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Use those ankles.
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As fall approaches, it's hard not to be a little excited about winter. Snowboarding only a few months away. With that in mind, let's start getting ready!
When snowboarding there three important things to remember: look where you are going, bend your knees, and use your ankles. That's pretty much it. Everything else is just icing on an already delicious cake.
So how do you use those ankles? Well, you use them to change the angle of the board on the snow. When you are boarding, you are basically using your ankles to balance on your feet. Whether you are doing a heel-side turn or a toe-side. Confused?
OK- time for class participation...
- Stand with your knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart. Now look to your left ( or right if you are goofy). That should be your 'normal' stance for riding a snowboard.
- Now lift your heels (not a lot) and put pressure on the balls of your feet. Keep your knees bent! That's how you make your toe-side turn.
- Next, gently lift your toes and place pressure on your heels. KEEP YOUR KNEES BENT- that's how you maintain your balance. If your legs are straight, you'll fall right over. Try it if you don't believe me. We'll wait. Back to balancing on your heels- this is your heel-side turn.
When you get out onto the snow, do this:
- Go out to the beginner hill. Point your board down the hill (you should already be strapped in) and ride it a few feet on the flat surface. Your wait should even distributed and no edging going on.
- Now do what we did above- either on your toes or heels. Just lift one part of the foot and put pressure on the opposite end. Just maintain that stance as you turn. You can adjust the pressure a little, but once you are turning hold it steady.
- You should, if you are keeping the angles and pressure steady, make a long wide turn and come to a stop a some point.
- Once stopped, look back at the track you made in the snow. It should be perfectly carved (not skidded).
What do we learn from this? Using your ankles helps you turn. More importantly, you don't need huge body movements to turn. Just slight changes to the ankles.
OK there's more to it than that, but it's a start.
