SnowWind
Carving Lab
Snowboard carving broken down: what carving is and where the toeside and heelside turns go wrong, based on principal KAKU’s teaching notes.
12 articles
ArticlesWhat 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 →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 →What 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.
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