig the edge without leaning too forward to brake. I’m also in NYC so it’s on the icy end. What I really want to know which I don’t think I’ve understood from the posts or videos is, when initiating a toeside turn am I getting on my front toes and THEN back toes? Is it like a pedal motion like others have taught me where the back does the opposite until it’s time to dig the edge in?


Are you on a rather flat hill? Sounds as if. On one side, flat and slow is tempting in the beginning as one is scared by speed and looks for control, but OTOH, flat and slow also provoke falls as one cannot really work with the edge well at slow speed on flats. You may get a better feel for the edge, your biadds radius, and what the movenent of your feet provokes if you move to a tiny bit steeper run and exercise falling leaf turns first. Feel how the edge engages, how the curve varies depending on where you put weight. Gain balance doing this. You will start to feel that you can stop the curve by shifting weight to front, do an "release gaspedal" move and like this move into the next curve. However, describing is hard. You just need time and exercise... the spinning is very nornal in the initial stage.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

neni said:


> On contrary. Being in the backseat provokes the spinning. Classic beginner problem. Can be stopped by: ta-daa: more weight on front.
> 
> I understand your enthusiasm... but... your recommendation is so very off, I'm tempted to recommend getting lessons to you, too


Yes, if you're not getting the edge to hold you will keep rotating. It's not an unusual problem with having too much weight on your front foot and just sideslipping down the hill. It happens all the time when people are ruddering.

Although, I could certainly use a couple of lessons myself.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Cbradionyc said:


> Well first, I am a woman :wink: I go by she lol but all good
> 
> So I was able to initiate the toe side turn but I think it’s a matter of digging the edge in without falling over as much. When I do the toeside and am facing uphill, the board skids down flat instead of braking for a bit. So basically I need to just work how to dig the edge without leaning too forward to brake. I’m also in NYC so it’s on the icy end. What I really want to know which I don’t think I’ve understood from the posts or videos is, when initiating a toeside turn am I getting on *my front toes and THEN back toes*? Is it like a pedal motion like others have taught me where the back does the opposite until it’s time to dig the edge in?


not da toes...bendz d'kneez and squat...get your pelvis in the game...don't worry about the back foot---concentrate on the leading knee...creepy basement video will help with basic manures....lol


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Cbradionyc said:


> someone else mentioned I may be too much on my back foot. Not understanding though physically how being on the back foot would cause it to spin to be switch. Could you explain? It just helps me when I understand the mechanics of why


With having too much weight on back foot, you put force on the back part of the edge, the front part of the edge doesn't hold/lead anymore. The front part should steer but cannot. It's sort of like overpowering a rear wheel car. You could stop that spin shifting to front foot and engaging edge so it could steer, but since you keep staying on back foot, the tail just shifts around. 
No worries... being in the backseat is THE classic beginner problem. You're doing something very "normal". (It's a psycological reaction... one backs away from what one is scared of; shifting to front means "facing the void" downhill, board gets faster, which is scary. But don't fear to move to the front. Trust your board, your edge that it will hold IF weight is evenly distributed.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

^ whatever end of the board nose or tail, has the most weight...will want to go down the hill first. Thus if you are in the backseat, the tail will have the most weight and will want to pivot around (spin) to go down the hill first. Weight movement and distribution is a basic concept in snowboarding...and it is used in all kinds of skills, e.g., skating 1 footed, flat based cat tracks/traverses, squirrely or speed wobbles. Having a good basic understanding of this will help immensely as you progress.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Snowdaddy said:


> Yes, if you're not getting the edge to hold you will keep rotating. It's not an unusual problem with having too much weight on your front foot and just sideslipping down the hill. It happens all the time when people are ruddering.
> 
> Although, I could certainly use a couple of lessons myself.


Ruddering has nothing to do with too much weight on front foot. Ruddering arises when the rider is too impatient to wait for the "natural" curve of the radius of the board, either intentional, as on wants to do very short turns (shorter than the board's radius) in steep narrow terrain, or unintentional cos one is afraid of the speed the board picks up throught the turn. In the later case, it's bad habit to rudder, cos it's unneeded: just be patient and let the board finish its turn and see! You go uphill at the end of the turn and slow down anyway.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

wrathfuldeity said:


> creepy basement video will help with basic manures....lol


Omg, this made me laugh. Your vid indeed pops up second place if using "creepy basement snowboard" as searchwords on YT :laugh:

OP: it's really worth to watch. Just brace yourself. It _is_ bit creepy, but the info is solid


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

neni said:


> Ruddering has nothing to do with too much weight on front foot. Ruddering arises when the rider is too impatient to wait for the "natural" curve of the radius of the board, either intentional, as on wants to do very short turns (shorter than the board's radius) in steep narrow terrain, or unintentional cos one is afraid of the speed the board picks up throught the turn. In the later case, it's bad habit to rudder, cos it's unneeded: just be patient and let the board finish its turn and see! You go uphill at the end of the turn and slow down anyway.


Since it's very hard to initiate a turn as a beginner it's easy to lean too much and too long time on your front foot. It's much harder to initiate turns with your weight on your back foot.

Yes, I do know that if you shift your eight back once in the turn and don't tilt your board enough you will keep spinning, but you still need to distribute the weight back, it's just a matter of not doing it too late. Personally, when I do the 180 or 360 swivel I start out doing it on my front foot and let the front edge bite more than my rear.

Maybe you're just too good to remember how it was for us ruddering beginners


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Snowdaddy said:


> Maybe you're just too good to remember how it was for us ruddering beginners


Lol, actually no. I'm a total noob if it comes to riding switch. I myself do all those backseat stiff legged counter rotation errors, fearfully awaiting the next fall whenever I exersise switch (for a handfull minutes, that is, until I get too annoyed and turn around, and thus stay a beginner on that side forever). I can totally identify :laugh:


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Yup! To both @neni & @wrathfuldeity

I had what sounds like the exact same peoblem my first few times out. Right after I started successfully linking turns,.. i found myself on my toeside turns, spinning past horizontal to the fall line and getting turned switch. 

I talked to an instructor I had been getting lessons from. He said I was likely riding with my shoulders too open and weighting my back foot too much. 

When I focused on keeping my upper body lined up with my board and my weight centered over it. I stopped over rotating on those toeside turns. 

Of course without seeing you ride, I'm only guessing based on your description that this is what's happening with you.

If your a noob, you are almost _certainly_ skidding your turns. (...we all did) So a lot of this talk about "engaging your edge" is sort of a moot point. You will gain more _real_ edge control as you progress. 

Right now,.. for you, edge control is all about NOT catching them. LoL!

Focus on your weight distribution and body alignment. ...and definitely take some lessons. They are worth it. :grin:

The up side is this,... when you are ready, you will not get freaked out by getting backwards to ride switch. You already know how to survive it. 

As a result of my spinning, and getting lessons, I was riding switch fairly comfortably by the end of my first season!!


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Cbradionyc said:


> Well first, I am a woman :wink: I go by she lol but all good
> 
> So I was able to initiate the toe side turn but I think it’s a matter of digging the edge in without falling over as much. When I do the toeside and am facing uphill, the board skids down flat instead of braking for a bit. So basically I need to just work how to dig the edge without leaning too forward to brake. I’m also in NYC so it’s on the icy end. What I really want to know which I don’t think I’ve understood from the posts or videos is, when initiating a toeside turn am I getting on my front toes and THEN back toes? Is it like a pedal motion like others have taught me where the back does the opposite until it’s time to dig the edge in?


Sorry about that!

Unless you are taking lessons I recommend watching some basic videos, it helped me a bunch when starting out. The first couple of days is exhausting. Once you figure out the timing of applying pressure to the edges it's going to be a blast.

If you haven't come across them, I really recommend the snowboard-addiction tutorials. They're very educational.

Especially look at the "pressure through turns" and "Round smooth turns" video. When you start to swivel around to switch I bet you aren't applying pressure to your edge early enough in the turn, but that pressure can't just be under your front foot because you will keep pushing your rear foot out and as you eventually shift your weight to the back foot you will keep rotating.

I don't think you start out your turns from the "back seat" simply because it's very hard for a beginner to initiate turns without leaning on the front foot. It's also very hard if not impossible to start a sliding turn from the back seat and if you did, you wouldn't swivel.

Neni and these other guys are much more experienced than I am so don't take my words as absolute. But this is my take on it.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Cbradionyc said:


> What I really want to know which I don’t think I’ve understood from the posts or videos is, when initiating a toeside turn am I getting on my front toes and THEN back toes? Is it like a pedal motion like others have taught me where the back does the opposite until it’s time to dig the edge in?


OK... I think they mean this. And by toes it's just because it's on your toe side turn. The same goes for heel side.

As you initiate the turn you shift some weight to your front foot, meaning you have slightly more pressure on your front foot.

Then as you move into the turn you shift weight back towards your back foot. Naturally not all the way back. You want an even distribution of weight between the feet.

Unless you shift your weight back (centering your weight) you won't get the back section of your edge to dig in and you will rotate.

But... if you shift your weight back too much and you don't get the edge to bite, you will keep rotating into switch.


There are many ways to turn and you don't have to turn by making those shifts (or pedaling) of weight distribution. It's possible you are over doing that motion and it's causing you to swivel because you aren't geting edge hold. I'd experiment with shifting my weight back and forth while turning and trying to use the edge more, just to get a feel of the balance and the edge. Once you feel comfortable enough you can do 360 swivels on purpose. (Don't do that on reds... lol)

Purely from a fellow beginner point of view


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

neni said:


> Omg, this made me laugh. Your vid indeed pops up second place if using "creepy basement snowboard" as searchwords on YT [emoji23]
> 
> OP: it's really worth to watch. Just brace yourself. It _is_ bit creepy, but the info is solid


Wait, are you saying the creepy dude is wrath? 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## virtu (Jan 22, 2016)

smellysell said:


> Wait, are you saying the creepy dude is wrath?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Yep =)

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

neni said:


> Omg, this made me laugh. Your vid indeed pops up second place if using "creepy basement snowboard" as searchwords on YT :laugh:
> 
> OP: it's really worth to watch. Just brace yourself. It _is_ bit creepy, but the info is solid


That vid is an inspiration to snowboard-kind.


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## bazman (Jan 15, 2017)

virtu said:


> smellysell said:
> 
> 
> > Wait, are you saying the creepy dude is wrath?
> ...


OMG is it true! Has the legend been revealed??!!

This is bigger than finding out who Banksy is


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

brawhahaa, the plan is working...another season of permanently scarred noobs :hairy:


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

Snowdaddy said:


> Maybe you have too much weight on your front foot. Once you have initiated the turn try stepping down a bit more on your back foot until you feel the entire edge bite. This should help you stop spinning. Might be the same reason you sideslip.


Wrong.




Snowdaddy said:


> Yes, if you're not getting the edge to hold you will keep rotating. It's not an unusual problem with having too much weight on your front foot and just sideslipping down the hill. It happens all the time when people are ruddering.


Also wrong. 



Snowdaddy said:


> Since it's very hard to initiate a turn as a beginner it's easy to lean too much and too long time on your front foot. It's much harder to initiate turns with your weight on your back foot.
> 
> Yes, I do know that if you shift your eight back once in the turn and don't tilt your board enough you will keep spinning, but you still need to distribute the weight back, it's just a matter of not doing it too late. Personally, when I do the 180 or 360 swivel I start out doing it on my front foot and let the front edge bite more than my rear.





Snowdaddy said:


> OK... I think they mean this. And by toes it's just because it's on your toe side turn. The same goes for heel side.
> 
> As you initiate the turn you shift some weight to your front foot, meaning you have slightly more pressure on your front foot.
> 
> ...


Nope, not what we are saying either. At her (and your) stage of riding it is way too early to think about shifting the weight through the turn - other than getting (and staying) out of the backseat. You're not really turning yet but rather are swiveling the board underneath you, so need to focus on the fundamentals of turn initiation - namely initiating the edge change with the 'pedal' method:
Engage the downhill edge with the leading foot first (in effect twisting the board). That will make the board turn downhill. As you approach the fall line (ie as your getting closer to pointing straight downhill) switch edge with the trailing foot as well ('untwisting' the board).
Do not worry about weight distribution, other than being centered or slightly front foot heavy (at this stage, being centered will actually feel like you're front food heavy).


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Welp,.. it helps to go back to the beginning & re-read the OP's original few posts describing the problem. :facepalm3:

One thing that hasn't been discussed regarding your issue is "_Boot Fit!!_" :blink:

If you're having trouble with edge control, delayed edge response, stopping etc,..? _Especially_ toeside,.. maybe (...almost certainly?:shrug your boots are too big!

With Heel-side stops & turns, we all get an assist from the bindings highbacks, but toeside,..? It's _all_ on us and dependent on good boot fit & technique. :shrug:

If your getting any heel lift at all when your trying to dig in your edges to toeside stop? That is going to cause a delayed and less than effective response. (...your edge won't bite & it will take more time to fully stop!) *Then,..* if on top of that you are leaning a little to much in the backseat? Yeah!! You're gonna spin!! 
@Cbradionyc,.. maybe head on over to @Wiredsports boot fitting thread. Get your feet ogled,.. :embarrased1: er, uhm,.. I mean measured. :laugh: Make sure it isn't poor fitting boots contributing to your trouble.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

chomps1211 said:


> One thing that hasn't been discussed regarding your issue is "_Boot Fit!!_" :blink:
> 
> If you're having trouble with edge control, delayed edge response, stopping etc,..? _Especially_ toeside,.. maybe (...almost certainly?:shrug your boots are too big!


Even tho it's very likely that this is true, I wouldn't add another problen to the equitation and spend the money ATM rather on lessons than boots. 

The first handfull beginner days will hardly improve with responsive boots. One has the above troubles because it is just what it is... a totally new sports, new movements, new balance and body feel... a learning curve one just has to go through.

If OP still has the same troubles after lessens and handfull full days exersising falling leaf turns, then move on to exercise turn initiation to get into S turns, then I would start to check gear.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

@neni, yeah, you have a point there. 

I was thinking back on my experience my first two times out, with _super_ soft, sloppy, packed out rental boots! This is probably *not* what is going on with the OP. Not to that degree anyway. 

Lessons & focus on good body mechanics will definitely help outweigh a little heel slippage for this issue. (...my first two pairs of boots were better fitting, but still a little too big for 4-5 seasons & I managed to overcome the same issue!)

So I agree,.. lessons! :thumbsup:


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ^ whatever end of the board nose or tail, has the most weight...will want to go down the hill first. Thus if you are in the backseat, the tail will have the most weight and will want to pivot around (spin) to go down the hill first. Weight movement and distribution is a basic concept in snowboarding...and it is used in all kinds of skills, e.g., skating 1 footed, flat based cat tracks/traverses, squirrely or speed wobbles. Having a good basic understanding of this will help immensely as you progress.




^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
Thread should have ended here (and with the advice to grab a lesson). 

As a general rule one initiates a turn by weighting the direction they want to go. So if OP is turning toeside and then in the middle or at the end of the turn spinning the other way, she has weighted her back foot...which, true to basic principles, initiates a turn in the other direction. (Don’t bother posting/discussing more advanced techniques, she isn’t there.)

Wrath’s other post is equally important - GET LOW. It is much more difficult to control where you are weighting the board with straight legs. It also helps immensely with controlling edge pressure to skid/stop/turn. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Cbradionyc (Dec 18, 2018)

I would also like to mention that while yes I do at times go back down switch when going toeside but when it happens the MOST is when I am just riding downhill not turning , just riding down. But is that Bc at all times when snowboarding you are initiating one of the turns to some degree?


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

Cbradionyc said:


> I would also like to mention that while yes I do at times go back down switch when going toeside but when it happens the MOST is when I am just riding downhill not turning , just riding down. But is that Bc at all times when snowboarding you are initiating one of the turns to some degree?




I’m not entirely sure what you mean “just riding downhill.” At this point if your board is turning it is because you weighted that foot. If you are going straight down, you probably want to stop doing that. It is difficult even for good riders to completely flat base and go straight. If you mean it happens when you are going across the hill, see Wrath’s posts above. You are weighting the back foot (and thus causing the back of the board to start sliding down hill to initiate a turn) and you probably are standing up too straight. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

If your rear foot is switching position on you like that,.. I'd bet anything it *is* weight distribution. You're letting your weight shift to that rear foot. Maybe even just _ever_ so slightly. But it don't take much. 

As SG mentioned. When going downhill, having your weight centered over the board will _feel_ like you're solidly front foot heavy. You're _not!_ Not really. 

We often tell noobs to exaggerate that leaning forward on the front foot because in the beginning, no matter how much forward you think you are,.. you're probably _not!_ 

Next time out,.. (_before or after your lesson,_)  practice focusing on proper weight distribution.

-edit-
Btw,.. it's not that you're always turning to some degree. Outside of the park, riding with a flat base is something we don't usually do. Sometimes for maintaining speed to ride out a flat area etc, but it is true that most of the time one has one edge or the other engaged. Not so much for turning but just so we arent catching edges on terrain & cut up, choppy crud. *Always * good to know where your edges are!! :shrug:


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

It is impossible to accurately describe what you're supposed to do or what you're doing wrong on a message board.

The basics:
*Exaggerate staying low because all beginners stand up too straight because it (wrongly) feels safer
*Exaggerate weight on your front foot because all beginners put too much weight on the back foot because it (wrongly) feels safer
*Stay loose and relaxed

Just doing those things will take all of your mental energy and focus so don't worry about anything else. You'll get it eventually. To progress faster:
*Take a lesson
*Ride more
*Ride with friends who are better
*Ride slightly steeper terrain to really get the hang of it

Guaranteed your problems are 99% technique and not caused by inappropriate gear at this point. And don't put more weight on your back foot, that's insanity.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Too much weight on your back leg when toe side will spin you regular.


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## Funks (Dec 28, 2015)

Cbradionyc said:


> Also, I cannot stop from spinning to switch. What am I doing, where am I applying too much pressure? I’ve also read and seen too many diff tutorials on toeside turns. Am I leaning towards the tail slightly while at the same time applying pressure to front toes?


You are probably back seating it (putting the weight on the back slightly) so the board want's to swing around. Keep the weight on the front (about 55/45) - only time you should try backseating is on powder.

As for which foot goes in the rear, I learned to keep my "kicking" foot on the rear, as I have much better control with it to steer the board if need be.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

neni said:


> Omg, this made me laugh. Your vid indeed pops up second place if using "creepy basement snowboard" as searchwords on YT :laugh:
> 
> OP: it's really worth to watch. Just brace yourself. It _is_ bit creepy, but the info is solid


for the love of god! your post made me search on you tube just out of curiosity, the video is the number 1 search return for that search phrase. The problem is that it started to autoplay and I had to be subjected to his pelvic thrusting again... #metoo


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## MikeD_Yall (Dec 30, 2018)

I see this all the time while instructing. My last student tonight was actually having this exact problem. If you are spinning it’s because your weight isn’t over your downhill foot. Spinning happens when your weight is too centered. Not having one’s weight (about 60%) forward. Make sure your shoulder, hip, knee and boot are stacked directly over each other. Make sure your front knee is bent. Butt down, back straight. Once you get your weight properly distributed forward you’ll progress super quickly!


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## Jcb890 (Dec 12, 2014)

Simple answer, but harder to do - you're not committing to the edge and turn and putting enough weight forward.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Jcb890 said:


> Simple answer, but harder to do - you're not committing to the edge and turn and putting enough weight forward.


Yes I totally agree with this, but something as simple as having your weight on your front foot and then applying heel pressure can make your back foot slide out because you're only applying pressure to your front foot. The general advice to "get out of the backseat and on to your front foot" isn't helping if the rider can't commit to the entire edge.

The backseat is a problem when initiating turns, but after that initiation it's not as simple as staying on your front foot. Naturally, if you traverse and just fall into the backseat and don't apply any pressure to your edges you will also slide out, but I seriously think people who get into the backseat have more issues with initiating turns than sliding out.


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## Jcb890 (Dec 12, 2014)

Snowdaddy said:


> Yes I totally agree with this, but something as simple as having your weight on your front foot and then applying heel pressure can make your back foot slide out because you're only applying pressure to your front foot. The general advice to "get out of the backseat and on to your front foot" isn't helping if the rider can't commit to the entire edge.
> 
> The backseat is a problem when initiating turns, but after that initiation it's not as simple as staying on your front foot. Naturally, if you traverse and just fall into the backseat and don't apply any pressure to your edges you will also slide out, but I seriously think people who get into the backseat have more issues with initiating turns than sliding out.


Right, that's why I made the comment that I did. I would guess that 80+% of issues like this are due to not committing to the turn and not committing to the entire edge like you mentioned. I was simply guessing that this is her problem. Especially if she's basically spinning/turning switch, that tells me the turn isn't being initiated enough to slide out the back-end while in the turn/on the edge, but most likely is happening right away and happening instead of digging that edge in and driving the board.

Simpler to diagnose than to correct though for sure.


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