Riding Switch

mskier01 · Criminal Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 87 City: Dorset

I tryed riding switch this morning for the first time. I did it as I have read the easier way by starting in the water and getting up switch. I have read in the trick tips about it and really think I can do it.

When I tryed this morning it was interesting to say the least! I got up and then was Very Unstable. Tryed to stay up and balance myself. Then did a HUGE faceplant.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any tricks that worked for them! Other than what is written on the tricks tips section.

P.S. I think my friend I was riding with is still laughing about my fall this morning. She said it was the funniest thing she has seen in at least a week.

wakerider361 · Newbie Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 8 City: Hutto

well getting up is the easiest part
it takes time and practice
what i do is stretch before i get on
take a little out of each set to just to mess around a little
then ride switch move back and forth a little
the faster you drive the more control you have
it feels akward at first but youll get used to it
something else you can do is learn surface 180s
edge your regular stance
then switch back and mimic that edge

motobill · Newbie Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 26

I had a similar experience last weekend, although I tried a surface 180 to get into Switch. It was my 1st faceplant.

In thinking about what I didn't do right, it seems obvious that the only way to faceplant is to catch your leading edge (whatever that may be) so in the future I need to focus on keeping my weight on my heels as I 180, and then on my back foot once in Switch. It happens without thinking when riding Regular, but clearly takes a conscious effort when first learning Switch.

Good luck to both of us!

Nooga678 · Posted: Jul 20, 2006 11:17 am Post subject:

I just started to wakeboard this summer, and went ahead and learned (or still learning) switch before I got to good regular and wouldn't want to dedicate the time to it. It was funny because it felt akward, but having just learned to wakeboard it was the same akwardness when first getting up regular stance. The biggest thing that helped me was remembering to keep more wait on my back foot. I kept wanting to weight my front foot, becuase it is used to being in the back. I still suck at my toeside edge when riding switch.

wakehopper · Criminal Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 66 City: louisville

let go fo the handle with your back hand. That will keep you from pulling hard with your back hand, which spins your body to cause you to catch your toeside.

wakerider361 · Newbie Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 8 City: Hutto

Mottobill
yes i had an exact replica of that the other day
but i kinda knocked myself out
dont remember how i got on the boat
but remember to keep wieght behind you
and bend your knees
and rebalance your wieght to come around
and that was a really good idea the whole starting out riding both ways

Mskier01
dont let the faceplants make ya a little gun shy
if you fall and can get up again
do it
and do it switch
otherwise
you get scared to do it and just "never get around to it"[/b]

seaexplore · Newbie Joined: 03 Jul 2004 Posts: 40 City: Valley Springs

check out my profile to see the end results of a surface 180 and turning back. It's pretty funny. I would have posted the pic here but I can't figure out how to do it. Copy-paste doesn't seem to be working for me here.

Keep working on learning switch- When I learned to ride I tried switch first because I'm a lefty so I thought it was natural that I would learn goofy foot. Well, turns out I'm a "normal" rider and was spending too much time learning the not natural way for me to get up. BUT it did help in the long run with my balance.

motobill · Newbie Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 26

As I said previously, since I'm also trying to learn switch I've been thinking a lot about it.

It occurred to me, that as beginners our boards are set up to ride in our Normal riding position. By that I mean, we're likely using our rear-most binding insert locations when riding Normal, such that when we Switch our weight shifts over the front of the board (recipe for disaster, especially since this is not our confortable balance).

I'm gonna move my bindings FORWARD (in my Normal riding position) so that when I Switch my weight is shifted to the tail. This may sound confusing, but it makes perfect sense when you think about it.

mskier01 · Criminal Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 87 City: Dorset

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I am determined to Learn it so if I have to fall on my ass 100 times I WILL get it!

criswb · Soul Rider Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 310 City: Guayaquil

motobill, so you're bindings are not going to be centered??

motobill · Newbie Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 26

Blindside_137 · Posted: Jul 21, 2006 3:25 pm Post subject:

seaexplore, all you need to do is save the picture. Click "post reply" on the forums-Then scroll down to the attachment area-Click Browse-Find the picture, click on it, and then click open-then click the add attachment button.

BTW, it does look like it was pretty painful.

Shifting the bindings might be a good idea but practice, practice, practice... And you'll get it.

simland · Posted: Jul 21, 2006 5:19 pm Post subject:

I would suggest making you stance "duck" meaning that both feet are equadistant from the center of the board and the toes of each boot are pointed slightly to the outside so...

{ \ / }

This allows you to ride switch or normal the same without a dominant direction. Will make your life easier and allow you to progess evenly. The trick is to just keep at it. When off the water ride a skateboard or snowboard switch to get used to edging both ways.

One of the biggest problems people have at first is the bad habit of not bending both knees evenly when riding normal and they carry that bad habit over to switch. This results in lots of weight on the front of the board and will make the board want to turn itself around resulting in a face plant. Try distributing the weight evenly.

panhead · Outlaw Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 109 City: Youngstown

One of the things I see when people are learning to ride switch, is they think they are riding backwards. Don't look back let go with the back hand, get your shoulders parallel to the board and just coast for a little while. When I was working on switch I practiced a little dryland, you do not need to strap in or even stand on a board just tie a rope to something then grab the handle and stand switch try to mimic riding this way, it may not help with edging but you really don't need to worry about edging until you get your body postion right, plus if you fall it doesn't hurt and you have more issues than switch riding Very Happy

. If you can do it in front of a mirror it will make it earier to see your posture and position.

Do not load your board up front by moving your bindings, to make it easier to ride switch, like simland, said center your bindings and duck the same front to back, you acutally do not want to be try weight your back foot riding either switch or regular, even balance is key to progressing. If you are serious about learning to ride switch get your body down then worry about working the edges.

I had a great advantage in learning to ride switch with a large skate/snowboarding background. It is still a different feel because when you have to grab something you can't just stand sideways this is why when you take it to the water let go with the back hand.

Good luck and have fun.

Ari · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 2

Great action shot!
One thing that helps me if the board feels unstable switch, (Usually if I'm caught on the inside and the driver is making an early turn around on the small ass lake we ride at), Is I try to point my 'forward' buttcheeck toward the boat. That might sound wierd, but it drops the back foot into place and stabalizes things right out.