Do you need to learn duck stance first for snowboard carving? Duck vs forward stance trade-offs

“For carving, do you have to learn duck stance before you can learn forward stance?” That was the title of one of KAKU’s posts. The question hides an assumption: that the two stances come in an order, perhaps even a ranking.

This is Part 11 of Carving Lab, a round-up of KAKU’s answer to that question.

This post is for you if you:

• are already working on carving and wondering whether to switch your bindings to forward stance
• have heard claims like “learn duck stance first, then forward stance”
• want to know whether JSBA exams specify a binding angle

Two things first. One: what follows is KAKU’s view, not JSBA’s official position. Two: KAKU’s posts give no angle figures, and this post won’t invent any.

No order, only trade-offs

KAKU’s answer is direct:

Neither duck nor forward stance is more advanced, and there's no set order in which you have to learn them. They are different trade-offs.

KAKU

KAKU then wrote a paragraph on each.

Duck stance: the feet point toward the nose and the tail respectively (in Japanese, dakku sutansu, “duck stance”; the JSBA glossary renders it in Chinese as 鴨腳站姿, “duck-foot stance”). KAKU says the movements of the ankles and knees set the edge more easily and directly, and the stance stays agile too; once you’ve had your fill of carving and want to move on to ground tricks, riding switch or small kickers, duck stance makes all of them easier. The cost comes in the other direction: when you want the pelvis and upper body to face the nose as far as they can go, the back-foot angle limits how the hips can move.

Forward stance: both feet point toward the nose. KAKU says edging with the leg joints alone is less efficient than in duck stance, so you need more tilt of the body axis to compensate. But this carving style, rooted in competition, has its advantages in low stances, higher speed and clear body orientation.

	Duck stance	Forward stance
Where the feet point	Toward the nose and the tail respectively	Both toward the nose
Strengths	Ankles and knees set the edge more easily; agile, easy to move on to ground tricks, riding switch and small kickers	Low stances, higher speed, clear body orientation
Costs	When the pelvis and upper body try to face the nose to the extreme, the back-foot angle limits hip movement	Edging with the leg joints alone is less efficient; needs more body-axis tilt to compensate

KAKU’s conclusion: duck stance has its own freedom, forward stance has its own character, and no single set of angles covers every need.

Key point: each stance has its strengths and its costs. The question isn’t which one is more advanced; it’s which trade-off you want.

Duck stance runs on the same basic logic as forward stance

In December 2025, under a post on opening the hips and angulation, KAKU replied with one line about duck stance:

To be honest, the basic logic of duck stance is the same as forward stance. It's just that the binding angles restrict ankle mobility more, so you have to compensate with the thigh muscles and the lumbar spine.

KAKU

That main post divides the work like this: opening the hips lets the upper body face the nose naturally, and handles steering; angulation (the reverse bow) presses the knees toward the inside of the turn and brings the hips within the board’s footprint, and handles stability. The full write-up is in Part 10.

You may get stuck here. The previous section says duck stance makes it easier for the ankles and knees to set the edge; this one says duck stance restricts the ankles more. The two lines come from two posts written at different times, and KAKU didn’t explain them together. What we can be sure of is the context: the first is about edging, the second follows on from the topic of opening the hips and angulation. We set the two lines next to each other and don’t merge them into one rule on KAKU’s behalf.

西西 has also adjusted binding angles; the story is in why keep learning from the same instructor. That was the teacher’s adjustment for 西西 personally, not general advice.

Key point: on the subject of opening the hips and angulation, KAKU says duck stance runs on the same basic logic as forward stance; the difference is that the binding angles restrict ankle movement more, which you compensate for with the thigh muscles and the lumbar spine.

The exam sets no angle, so decide how you want to ride first

KAKU says JSBA exams do not specify a binding angle, and different stances can be seen in technical riding competitions. That is KAKU’s account; for the exam rules, go by JSBA’s official notices.

KAKU’s advice comes in two sentences: if you want to learn forward stance, you can work toward it directly; if you like duck stance, you can perfectly well take your carving a long way in it.

The angle is there to suit how you want to ride. There's no need to use it to rank anything, and still less need to prescribe the same learning path for everyone.

KAKU

Turn the trade-offs KAKU describes into questions, and there are three to ask yourself first:

1. Beyond carving, do you also want to do ground tricks, ride switch or hit small kickers? KAKU says these are easier in duck stance.
2. Is the carving you want to ride the low, faster kind, with the body clearly pointed in one direction? KAKU says that is where forward stance has the advantage.
3. Do you know what your chosen stance needs you to compensate for? Discussing the stance trade-offs, KAKU says forward stance edges less efficiently with the leg joints alone and needs more body-axis tilt to compensate. In the reply under the post on opening the hips and angulation, KAKU says duck stance’s binding angles restrict ankle movement more, which you compensate for with the thigh muscles and the lumbar spine.

For choosing the bindings themselves, see are quick-entry bindings any good?

Key point: decide how you want to ride first, then let the angle follow.

Who this post is not for

• Anyone looking for a standard answer to “so many degrees on the front foot, so many on the back”: KAKU’s posts don’t give one.
• Anyone not yet sure they are actually carving: read what is carving first. The stance trade-off can wait.

To have an instructor look at your carving in Hokkaido, see the Snowboard Progression Lesson on the courses page; to sign up, you need to be able to link turns consistently. For KAKU’s background, see the principal’s profile. The previous part covered opening the hips and angulation; the next covers how to choose a carving board.

This post draws on KAKU's Threads post of 25 October 2026 on duck and forward stance, and on KAKU's reply of 31 December 2025 under a post on opening the hips and angulation; the division of work between opening the hips and angulation is taken from that main post. The graphic cards attached to the original posts are not used, and an opening line in the original giving a personal update unrelated to the topic is left out. The comparison table and the stance diagram are editorial, based on KAKU's text. Japanese terms are taken from the JSBA glossary. These are KAKU's teaching views, not official JSBA positions; for exam rules, go by JSBA's official notices.