SnowWind
Technique
Everything we have written on technique.
23 articles
ArticlesWhat are the fundamentals of snowboard carving? Five elements, and stepping back a level first
Stuck carving? KAKU: step back a level. Five elements: pressure, edging, rotation, lean, angulation. Low stance hinges on angulation; touching snow is a result.
Read →Snowboard carving like squatting on a toilet? How open hips and angulation work together
Sitting back, butt out? Often, KAKU says, open hips and angulation aren't working together: hips steer, angulation stabilises; hips first. With 西西's drill.
Read →Do you need to learn duck stance first for snowboard carving? Duck vs forward stance trade-offs
KAKU's view: duck and forward stance don't rank, and neither has to come first. What each does well, what it costs, and whether JSBA exams set an angle.
Read →How do you choose a carving snowboard? Why our principal says go straight to a top-end board
Linking turns and eyeing a carving board? KAKU: beginners don't need one; later, judge stiffness, sidecut radius, effective edge; if serious, buy top-end once.
Read →Snowboard Instructor Says Never Open Your Shoulders: Is That Right? Opening the Shoulders and Counter-Rotation
Told not to open your shoulders or that counter-rotation is wrong, then told to open up? KAKU: you didn't learn it wrong. Only what fits; systems set limits.
Read →What's on the JSBA Tech Test? 西西's pre-exam notes
西西 on JSBA Tech 1 vs the Badge Test (steeper slopes, any snow, high speed, moguls), the first turn, heelside and pressure. Personal notes, not official.
Read →Toeside Carving on a Snowboard: Lock Your Ankle, Don't Kneel Into the Boot Tongue
A low knee doesn't mean the edge is up. In KAKU's view, kneeling into the tongue dumps force into tongue and shin; a locked ankle lets the body drive the edge.
Read →Heelside carve stalling or chattering on a snowboard? First check where you are looking
Heelside trouble often means your eyes turned late or didn't stay on the turn. KAKU: shoulders, torso and weight follow your gaze. 西西 adds hips and highback.
Read →How Low Should You Crouch When Carving a Snowboard? Timing Matters More Than Depth
Crouching down doesn't pressure the board; pressure comes the instant the crouch stops. KAKU: external force comes first, then internal force works with it.
Read →Falling on the edge change when carving? Let your edge angle grow with the external force
Two common ways a carving edge change stalls: maxing the angle at entry, or holding it high at exit. Plus the extra lateral shift heel-to-toe, and when to rise.
Read →Where to look when carving steep slopes on a snowboard: on the toeside, get low first, then follow the nose
Edge on a steep slope and speed jumps; the fear is turning at speed. 西西 on gaze, back hand, turn shape and rhythm for a first try. Start on slopes you control.
Read →Upper arc vs lower arc in a snowboard carve: why the hard parts are opposite
西西 on carving turn shape: work in the upper arc, endure the force-heavy lower arc. Where pressure goes changes speed; edging and pressure are results.
Read →Hands flailing in snowboard short turns? Forget the hands; watch your side compress and extend
Swinging hands in short turns easily lead to runaway speed. 西西: watch the lateral line down your side compress and extend. Then toeside, heelside and head.
Read →How Do You Get Over Heelside Fear on a Snowboard? Split the Fear in Two
Two heelside fears, looking back and falling backward, each with a fix. Plus what to do after a fall, and the root fix: build skill on a slope you can control.
Read →What to Learn After Linking Turns on a Snowboard? Carving, Ground Tricks and Park Aren't Ranked
KAKU on what comes after linked turns: carving, ground tricks and park don't rank, why KAKU thinks most people start with carving, and what to do when stuck.
Read →How to film snowboard follow-cam shots: three ways for trees, powder and carving
西西's snowboard follow-cam methods: which stance setup suits it, a head strap in trees, riding parallel in powder, staying close for carving, slow-fast editing.
Read →What Is Carving on a Snowboard? A Thin Track Doesn't Mean You're Carving
KAKU's test is the slide angle between board and direction of travel, not track width, and you can carve in rough snow. How carving differs from skidding.
Read →How long does it take to learn to snowboard? SnowWind's seven-stage lesson plan
From zero to linked S turns: the seven stages of SnowWind's Beginner Lesson, what each unlocks, where people get stuck, and why progress varies.
Read →How Do You Fall Safely on a Snowboard? Tuck Your Chin When You Fall Backwards
When beginner snowboarders fall backwards, the head often tips back and can hit the snow. Chin tucked, eyes on navel, back rounded: drill these before you go.
Read →Stuck Halfway Through a Snowboard Turn? Check for a Fake Weight Shift First
Head reach and hip push are fake weight shifts. KAKU says a real one is your whole body matching the slope and following the board. Plus a 30-second self-check.
Read →Where did snowboard carving come from? JSBA Interview, Part 1: Origins and definition
Why did carving go from hard to soft boots? A SnowWind interview on how snowboarding is played, its culture, names, gravity and ride quality. Original Q&A kept.
Read →How do you judge good snowboarding? JSBA Interview, Part 2: Movement, force and riding quality
Balance, starting, stopping, turning; lean, lean-out and "deeper, faster"; then why skidding on purpose matters. SnowWind interview, Part 2: Q&A and 4 graphics.
Read →Does carving matter in powder and the backcountry? JSBA Interview, Part 3: The whole mountain and why we ride
How does carving relate to powder and the backcountry? Matching technique to snow, an early textbook and why we ride. Part 3, with 西西, kaku and the teacher.
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