Turning Right and Turning Left

[Harvey]

Harv curious if. Your right or left handed

Rightie. Does that make me leg rightie too?

Somehow I thought it was able years of crossing over to the left on hockey skates. Those skating sessions alway went counter-clockwise.

 

[Warp daddy]

Was always right leg oriented , made really nice left turns for decades on North COUNTRY HARDPACK , white ice or as the marketing schlock euphemistically calls FG ?

The downside : i now have a Titanium Right hip?

 

[JTG]

Depends on the turn type and terrain. I definitely favor kicking off my right leg when making a jump turn or launching for some air. For large "GS" style turns, I have better technique turning towards the left and need to give turns to the right a bit more attention to make them look and feel as good. Small turns, in the bumps, powder turns, and on variable terrain... I don't really notice any difference. Probably has something to do with where I spend the majority of my time skiing.

Exactly this. I’m a righty, and I’ve always noticed that my “right legged” turn to the left has been more confident and stable. In consequential terrain I always lead with a turn to the left. Doubt that will ever change. When carving big turns I’ve been trying to even the rails the last few years and not weight my downhill ski disproportionately. That has me engaging both feet/legs more, so “left legged” turns are catching up. However, they still require a little more attention. Bumps and snappy slalom turns at the edges there really isn’t a difference, but technique there requires a little less leg drive.

 

[Harvey]

This is a little drifty, but I am starting to focus exclusively on flexing my knees and ankles, especially in the trees.

@riverc0il taught me "Uncle Tony Knows"

Toe
Knee
Nose

Keeping vertical alignment.

What has changed for me is that all of a sudden this year I am much more down the fall line. Or more accurately I am down the fall line in a much wider variety of conditions. (Basically steeper and tighter.)

Because my NOSE is now more generally in the right spot, I feel like I can concentrate on my ankles and knees.

I'm sure Coach Z or @MC2 could still point out many issues with my form, but it does really feel like progress to me.

 

[JTG]

I’ve been focusing on toes most recently, and in relation to erasing some of the right turn/left turn differences you are talking about. It all starts at the feet. I’m trying to get away from driving my edges (with knees and leg strength) and more towards getting the skis on edge with a more subtle tip of the feet. Like properly drinking tea, think lift the pinky. Lifting the pinky toe (on the eventual down hill ski) will engage the edge, and then once engage you can add knees and legs to drive through the turn.

It seems to be helping with evening out the rails. Nothing I like seeing on the canvas more than an even set of uninterrupted arcing rails down a steep face. They aren’t from me, but I still love seeing them.

 

[MarzNC]

Rightie. Does that make me leg rightie too?

Somehow I thought it was able years of crossing over to the left on hockey skates. Those skating sessions alway went counter-clockwise.

If a ball is rolling towards you, and you want to kick it, which foot would you use? Put another way, which leg would you keep planted for stability?

 

[snowalrus]

This thread is a very interesting read as a snowboarder.

 

[Brownski]

This thread is a very interesting read as a snowboarder.

Oh my god. I don’t snowboard but I’ve been skiing at Mountain Creek (shudder) a lot this year. The number of snowboarders there that will turn towards their ass- side without looking over their shoulder is alarming.

 

[JTG]

This thread is a very interesting read as a snowboarder.

No right/left....but front/back? Are heel side turns harder?

 

[snowalrus]

No right/left....but front/back? Are heel side turns harder?

Yep, toe/heel. I think most snowboarders regardless of ability level favor one side slightly. Sometimes I can tell when it's time to call it a day because I start favoring my toe side turns and my heel side technique gets sloppy. Harvey's comment about favoring left over right made me think of that. I also relate to the talk about general turning mechanics as a lifelong hockey player. I genuinely do find this thread quite interesting; I wasn't meaning to poke any fun as a one-planker ?