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Snowboarding Course - Linking Turns
Linking Turns is the final step in our beginner course where you combine all you have learned. At this point, you should be comfortable with traversing and performing Garlands. You also need to get used to rising to a straight position and going down to a bent position while traversing. You can do this by practicing how to rise and fall on a flat surface, and then use the same motion while traversing on both edges and maintaining your speed.
What are you going to learn?
Linking Turns is a sequence of traversing, changing edge, and traversing again. Once you are able to link turns, you can consider yourself a 'real snowboarder' and you will look like one too!Getting Started
Heelside Turn
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STEP 1: Start by traversing in the same way you learned while doing Garlands. Turn your head and torso to face the direction where you want to travel. Keep your knees bent and your center of gravity low. Only try your first turn when you are comfortable with traversing. |
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STEP 2: Start your first turn by shifting your weight forward to point the board downhill. You will accelerate as your board points towards the fall line. At this point, you can always abort your turn by shifting your weight backwards slightly and pushing your board up from the fall line using your rear leg, bringing you back to a heelside traverse. |
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STEP 3: Halfway in your turn, your board will be pointing straight down and you need to pivot the board from heelside to toeside. Twist your foot to turn the board across the fall line and push the board through the turn using your rear foot. Extend your legs and shift your weight upward as you cross the fall line. Make sure to switch from heelside to toeside swiftly. Without an edge, you will continue to pick up speed and you will likely fall. |
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STEP 4: Complete your turn by twisting your front foot further and pushing your board away from the fall line using your rear foot. Turn your head and torso in the direction of your turn. At the end of the turn, you should be comfortably traversing on your toe edge. You have completed your toe-side turn! |
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STEP 5:You have now completed your heelside turn and you are traversing back on your toeside. |
Toeside Turn
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STEP 1: This is like the first step of the Heelside turn. Start by traversing and keep your head and torso facing the direction where you want to travel. |
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STEP 2: Start your turn by shifting your weight forward to point the board downhill. You will accelerate as your board points towards the fall line. At this point, you can always abort your turn by shifting your weight backwards slightly and pushing your board up from the fall line using your rear leg, bringing you back to a toeside traverse. |
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STEP 3: Halfway in your turn, your board will be pointing straight down and you need to pivot the board from toeside to heelside. Twist your foot to turn the board across the fall line and push the board through the turn using your rear foot. Extend your legs and shift your weight upward as you cross the fall line. Make sure to switch from toeside to heelside swiftly. Without an edge, you will continue to pick up speed and you will likely fall. |
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STEP 4: Complete your turn by twisting your front foot further and pushing your board away from the fall line using your rear foot. Turn your head and torso in the direction of your turn. At the end of the turn, you should be comfortably traversing on your toe edge. You have completed your heel-side turn! |
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STEP 5: Repeat the same steps to make the heel-side turn. Linking turns to look like a 'real snowboarder' is simply completing the sequence of traversing, toe-side turning, traversing, and heel-side turning. |
Tips
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Lessons Overview
Below you can find all the lessons of our Learn Snowboarding Online Course:
| 1: | Snowboard Basics |
| 2: | Carrying your Snowboard |
| 3: | Skating |
| 4: | Switching Edges |
| 5: | Gliding |
| 6: | Moving Up the Slope |
| 7: | Sideslipping (Heelside) |
| 8: | Sideslipping (Toeside) |
| 9: | Traversing (Heelside) |
| 10: | Traversing (Toeside) |
| 11: | Falling Leaf |
| 12: | Garlands |
| 13: | Linking Turns |
Done? Try our Snowboarding Tricks section.
© 2003-2008 ABC of Snowboarding, part of MaxLifestyle International Inc. All rights reserved.
Sunday 16th September 2007 at 5:59:24 AM
There can be used the basic rotational turn as the first type of turn. This turn can be used almost in any conditions. The turn is based on the rotational mechanics of turns. That means gaining rotational movement to the body when the board is edged, and then transferring it to the board when the board is flat.
Elements of the turn are learned by garlands, so garlands are slightly modified, too.
Saturday 1st March 2008 at 5:43:04 PM
Is this the same as carving? Can you guys put together an article on how to do "dynamic carving" ? Awesome site!
Monday 1st December 2008 at 2:57:20 PM
GREAT
very much thanks for these techniques
can it done on DYNAMIC CARVING?
FRIENDLY GREETINGS, HAROLD
Saturday 20th December 2008 at 1:49:31 PM
im having still having troubles linking turns, whenever i turn on my toeside i fall. any other hints or tips?
Wednesday 24th December 2008 at 10:30:24 PM
Jenna,
It might help when you are linking from toeside to heelside, when you''re just about to turn, bend your knees a bit less and just as you''re about to commit to the turn, bend your knees again. This will take some weight off the board and allow you to turn easier. Also, think about lifting your front foot''s toes up and shifting the weight to your front heel. Take a breath and the board will turn itself for you. The whole process is gradual and subtle. Remember to relax and you''ll be just fine.
Saturday 3rd January 2009 at 11:21:52 AM
This is realy great website, it helped me a lot.
Thanks!!!!
Monday 5th January 2009 at 5:05:13 AM
I found certain movements hard until i changed to Goofy so try switching feet to see if it helps. I had a good idea what was the right choice also by borrowing my mates board which was directional and found that i was naturaly riding it backwards all the time!!!! lol
Monday 5th January 2009 at 4:03:29 PM
jenna...i had the same problem when i started riding. Try standing a little more straight up. Your legs will straighten and keep your bodies equilibrium more balanced and will help you not fall over. I also put my back hand out to balance myself. Also, dont push too hard on your toe edge, it will force your body to lean too far over.
Hope it helps.
Monday 12th January 2009 at 2:47:59 PM
As someone who has boarded only a few times and had zero instruction, just buddies that took him straight to the top of the mountain, here is my advice for linking turns for noobs...
Don''t try and turn too quickly. Imagine a seperate step between switching from toe-to-hell or vice versa, where you are going straight downhill. You have to accept that you will go kinda fast for a second, but if you come out of traverse and go downhill for just a second first (you''ll feel the speed/float picking up right away) and THEN transition to your other rail, it is easier.
At first I tried to do the whole turn at once because I was afraid of going downhill too fast. This just increased the likelihood that my timing was off and I''d catch a rail and eat it.
In other words, not being afraid to go downhill fast for a second makes turning much easier.
good luck!
Good
Saturday 24th January 2009 at 5:02:21 AM
Thanks for the tip, BMac. It's been 2 years since I went riding and I've been having issues trying to do turns without falling. I read your advice and realized I was freaked out about going too fast and you're right, that's what was making me lose control. When I relaxed and just let myself go a little faster knowing I could control it later, I had no problems making the turns! Thanks!
Sunday 25th January 2009 at 7:04:57 PM
This is my second year riding, and I'm having trouble tightening up my turns. Any advise?
Wednesday 28th January 2009 at 3:25:47 PM
ok so i read this about 5 days before i actually went snowboardinq and it helped alot i was way better then my gf whose been snowboarding like 6 times and i made a 20$ bet with her brother and her that i would kick there ass at snowboarding and yea im 40$ richer lol thanks for the helpp
Thursday 26th February 2009 at 1:55:42 AM
BMac, it was a very good point. sometimes i dont have problems to turn on the "blind side" (toeside turn) sometimes i have - now i have the idea what to focus on.
Sunday 1st March 2009 at 12:41:45 AM
Good points, BMac. Also, I would recommend using your lead foot to initiate the turn and get your board sliding before engaging the back foot to carve. I had the same problem with my toeside - too much speed - until I stopped leaning my shoulders out past my board and instead use my hips to control my direction. This makes turns much tighter and smoother.
Wednesday 1st April 2009 at 7:53:27 AM
Thank you very much for this On-line Tutorial! I hope it will help me next week...
Last year I took a 3 day course but at the end I didnt have the confidence to do the curves and this is still my BIG problem!
Monday 6th April 2009 at 4:01:17 AM
i have been snowboarding for nearly a month now and i can already link turns. i think it''s pretty easy, thanks for the tips, Jack.
Tuesday 7th April 2009 at 8:29:03 AM
Lots of useful advices are mentioned here. Just to add something else that helped me a lot was not to look at my board, look where i wanna go and visioning my body movement just before the turn...
Also found it easier turning from toe side to heel side. So i used to stop at the side of the piste, start traversing toe side and then turn heel side to a stop...again and again...
Most important, look where you wanna go, I was told this again and again from my friends, it is hard not to look at your board when you are a beginner but try it, it helps so much...it makes you move your body the right way without realizing...
Friday 7th August 2009 at 9:59:10 PM
I think you have to be careful who teaches you. I went boarding with my bf and he didnt tell me how to get off the skil lift properly and i fell and hurt my hip really badly. I have trouble turning toeside when hes around he shouts "always keep an edge turn with your backfoot more backfoot!" but i think hes telling me wrong because i end up switching from regular to goofy or stopping toeside. Is this from too much pressure on the backfoot? though its necesary to keep an edge u do need to have the board surface flat on the snow sometimes right? I find i enjoy myself and get down the slope much better when hes not around..
Monday 30th November 2009 at 11:37:31 PM
i think a key for switching edges is to really whip the back end around to catch an edge quick, as long as your body movement is in sync, this should help in controlling it, even if it slows you down a lot, gradually you can have it not so much as a brake
Sunday 20th December 2009 at 10:22:14 AM
My problem is transitioning from toeside to heelside. My heelside turns are stronger but when going from toeside to heelside i catch the edge and eat it. Any suggestions?
Tuesday 22nd December 2009 at 3:46:48 PM
Lol Erin, I''ve got the exact same issue, poor left ass cheek, gets it everytime...
Tuesday 22nd December 2009 at 6:16:28 PM
Erin, that''s exactly what happens to me
Monday 28th December 2009 at 12:50:13 AM
Awesome site, I couldn''t believe how poor the video tutorials were on Youtube and needed a real alternative. Absolutely killer, you guys should add more tutorials (carving maybe?) and some videos of all of these techniques!
Sunday 3rd January 2010 at 2:43:57 PM
Thanks to the guys that have put together this wonderful page!
Several additional points for making turns easier:
-1) Use helmet, but-protector, snowboard gloves with plastic enforcement. One of the things You''ll need to learn is how to fall, no matter how good You are in sports.
0) Doing curves is when You change the pressure from toes-to-heel or vice-versa. NEVER change the pressure toes-to-heel or heels-to-toes with the two legs simultaneously - You''d fall immediately.
1) When sliding on toes, start the curve with your leading leg - change the pressure from toes to heel. Like BMac advised earlier slide for a moment parallel to the fall line. Then engage the back leg pushing on the heel. During the curve the board is twisted. Bend your knees. Keep your chest in the middle of the board, as straight and relaxed as possible. Do not rotate your arms and shoulders much.
2) When sliding on heels, start the transition from heels to toes, on your front leg, twist the board and when it is parallel to the fall line, engage the back leg on toes. It is essential for beginners to rise their chest and push their hips forward, when finishing the curve (banana shape). When sliding on toes try to look higher on the slope instead into your legs.
3) Keep the weight during turns primarily on your leading leg. This will make maneuvering with your back leg easier and You''ll gain some stability
4) When starting with snowboard try with a bit smaller-than-needed one. Usually the board needs to reach your chin, but taking curves with a board like that is not an easy thing to learn.
5) Start with a as softest as possible board. The better You get, the stiffer the board will need to be, but twisting a stiff board as a beginner will make You hate the sport.
6) When tightening your bindings, always start with the one, that covers your heel. It will bring your foot as back as possible. Then do the toe binding.
7) Selecting the leading leg starts to be significant when You start with the curves. Practical way of knowing which is your leading leg is if somebody pushes You from the back - the leg that You step forward to keep balance is your leading leg. Most of the people are using the left leg. When using the left leg, the injuries You get on your right shoulder are milder, so if You write with your right hand, this may be good for You.
8) After several days of successful curves - try a change of the feet position - Goofy, Duck, Regular. You may have selected the style that is wrong for You.
Hope this helps. If You have questions, suggestions or objections - please contact me vie Skype: strannotia
Sunday 3rd January 2010 at 7:24:01 PM
Is it easier for the beginner to learn to turn on a stiffer or flexible board? (Does the stiffer board go faster and therefore perhaps not ideal for control for the beginner?)
Tuesday 19th January 2010 at 7:18:03 AM
John: beginner should use short, flexible board.
Longer and stiffer boards are faster and require more effort from the legs to turn (which makes it especially hard if you don''t have good technique). Long boards also have less control but more stability compared with shorter boards.
Friday 29th January 2010 at 10:18:08 AM
Showboar baslangici ve gelisimi için görsel çalismlar mükemmel.
Tuesday 9th February 2010 at 10:38:45 AM
I''m in my second season of snowboarding and this site helped a lot last year. I want to add a really important point: get to know your gear. For the longest time I was having a lot of trouble finding my toe edge after transitioning from a heel turn. I felt like I had to stand up on my toes and lean forward like Pee Wee Herman doing that big shoe dance.
I started really looking at my boots and realized I could tighten them way more than I had been.
I then realized I could tighten both straps on my bindings much tighter (though it was hard work)
Then I dug out the instructions that had come with my bindings and realized there were lots of ways to make them easier to tighten
There I also saw that there was an adjuster on the heel plate to increase the "lean-forward". All the tweaks I''d made had helped a lot but I remembered to change this on the slope one day and next thing I know I was carving that mountain up.
The other huge help was my (very good snowboader) girlfriend started watching me and saying "quit looking at your board". I didn''t realize I was - and actually argued with her. Then I finally caught myself. The next time I forced myself to look up ahead of me, down the mountain, and do a toe turn. It worked like a charm.
Last thing I''ll add. It''s so much easier to learn this stuff when the snow is soft. Hard falls make you scared to commit to turns etc. Take it easy if you''re starting out and riding on crusty snow. But when some fresh/soft stuff comes, you better skip lunch and put in a full, long day!
Saturday 13th February 2010 at 12:37:13 AM
All Musky said about tightening your boots and bindings is absolutely true, and I had the same experience. Don''t mind spending an extra minute on getting those right.
The heel-to-toe transition is the most complicated for most people. Use a wide trail and start at slow motion, i.e., use what you know about traversing to come to almost a full stop before you begin the turn. Then: (1) To begin the turn, bend your front knee and shift your body weight slightly forward. (2) When pointing down the hill, look to the side where you want to turn (not down), and use the balls under your toes to put pressure on the board that will make it start to turn on the toe edge. (3) At that point, you''ll feel traversing at high speed and might be afraid to run out of space (that''s why a wide track), but at that moment you can kick in your rear leg as much as you can (always on toe edge) to slow down or even stop. Eventually, you''ll get more control of each of these steps.
To me, the most complicated was realizing that I needed the board to turn a bit using my toes before my rear leg could be used to gain full control (i.e., reduce speed as needed), which is what ultimately gives you the confidence to link turns without stopping.
Sunday 14th February 2010 at 1:46:52 PM
Well this is pretty helpful. I''m 19 and I went snowboarding for the first time yesturday, so I went on the small rope pull hill. I felt like a giant monster terrorizing all these little kids with my inability to control my direction/speed. Thankfully my ass didn''t hit anyone but the snow.
Friday 19th February 2010 at 9:42:57 PM
This site has been very helpful to me. I''m 39 and learning to snowboard. I love it. My children are taking to it much quicker than me. I''m being way cautious and trying not to go too quick, as the falls are painful for days afterward. i''ve decided to get some padded gear, then I think I could commit to turns without the fear of falling so much... anyone have suggestions on padding? tailbone is hating it!
Thanks
Sunday 21st February 2010 at 3:49:12 AM
I am going snowboarding for the first time tomorrow. I used to ski but haven''t done so in about 5 years. I have found this site and its step by step procedures and animations to be very informative. However I wish to gain as much knowledge as I can before trying. Is there anymore advice to be given to a noob.
Thursday 25th February 2010 at 1:15:01 PM
appreciate all the comments... my wife and I (both noobs) are going snowboarding today.
Thursday 25th February 2010 at 4:19:43 PM
thax for great tips
Friday 26th February 2010 at 8:10:22 AM
Went snowboarding for the first time...wife and I had a private lesson. Cudos to this site... I know all the language that the instructor was using and halfway through the lesson was way ahead...traversing down on my own. Boarding rocks!
Sunday 28th February 2010 at 5:10:55 AM
Such great advice. I went for my first trip 2 years ago and read this site before then. I did better than most in ski school, and about half way through my second day I finally had a little confidence(only did a 1/2 day of school the first day). My 3rd day I was doing back to back 3-4 mile runs with only an occasional fall.
I''m leaving in a few days for my second trip and needed a refresher. PERFECT!
The biggest piece of advice like others mentioned is starting the turn with your forward foot, then once you are straight down bring in the back foot pressure. Otherwise prepare to eat snow!
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 at 6:03:19 AM
I''m starting snowboarding at 43. I''ve been to the snowdome twice and am off to a mountain in France in a few weeks. The best advice I can give for making turns is to believe in the board. The shape of the board is what makes it turn when you apply pressure to the heel or toe edges. I was always afraid the board wouldn''t turn in time and so would bail out and hit the deck but I eventually worked out that if you dig you edge in, the board will turn. Just stay upright and keep your balance. And look where you want to go, not at the board.
Sunday 7th March 2010 at 5:37:42 PM
Hi, Ive been boarding for about 2 months now. First of all it''s nice to hear my concerns are shared by so many. Although I''m no expert, one piece of advise I would give to anyone is to be confident. I''ve had 2 full day lessons now and everything was going well until I got off the nursery slope and up to the top of the main slope!! I found myself leaning back on my board for fear of going too fast (which made me go faster). And could no longer turn heel to toe without falling or catching my back edge and going down hill upside down and on my back......
Confidence is everything, I was and am still concious of other people being better than me and laughing at my attempts, but it''s all in my head!!!
If your not confident, your anxious which stiffens your body up and you revert to panic mode and let your body do what it shouldn''t (like leaning back on your board and picking up too much speed). So just chill!
One more thing that I haven''t seen anyone mention yet (sorry if u have), is to lean into your front foot. I ride goofy so that''s my right foot. Leaning into your front foot allows you to have more control as your front foot basically steers the board. You WONT go faster by doing so although by leaning down slope you would assume you would. And if your not feeling confident then you''ll find it difficult to pluck the courage up to lean as much as you can into your front foot.......
Hope some of that helps
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