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Dominant foot forward or back??
PropofolDreams
Posts: 1
So, it seems as though there are conflicting reports as to whether you should put your dominant foot forward or back. As far as I can tell, there are a wide variety of people skiing in all different configurations of RFF/LFF and hand dominance (which palm faces up/down). I’ve scrolled through dozens of forums/webpages but have still not reached any meaningful conclusion. Should your dominant foot (i.e- kicking foot and traditional back foot for wake/snow/skateboarding) be in the front or the back of the ski?
I have skied off/on over the last 20+ years but never consistently or competitively. Fortunately, I’ll have the opportunity to ski 2-3 times/week this season and am hoping to really improve my skills. Initially, I want to focus my efforts on proper technique, starting with feet placement (yup, getting super basic here). Currently, I can ski both LFF and RFF... and both are doable (hence my issue). I have noticed that putting my R foot forward (being the stronger/more dominant foot) is much easier to get up on, and currently more comfortable turning.. but because I also tend to place most of my weight on that foot, if I cross the wake even slightly out of position, I cartwheel over the front (it’s ugly). Conversely, starting with my dominant foot back requires more effort to get up, but my weight is shift further back on the ski and I can attack the wake with a little more confidence.
What should I be doing??? I appreciate any advice you have.
(I am R handed, kick a ball on my R foot, swing a golf club / bat with my R foot back, wakeboard and snowboard with R foot back, and throw a ball with my R foot back. Also, although I shoot with my R hand/shoulder, I am L eye dominant).
I have skied off/on over the last 20+ years but never consistently or competitively. Fortunately, I’ll have the opportunity to ski 2-3 times/week this season and am hoping to really improve my skills. Initially, I want to focus my efforts on proper technique, starting with feet placement (yup, getting super basic here). Currently, I can ski both LFF and RFF... and both are doable (hence my issue). I have noticed that putting my R foot forward (being the stronger/more dominant foot) is much easier to get up on, and currently more comfortable turning.. but because I also tend to place most of my weight on that foot, if I cross the wake even slightly out of position, I cartwheel over the front (it’s ugly). Conversely, starting with my dominant foot back requires more effort to get up, but my weight is shift further back on the ski and I can attack the wake with a little more confidence.
What should I be doing??? I appreciate any advice you have.
(I am R handed, kick a ball on my R foot, swing a golf club / bat with my R foot back, wakeboard and snowboard with R foot back, and throw a ball with my R foot back. Also, although I shoot with my R hand/shoulder, I am L eye dominant).
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@PropofolDreams are you an anesthesiologist? Micheal Jackson fan? I got a kick out of the name....I used to be a pharmacist.
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Sounds like you are RFF but are also putting weight forwards by bending rather than being upright. You should video both versions so you can actually see what you look like.
Lucky actually gave me a really good explanation for his grip. If you are shooting a rifle left foot forward, you would be gripping the gun with your left palm facing up. Also, if you were having a tug-of-war and you were pulling on a rope (like in skiing) with your left foot forward your left palm would be up.
I don't think I see much correlary both examples are a person grasping an object that's inline with their body... imagine trying to grab either object with your hand flipped over.
I would also point out that as a RFF skier I shoot with my left foot forwards but would skateboard right foot on the board but would be right foot back wakeboarding or snowboarding.
Anyone get coached to flip the palms and do so?
Based on what you said would probably focus on RFF and work on body position.
whichever ski they were more stable on -and the difference would be quite apparent every time -was the foot we had them ski on while they dropped the other ski. obviously that would also be the foot they put in front.
I think a lot of people (like me) end up with different feet forward because when they 1st learned they really didn't have someone that knew what they were doing instructing them at the very beginning.
You should be roughly even in terms of front foot/back foot pressure when you are crossing the wakes. If you are going out the front when crossing the wakes you are most likely getting bent at the waist.
Work on your stack and that problem will go away.
Similarly in baseball most right hand persons will grip the bat left hand on the bottom and turn their right foot back instead of forwards. Same with golf. Hockey becomes weird because in the US right handers use right hand curved sticks but most of the rest of the world that doesn't play baseball those people use left hand curves with right hand on top of stick for control.
Now onto slalom - if you were to ride down the lake on a pair of combos and drop... which ski would you drop? That is going to be your rear foot. Regardless of handedness, this is a dominant leg feature but also a balance and flexibility and coordination type issue so I'm not surprised that people would do LFF for baseball and RFF on slalom. I'd be surprised in fact that so many right handed people go LFF!
In my family 8 right handers are split 5/3 RFF to LFF.
the OP was clear they are regular footed, which makes zero sense to me why they wouldn't be on a waterski as well.
Giant Slalom Racing snowboarders, who are VERY similar to slalom waterski, aren't going to goofy footed when they jump on a pipe board... Why would a regular wakeboarder go goofy on a slalom???
We're also not a talking about a kid here so most likely there is much learned muscle memory already.
These are some of the other ways I am thinking about it:
- if you are kicking a ball with your RF then your balance leg is actually your Left.
- if you skateboard regular, you push with your RF and your balance leg is your left.
If you came and skied with me, never to slalom and you tell me you ride a wake or skateboard regular, you're going out regular on a slalom ski, and I can't imagine why anyone would go the other way, at least to start.
the fact you're taking diggers RFF, and the fact you are regular footed to me is rather obvious you should get out there LFF and focus on getting your Right Hip as forward as you can, standing tall on the ski.
take some video if you can
you're telling us that this VVVV person should ride a waterski with a different foot forward? why?
One simply has to evaluate what works for you for each activity.
That is why there is no obvious correlations to other body parts.
I ski LFF but I snowboard and used to skateboard RFF. That being said, I can snowboard LFF too but it's not my primary stance.
Better results straight up !
After a few years I tried swapping my grip & that felt better too, so now I'm RFF and Right palm up.
Which palm up is not an unambiguous answer as many are lead to believe.
I switched my grip for an entire season, at the end of year I tried “my old way” and immediately felt more comfortable, and I never looked back.
The theory is I should have my left palm up to even out and not have my stongest pull on my onside turn. In my case my off side pull is as strong or stronger than on side.
I bet its because the carpet in my boat gets wet. That seems to be a direction correlation of how well you do things correctly or not.