10/01: Minor milestones
Category: Skiing/Boarding
Posted by: ajmilne
Managed several very modest air to fakies this weekend. And started taking the medium kickers in switch.
The former was a fairly natural progression. I’d been working on my switch endlessly, and after I was satisfied I could even handle blacks (if still a little awkwardly) doing it, I got to working on switching back and forth fast repetitively again. Ride regular a few turns, switch fast, ride switch a few turns, switch fast, repeat. It wasn’t entirely planned, but thing is, my left arch has been tiring out after long rides in switch, and I figured this way I could work the muscles in a little more gradually, and work a bit on the transition to switch.
Which, while fluid enough, hasn’t been the same as the transition out. While my kick back around to regular has long been a really quick little twist and I’m there, the kick into switch had been more involved until now, dragging it out a bit on the heel edge—really just elongating a heel turn slightly.
This weekend, with all that practice, first I got that down to where I was really just pivoting that way, too, as I had been in going back to regular—executing it in one quick, almost aerial snap onto the toe edge in switch. A major part of the trick, tho’ I suspect my body has learned by doing a lot of stuff I’m not sure I can actually so much describe in writing, is just getting the forward foot to start thinking of itself as the steering foot fast, like even before the board is coming around.
It’s still not quite as snappy as the other way ‘round—going to regular. But it’s fast enough I got to thinking after doing it a while, hell, what’s the difference between doing this on the ground and doing it after a little hop?
Answer: there’s a difference. Fell on my butt once or twice trying, made a note again to add some armour ‘round there, just maybe. But it’s doable. Tho’ I’ve been doing sorta half-assed and occasionally mostly lucky versions of that hop a while now, I finally got to the point where I could fairly reliably get the board really all the way into switch before landing, rather than just, y’know, mostly there, landing on the heel on the way ‘round.
The other odd advantage of doing that fast repetitive in and outta switch thing: now that I’m riding switch fast and aggressively enough, it allowed me to compare a bit more immediately with how I ride regular. Played with trying to make the turn shapes the same both ways, with hitting a grade in regular, than challenging myself to flick the feet around, do it in switch the same way, try to get the feel and rhythm of it as much the same as I could manage.
About that tiring arch, yeah, well, I have rather large, long, high ones. Like size 13, enough room under there to park a few cars. And as mentioned, my boots are dying. Time to replace, I know. On the to do list.
About doing kickers in switch: yeah, that’s a bit nastier. Haven’t taken any injuries yet, and was landing ‘em mostly cleanly (as in: it probably didn’t look real pretty, but nothing hit the ground but the board) some three outta four times. As to that fourth outta four: that was mostly just planting a few hands coming down.
And just as with learning it in regular, it feels like the kickers have been good for my form in general. Darwinian sorta principle. You will get your stance and balance right on takeoff and landing, or this is gonna hurt. Aerials are fun ‘n all, but they do have that practical side, too.
Anyway. Onto some 180s off kickers. Soon now. Really.
The former was a fairly natural progression. I’d been working on my switch endlessly, and after I was satisfied I could even handle blacks (if still a little awkwardly) doing it, I got to working on switching back and forth fast repetitively again. Ride regular a few turns, switch fast, ride switch a few turns, switch fast, repeat. It wasn’t entirely planned, but thing is, my left arch has been tiring out after long rides in switch, and I figured this way I could work the muscles in a little more gradually, and work a bit on the transition to switch.
Which, while fluid enough, hasn’t been the same as the transition out. While my kick back around to regular has long been a really quick little twist and I’m there, the kick into switch had been more involved until now, dragging it out a bit on the heel edge—really just elongating a heel turn slightly.
This weekend, with all that practice, first I got that down to where I was really just pivoting that way, too, as I had been in going back to regular—executing it in one quick, almost aerial snap onto the toe edge in switch. A major part of the trick, tho’ I suspect my body has learned by doing a lot of stuff I’m not sure I can actually so much describe in writing, is just getting the forward foot to start thinking of itself as the steering foot fast, like even before the board is coming around.
It’s still not quite as snappy as the other way ‘round—going to regular. But it’s fast enough I got to thinking after doing it a while, hell, what’s the difference between doing this on the ground and doing it after a little hop?
Answer: there’s a difference. Fell on my butt once or twice trying, made a note again to add some armour ‘round there, just maybe. But it’s doable. Tho’ I’ve been doing sorta half-assed and occasionally mostly lucky versions of that hop a while now, I finally got to the point where I could fairly reliably get the board really all the way into switch before landing, rather than just, y’know, mostly there, landing on the heel on the way ‘round.
The other odd advantage of doing that fast repetitive in and outta switch thing: now that I’m riding switch fast and aggressively enough, it allowed me to compare a bit more immediately with how I ride regular. Played with trying to make the turn shapes the same both ways, with hitting a grade in regular, than challenging myself to flick the feet around, do it in switch the same way, try to get the feel and rhythm of it as much the same as I could manage.
About that tiring arch, yeah, well, I have rather large, long, high ones. Like size 13, enough room under there to park a few cars. And as mentioned, my boots are dying. Time to replace, I know. On the to do list.
About doing kickers in switch: yeah, that’s a bit nastier. Haven’t taken any injuries yet, and was landing ‘em mostly cleanly (as in: it probably didn’t look real pretty, but nothing hit the ground but the board) some three outta four times. As to that fourth outta four: that was mostly just planting a few hands coming down.
And just as with learning it in regular, it feels like the kickers have been good for my form in general. Darwinian sorta principle. You will get your stance and balance right on takeoff and landing, or this is gonna hurt. Aerials are fun ‘n all, but they do have that practical side, too.
Anyway. Onto some 180s off kickers. Soon now. Really.
Scott Garten wrote:
We are getting our share of the white today: expected accumulation-eleven inches. The temperature is below freezing, so it’ll be good skiiing powder. Too bad it’s wasted here.