weighting on front side turns

[Bradley Elfman]

I use my front heel for back side turns, which seems right, but not sure about front side turns. I think I am still using my front foot for front side turns, which works sometimes, but often I am throwing myself off my board on front side turns, and find I have trouble consistently getting enough edge on my turns, that is, I don't get enough lean on the board edge on frontside turns, resulting in what I could call half-hearted turns.

I am also having difficulty in deciding at what angle to enter the first gate/first cone: when I don't get this part right, I have to work hard to recover in a way that early cones don't get knocked over.

[Tod Oles]

Brad,

I'm not an engineer by any stretch....I do know however that relocating the axle line back onto
the pivot angle (streering angle) of the truck makes the truck's reaction to your inputs more
linear...."Offsetting" takes the rising rate steering ratio out of the geometry... It is kind of hard to explain in layman's terms

As for your front side turns,

I've been inclined to practice running a simple course standing
only on my front foot, It helps me find that sweet spot where your
weight seems balanced toe side and heel side and front to rear. This is hard to do if your stance is to surfy like....

For me, the more I can make the board "feel" like I'm wearing a roller skate boot
on my left foot, the more accurately I skate, and I just use my rear toe for fore and aft balance and to drive the back of the deck in reaction to my upper body leading the way....



Hopefully a few others will post with some more similes and image inducing prose that will mean something to you....

[Bradley Elfman]

Tod,

It sounds like you are saying you use your front foot for both backside and frontside turns and that there is a sweet spot for the front foot where I can feel balanced toeside to backside, and that I need to find that spot.

Not clear on what ..."using rear toe for ... to drive the back of the deck in reaction to my upper body leading the way...." means.

And I am still not clear about what "surfy stance" means. I have seen this in so many posts. I know what a surf stance is on a surf board, but not sure what this implies for a skateboard not to have a surfy stance. Does this mean the front foot is more sideways and what about the direction of the back foot, and do you always stay on the balls of your rear foot?

Today, like most days, some runs go ok, but then I find either early on in the first few cones or as I pick up speed, I am leaning off the board coming out of a frontside turn. I start ok, knees bent as Jonathan suggested, and keeping my upper body from moving, but somewhere my stance or pump gets me off balance front side.

[Tod Oles]

Brad,

Yes...surf stance on a skateboard is the same as on a surfboard....

I do feel as though I use my front foot for controlling most of my style of skating...and yes, my front foot does point more forward. This is why it's important for me to find that sweet spot of balance as an angled foot has less leverage on the edges of the deck.

I was an avid weekend warrior type slalom snow skier when I was younger and in having that background It's kinda like I made just enough changes of style and stance to accommodate a skateboard being under foot rather than two independent planks of wood...
(Yes I'm old enough to remember wood skis..... ) anyway, after having tried surf stance and now the style I use, (I guess it's discribed as "raised heel") This style keeps the shoulders more square to the fall line of the hill (like skiing) and just seems more natural to me for going left and right through a slalom course. Also, I have size 11 shoes, so this style has advantages in less cones being hit too.

You asked,
"Not clear on what ..."using rear toe for ... to drive the back of the deck in reaction to my upper body leading the way...." means.

It means that, the ball of my rear foot is the point at which most of the energy gets transmitted to the rear wheels from the action of pumping the board forward.


You most likely are, but if you're not, don't be bashful about experimenting..... a lot!!!!!!! with both technique and gear.....you know........the old blind squirrel finding a nut every now and again senario....

Keep at it......that's half the fun!

Tod

[Bradley Elfman]

Tod,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions.


"practice smarter not harder" - TO