i've been grinding out my glove down toe sides and was wondering some form tips, like a general check list to mentally go through when throwing a toeside.
i've been grinding out my glove down toe sides and was wondering some form tips, like a general check list to mentally go through when throwing a toeside.
Some things that I keep in mind for toe gloves (grabbing rail):
Big setup carve
Feet nearly straight, no monkey toe
Extend legs to start sliding, crouch again when hooking up
Look over shoulder down the hill
When going for the slide, you are going to want to keep your front foot planted and your back foot up on your toes, close to or slightly over your toeside rail, depending on if you prefer monkey toe or not. I know that one is a big debate but I have been monkey toe my whole time with dh and it has never stopped me from advancing to more complex slides. What matters is where your foot feels comfy. You are going to want to make sure your shoulders are pointed downhill (your direction of travel) and you want to maintain that until you hook up. You are going to travel wherever your shoulders are pointed. I would recommend practicing the slide around sprinting speed. This will alow you to he going fast enough to get a realistic idea of how the wheels will slide, bit not so fast that you will get hurt whenever you bail. As you are starting your slide you are going to want to pre carve. Carve healside and then back to toe, as you are going into your toeside carve you will want lower you level and assume the position I described above (foot position and shoulders forward) and put your glove on the ground. After that, slowly extend your legs to brake out the slide, (it shouldn't take much if you are going a decent speed on slidey wheels) extending the back foot further than the front, letting your butt move up in the air while keeping your torso low and level, and keeping most of your weight on your front foot. Now that your sliding, your shoulders should still be pointed downhill. And all you need to do to hook up is reverse the process. Drop your level back down, move some weight to the back foot and turn your shoulders back to about a 45 degree angle with the hill. This is not the end all be all of glove down toe form, but it will give you a solid foundation from witch you can modify your form to fit your riding style.
