Snowboarding, linking turns help!?

Question

well ive done all my lessons and i took my first recreational session at xscape yesterday, nad ive realised that ive got into the habbit of switch riding rather then linking my turns so has anyone got any tips on how to carve and link my turns rather then me switch riding all the time, i really want to get the hang of it so i can start freestyle soon so any help is really appricated, i could go do another level 4 but id prefer to get out of the habbit myself.

Answer 1

alot of people who have trouble on their turns don't get the edge transition right (switching from one edge to the other). It sounds alot harder than it actually is. You have to look where you want to go and then lean into your turn and kinda push your tail downhill with your back foot. Your back leg is either going to be applying pressure with the balls of your feet (toeside turn) or your heel (heelside turn). That back leg pressure is important because without it you'll just lean until the point where you fall down. The lean is really important because without the lean you'll just catch your downhill edge and fall too. At first just try to go in a straight line and work on wide sweeping turns (those are mostly leaning) to get the hang of transitioning to your uphill edge and getting your lean on. Then you can tighten em up with more backleg pressure.

Answer 2

mate soo ur goofie...same to link turns just look where u want to go and ur body will follow or put ur forward faceing hand forward and point were u want to go then ur body will follow and please dont look at the ground or ur feet :)

Answer 3

Mr. Mack's answer is the perfect reason why you need to be careful who you take advice from on the Internet... please do not get in the habit of pushing around the back foot like he suggests.  While lots of people ride this way, it is no way to get performance out of your board and certainly no way to prepare yourself for freestyle.

To link turns effectively, you need to put extra weight on your front foot as soon as your last turn is completed.  This will make the board point downhill again so you can get into your new turn.   Use your upper body to finish the turn.  If you still have trouble consider some more lessons with a certified instructor.

Answer 4

an easy way to 'figure it out on your own' is to go out after it just snowed a lot (so you dont get hurt), and head down run that is chalenging to you. Force yourself to swith between heal and toe edge,

when you feal comftrable, try to do it faster.

I have found lessons to be a waste, everyone ends up finding their own style anyways.