Heelside and balance

[cjhoffmn]

I'm still working on solidly getting regular carves on my route to extreme carving. I've just gotten my first carving board, and need some help with my heelsides.

I was reading about boarding somewhere, I'm not sure where, and in a section about drills when not on the mountain there was a discussion about booting in and simply going on edge and balancing trying to stay in proper form. So of course, when I got a moment, I clicked in and played around with this in the living room with two chairs for balance just in case.

I could get on edge toeside pretty well and although I was angulated, I'd get a pretty good edge angle. No matter how hard I tried though, I could only get pathetic angles on the heelside. I followed the best advice I've heard and read here, but simply couldn't get the board on decent edge without drastically leaning in, which of course meant there was no balancing to be had.

This sort of mimics my runs on the hill. Toesides strong, heelsides weaker, and given the pathetic edge angle I was getting in the living room, I can't figure this out. I was at 55/50 with just minor forward lean in front boot and one level more with the back. I was canted 0 degrees and my stance was 51cm wide. (I'm 6'2" or 188 cm tall)

I tried to grab the front boot toe and found that I could only do it by leaning forward. I felt "blocked out" from lowering my rear end to get lower without leaning. I could make the "pinch" in my right hip and felt that I was keeping the shoulders in the correct alignment.

Then again, its possible that the leaning to the center was correct, and that without motion, its almost impossible to balance with decent edge angles on the heelside. Anyone ever try this?

Thanks for any comments

[cjhoffmn]

During the same tests, I also noticed that when I twisted my torso toward the nose of the board ala the great "face forward or face your bindings" debate, It put a great deal of twisting force on the board.

I could clearly feel the tension that I was putting on the board to twist so that the tail would slide out. This is precisely the feeling I get trying to get my heelsides on the slopes in that the board slides out before I even get the chance to get on edge.

Even when I made sure to get my shoulders even, with no edging whatsoever, the board wanted to twist. The only way I could prevent this was to twist only my upper body, leaving the hips where they were.

I could of course easliy keep this tension out by assuming the extreme carving stance. Is this a known benefit of the EC stance, or am I doing something else wrong when I'm trying to face forward?

Thanks for any help.

[rcrobar]

Hi CJ

Tough question, best I can do is offer a suggestion.

I had a similar problem with my heel side, maybe my fix will work for you?

The EC settings recommends that the bindings be centered on the effective effective edge of the board, this meant moving my bindings forward in my case.

Having the bindings forward often equals a quick turn initiation, but may result in less edge hold. Setting the bindings back can make the a board slower turn initiate a turn, but may give better edge hold.

With my board, in more forgiving conditions, the centered set up worked great. In less forgiving conditions my tail kept siding out, only on the heel side. I’m pretty sure the board I generally use is designed to have the bindings set back a few cms.

So ... I moved my bindings back 2cm from the center and the tail skid was gone.

Maybe moving the bindings around, looking for the sweet spot, is worth a try ... as it sounds like you have worked hard on the body mechanics.

Hope this helps

Rob

Can’t wait to try the Swoard that has been designed to have the bindings placed in the center of the effective edge.

[Eddie Risser]

When I was hitting alot of problems with my healside edge I spent hours comparing myself to photos of Patrice or Jacques or all sorts of other pictures. Get on your board in your house again and visualize yourself doing the turn. Drop down to what feels about right to you and then look into a mirror to see what you look like. Remember that and then compare your stance to somebody elses in a picture. Try not to mimic Patrice or Jacques yet because a higher stance can also be less stable, start out low until you know the feeling of driving the edge with stability. If you want to see pictures of the whole process of performing a turn check out carvingmachine.com. It is not in English but you will want to go to the photo section, click on to 2002-2003 album and then on the button that says 2002. 12. 29YUNO. There is two photos that were put together that shows the two complete turns (heal and toe). Just start with what feels comfortable and slowly adjust you stance to what Patrice and Jacques recomend. Visualize yourself doing it, keep confidence in yourself and set your goals. It will happen!

Good luck

Eddie

[cjhoffmn]

Eddie:
Thanks for that reply! The mirror idea is a good one, however, I don't have a mirror that is anywhere near where I can setup on my board. I'm thinking of using my digital recorder to tape me a little and then review that...
The pictures you referenced are awesome. Seeing the whole sequence like that is really great! I hope J&P get a chance to make photos like that, it would be great for explaining technique.
I will definitely review those photos and try to compare my positions so get a better understanding of what my body position actually is.
Thanks again.