Toe Side SOS

[galaxyrodeo]

So I just started riding and I can control myself very well going down the mountain heel side and doing that falling leaf bit but am having the hardest time going toe side at all.

Any suggestions?:confused:

[rackul]

just practice. go at least twice a week and don't let yourself quit. soon you'll be hitting jumps. also helps if you go with someone who's better than you so they can push you. get a higher end board- more control. you can't rush these things. have a beer at the lodge bar before you go.

[Chelly]

^ That's inspiring, but it doesn't really give her any tips to help her out. SO here we go!

All right, I was the opposite of you. I couldn't heel turn for **** for a while, but I know quite a few people who have trouble with toe sides, too. I think the reason why I got toesides so naturally was because I'm used to putting pressure on the balls of my feet, and felt better slipping out on my stomach than on my back/butt haha.

Any way, the BIGGEST PROBLEM I see with people who can't toeside is that they get up on their edge, but they're leaning back and their board isn't going any where. Want to know why? Because they're pretty much just "lifting their edge off the ground", which isn't even half of it. When you do your heelsides next time, notice how you're turning them. I'm going to go ahead and assume that you're:

1. leaning forwards
2. applying pressure to the front foot and edge first, then actually doing the turn with your back foot

This is a big deal ^, both of those.

When you go in for your toeside, what you want to do is make sure that you're leaning forwards. Not .. extremely forward, but forward enough so that most of your weight is on your front foot. (I'm going to explain this goofy because that's what I am) So you're going forwards and you decide to toeside - you want to try and push the right ball of your foot in to the snow. This is going to initiate your turn, and torsionally twist your board so that you set it up for the actual turn. After your board starts turning, you're going to want to follow up with putting pressure on the left/back foot now, pushing a little harder so that you can make the turn. To stop, just push the back foot around a little harder, while pushing in your front foot's edge a little harder as well. It helps to kind of have your back arm (for me it's left) to your side right above the snow, so you should be bending your knees. As with heelsides, always look where you're going, too! Not down at your board.


So in summary you're going to need to really initiate the turn by putting pressure on your front foot FIRST, then following it up with the back foot. So don't think so much of "just getting up on that edge", but really feeling that connection between your feet and the board/edge .. and I can't stress puttin that weight on your front foot first! :P Make sure you don't have loosey goosey ankles either, because it'll make your edge hold messy, causing your board to flat base and probably catch edge.

Hope that helped a little! If you need me to re-explain anything feel free to just ask. Otherwise, it'll just click one day, trust me, haha. And when that comes it'll be the best thing ever.

[gypsygirl]

Well, Chelly just gave more explanation than I EVER could, but one bit of advice from me...

Don't get stuck in a heelside "rut." I was like that for a while. I had a friend, though, that forced me to practice falling leaf toeside so that I would feel comfortable on either edge. When I only felt comfortable riding on my heelside, I was so hesitant to turn and end up the other way that I would back out of the turn halfway through (essentially).

Once I got comfortable riding either way, THEN I learned how to connect my turns. I guess I knew how to all along, I just didn't want to end up on my toeside!

[SnoChica]

Or, as Levi would say "GET UP ON THAT TOE... TURN, TURN!!!"

Actually, what helped me was making sure my knees were bent. It all starts with good posture. I saw a riding lesson on TV with Travis Rice. And the first thing he said had to do with body position. You can't snowboard well/correctly unless you learn how your whole body affects the process.

Shoulders back.... knees bent... pretend your bindings are gas pedals... not in a way that if you press down you go fast. Just the movement. You want to press down with your front toes and then your back toes, your board will turn.

[Fae]

^But be sure to understand the distinction between pressing down with your front toes and acting like you're going up on tip toes, which will get you heel lift faster than you can say "suck."

You want to think about your whole foot working together like a lever off of your ankle. Your foot should stay flat against the bed of your boot. So I guess the distinction is, rather than bending your toes as you press down (as you would to go on tip toes), you need to keep your entire foot straight.

This is really hard to describe in words. Galaxy, let's hit up Hunter at the end of Feb and we can do a workshop day. :)

[SnoChica]

Which is why I think the gas pedal anology works... because when you press the gas pedal... Well, some people may do THAT wrong too I guess... but it's a whole foot motion, not the toes. :)

[Fae]

Yeah the gas pedal analogy was good, i just wanted to clarify. :)

[pixi]

Fae, Snochica and Chelly....you guys should seriously set up a Shredbetties girls camp...id pay for you to teach me!

[galaxyrodeo]

Thanks so much everybody!!

Yes, yes, and yes! I kept catching the edge (going on my tip toes as opposed to keeping my foot flat) and man are my knees purple!

yesterday discovered that I'm actually goofy, not regular, and although i wasn't able to go toe side very much, i did a tiny bit and it was much much easier. so that might help things :-)

Re: "pressure on your front foot FIRST, then following it up with the back foot" - i thought so!!

Re: "knees bent" - discovered my boots need to get broken in. they're so stiff that it makes bending the knees incredibly difficult.

will take all tips into consideration. thanks everyone for all the help. it's much appreciated!!!

oh yeah, and next weekend i'll be rocking the knee pads because i REALLY want to get toe side down!

[SnoChica]

Re: "knees bent" - discovered my boots need to get broken in. they're so stiff that it makes bending the knees incredibly difficult.


If you are able to, adjust the forward lean on your bindings some. That is, angling the highback forward. This helps some people keep their knees bent. I must warn you, the more forward lean, the more you will find you're bending your knees which can lead to sore quads!

[galaxyrodeo]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Finally got toe side this weekend and remembered all the tips (especially the changing gears one). need to practice and get the courage to go faster but finally got the concept.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[Proximate Platypus]

Sounds great...! Yeah, I'd say just go really often, and keep on trying. I know the gas pedal thing works great for some, but I found using my arms to point (slowly) in the direction I want to turn helped more with linking turns. Having your arms out also helps with balance. Once you get more confident on certain runs, you can drop your arms and use your legs to control your board... riding that way looks more controlled, too :)
once you get more advanced, too, better hard goods can make you a better/more confident rider... despite what some may think. for example, if you're into speed or freeriding, it's difficult to ride on a short/flexy board or flexy boots and bindings.. well maybe not difficult, but with stuff that's more responsive you get control and confidence, so you can go faster..