softbootsurfer Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 Each of us here, stands with our Right foot in front (Regular) or Left foot (Goofy) Would appreciate all here offering their reason for Why they choose one over the other... Example: I learned to Surf that way...or I learned to Skate that way, that's the way I stood in the batters box!, whatever Thought it would be fun and interesting to see how we all ended up where we are This is not about one being better than the other, so let's just try to keep it short and sweet for everyone... Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 I think that I rode skate goofy as a kid, so when I picked snowboarding and skating again, goofy it was... Now the funny part, while I can ride snowboard switch/fakie almost as well as forward, it's next to impossible for me on a skate. I can get on surf either way, but I equally suck both ways ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west carven Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 howdy softbootsailer "Right foot in front (Regular) or Left foot (Goofy)" wrong... left foot forward (regular) right foot forward (goofy)... because i'm just a regular kinda guy... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted November 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 1 hour ago, west carven said: howdy softbootsailer "Right foot in front (Regular) or Left foot (Goofy)" wrong... left foot forward (regular) right foot forward (goofy)... because i'm just a regular kinda guy... you caught that trick question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCrobar Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) Hi Softboot Not sure why, but from day one I have done any gliding board sport leading with my left foot. It seems like everyone has a buddy who golf's left, bats right or shoots in hockey right and uses his left hand for writing, kicks a ball with their right foot, but prefers the left foot forward for board sports, etc, etc. I'm sure we have all seen the fall forward or get pushed from behind to see what foot comes out first, then this is said to be the front foot. One aspect I haven't heard a lot about is the idea of person having a dominate eye. Years ago I took a skeet shooting weekend type course, at this time I learned that I was left eye dominate. I remember the instructor asking the students to make a circle with the thumb and forefinger and holding your arm straight out into the distance. Next you pick an object on the horizon and look at it through the hole your thumb and finger made. The final step is to keep staring at the object in the distance and slowly move your hand towards your face. Several people ended up moving there hand right over their left eye, others over the right eye. It was amazing how this worked! Trying to change eyes feels awkward like locking your fingers with the left hand on top vs the right hand on top. How does this apply to boarding, I am not sure. But I know that I prefer to look over my left shoulder, with my left eye leading the charge down the hill ... as I am regular foot. Maybe this will hold true with boarders or maybe it is the same as the guy to golfs left and bats right? Just an observation I found interesting. Cheers Rob Edited November 5, 2016 by RCrobar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 I've known since the 60s I'm right foot forward from sliding on frozen puddles at recess, and my cousins metal wheeled skate board. Didn't find out it was called "goofy" till I first rode a board in '86 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workshop7 Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 Just before I got on a board for the first time someone pushed me from behind. When I stepped forward to catch myself with my left foot they said, "You're regular." I didn't question it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 Stepped on a skateboard for the 1st time when I was 15, instinctively put right foot forward. Been goofy ever since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 I ride regular and not particularly well switch. I played a lot of baseball, hitting from the right side the whole while. I personally think that the fact that I "drove" the ball with the right leg has as much to do with anything as does the left leg as "lead". Golf also. Going back further, when I was grade school age and the temperatures were freezing, I would heave buckets of water onto the alley behind the house to create a block long icy culvert to play on (not popular). We would run on dry cement as fast as we could and hit the ice standing, trying to see how far we could go without falling. For me, it was always left leg first. It seemed like my right leg as rear leg was most strong and stable, as a rudder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted November 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 wow, this is cool Thanks for your responses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 1 second on a skateboard revealed my preference for left-foot-forward when I was a kid. I match most of the tests, but prefer sliding on ice right-foot-forward and feel really uncomfortable going off jumps/over rough terrain on a bike with my left foot forward. I tried forcing it to be natural but no go. Right foot forward is a must on a bike for me. Weird... I'm right eye dominant, right handed, kick a ball with my right foot, bat right-handed, golf and use a hockey stick left-handed. Joerg from Pureboarding mentioned that he's naturally a regular rider, but the torque of the board on his bad left knee on the lift made him switch to goofy. That blows my mind every time I see him ride... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, corey_dyck said: Joerg from Pureboarding mentioned that he's naturally a regular rider, but the torque of the board on his bad left knee on the lift made him switch to goofy. That blows my mind every time I see him ride... I totally get this. wrapped my front leg around a tree in '90 so I often wear a knee brace just to carry the board weight on the lift. I can do whole mountain fakie, but when I mount the left foot pointing forward it all goes wonky part of why I hate duckfoot I guess Edited November 6, 2016 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Brammer aka PSR Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 When I started skateboarding in '71 (Kindergarten/1st Grade), I was a regular foot rider, and did that for 4 years. Then, my vision changed. My Dad had set up a Theodolite with an easel & paper behind it, to catch an Eclipse. We watched that until it got dark, and my sisters & friends & my parents went back inside. I stayed on the porch, fascinated. As the sun started to re-appear, I stepped up on a (wooden!?) milk crate, and, putting my left eye up to the Theodolite eyepiece, watched the sun's corona pass around the moon. This burned out a neat crescent in my left eye's rods, causing it not to focus correctly ever since. I started skateboarding and snufing Goofy-footed after that. Neat thing was, though, that when skateboards, and then snowboards got 'twin-tips' or dual kicktails, I could ride either way with reasonable ease (off-loading chairlifts excluded!) wiith most basic moves, and a few 'trickier' ones, too. So, IMHO. Visual preference/dominance likely plays a big part in how you set up your board, but, it's not the Only reason your body has picked which foot leads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) In an oddball. Left eye dominant, regular foot. Forced right handed by parents. Grandpa was ambidextrous and I am able to do many things equally well right or left handed. Guns right handed...pool and archery left handed... surf regular and fairly well goofy. I do ride directional stance on all my boards (twin/freestyle) Magic stance is 21/9 on the freestyle at 21.5 centered on eff edge 33/18 with 3* inward cant on both feet on BX at 21.5 centered on eff edge (my daily driver) 45/40 on am hardboot 6* toe lift/3* rear cant at 19 3/4 centered in stock inserts 60/55 on alpine specific / same as above Edited November 7, 2016 by slopestar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) Eye dominance is merely a peripheral consideration. https://vimeo.com/56902953 Stance preference is generally related to bone structure and the relative stability of one orientation v the other while standing on an 'unstable' platform. While it would be convenient to correlate with handedness, footedness, etc, those are about as definitive as using political affiliation as a determinant. As usual, exceptions are the rule. Edited November 7, 2016 by Beckmann AG comma chameleon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 So why aren't we all ambidextrous Mongo pushers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted November 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 Incredible, like a Savant with mysterious perceptions and abilities...wonder where his regular stance comes from and if he uses one ear more than the other...the Guy is one Stoked Skateboarder where does your stance come from ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted November 7, 2016 Report Share Posted November 7, 2016 I started skateboarding in 1975. I can't remember why, although I do remember the very first time I stepped on one, but I started regular. So starting to snowboard in 1979, it was natural to do it regular stance. I have a couple of buddies though that ride goofy on skateboards, and regular on snowboards. Go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 Regular. Learned to skate that way, and so I learned to surf that way. Before all that, I think I (sorta) learned my tennis serve left foot forward (?) Just put your best foot forward ... BB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted November 8, 2016 Report Share Posted November 8, 2016 Dominant eye might play a role in some cases... I know that I'm right eyed and like right foot Fwd. My kid is nothe only left eyed, but his left is the least 20% better then right. Since early childhood he showed tendency for left foot Fwd for all board sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algunderfoot Posted November 9, 2016 Report Share Posted November 9, 2016 When teaching a slalom water skier we check for the dominant leg with a gentle back ward push, as people will catch themselves with their dominant leg. Most all sports require that the dominant leg be used for the driving position, E.g. back position on a ski or board, driving to the Hoop, or net, or outside hitting, or even standing on the pitchers mound. No wonder my right hip wore out years before my left. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 9, 2016 Report Share Posted November 9, 2016 My dominant leg is clearly my right, and I'm strongly, instinctively goofy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algunderfoot Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) 17 hours ago, Neil Gendzwill said: My dominant leg is clearly my right, and I'm strongly, instinctively goofy. That's "Goofy", wait - a - minute, is that why they call it goofy? Yes we have run into a few...they tended to be more ambidextrous and athletically inclined, humans are funny creatures! Edited November 10, 2016 by Algunderfoot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Algunderfoot said: That's "Goofy", wait - a - minute, is that why they call it goofy? Yes we have run into a few...they tended to be more ambidextrous and athletically inclined, humans are funny creatures! That's my point though: not ambidextrous in the slightest, I am strongly right-handed and right-legged and I don't ride switch well on either snow or concrete. I also tend to drive my board from the front, not the back. But goofy has always felt natural to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkoonyMcGroomer Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) My son's close friend, an accomplished half-pipe snowboarder, has very peculiar stance preferences in that if the board has bindings (e.g. snowboard, wakeboard), he rides regular; if the board doesn't have bindings (e.g. skateboard, wake surf), he rides goofy. That is really goofy! Me... I started skateboarding at the age of 5 in 1966 on a "Hang Ten" board with metal wheels. None of us kids knew what to do other than what felt right. Left foot forward was what felt most comfortable, but I have been cursed with pushing Mongo ever since. Though I have learned to push with my right leg, I can push with more power using the left. Even though I am right foot/hand dominant. Edited November 11, 2016 by SkoonyMcGroomer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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