Are You Goofy Or Regular? How To Setup Snowboard Bindings.

The terminology of a goofy or regular snowboard stance has been around for a long time. I suspect it came from skateboarding, and that evolved from surfing.

As a snowboarder, you’re essentially riding down the hill sideways, it’s obviously different from other ways of movement, and one of your legs has to go first.

Goofy or Regular summed up can also be viewed as being right handed vs left handed. It’s the side you prefer, however in some circumstances as a snowboarder you’ll have to ride switch. I’ll explain more of that later.

What Is Regular Footed?

Generally speaking a regular stance is left foot forward while you’re riding down the mountain. Switch is the complete opposite of that, for the person riding regular stance.

Keep in mind switch is subjective,

and is the opposite of their regular or goofiness.

What is Goofy Footed?

Riding goofy for snowboarders is the exact opposite of regular stance, it’s the right leg forward. Now I know what you’re thinking, isn’t that switch? It is not. Riding switch is riding the opposite of what you normally do. In this case when you’re goofy, riding regular would be switch.

I know this all seems really weird and complicated, especially if you’re new to snowboarding and have never skateboarded or surfed before, but my hope is that by the end of this article it’ll all make send.

In Snowboarding Which Foot Goes In Front? Goofy Or Regular Test

So now we get to the real bread and butter of this post. What foot foes forward when you snowboard? Ask yourself these questions?

• Have I Ever Skateboarded Before?
• If So, What Leg Did I Put Forward?
• Which Of My Legs Is Stronger?

What I’m trying to do is get you to think about which leg is more dominant. Much like your hands, one of your legs is usually more dominant, strangely enough, it’s often the left foot.

Goofy Or Regular; How To Find Your Dominant Leg

If you haven’t any idea what leg is dominant there’s a couple of tricks you can use to figure this out.

1. Think about soccer, or kickball. What leg did you use to kick? If you use your right leg to kick, you’re most likely regular. The reason for this is your left leg is the stronger dominant one that is supporting/planting the rest of your body.
2. Close your eyes and have a friend push you forward (gently) from behind. The foot you kick out to catch yourself is most likely your dominant one.
3. For the last one, we’ll call it the sliding test. get a good run going on the snow and then stop like you’re on a pair of hockey skates. Whichever side you’re more comfortable with is probably the way you should ride.

Is There A Front And Back To A Snowboard?

That depends on the snowboard, I go over this and other snowboard builds in my article called snowboard guides. Feel free to check that out, but I’ll give you the basics here.

Snowboards generally come in 3 different forms, actually shapes is a better term for it.

Directional Snowboards:

These are snowboards that are built to ride one way. They have a nose (front) and a tail (back). Riding switch on these is difficult if not impossible.

True Twin Snowboards:

True twins have can be ridden in either direction. They are built for easy switch riding, and the nose or tail can change depending on which one is uphill or downhill. The front (nose) and back (tail) of these snowboards don’t matter.

Directional Twin Snowboards:

These are very similar to twin snowboards, they just have a setback stance meaning the binding holes aren’t equidistant from the nose and tail.

As you can see snowboarding isn’t difficult, but like every group or sport it has developed its own language. Once you’ve learned it, or have a basic understanding it removes the mystique, and you can finally tear a mountain apart.

I hope this post helped you figure out whether you’re goofy or regular. Post below your thoughts and how you ride. It’d be interesting to see. Also don’t forget to subscribe for our latest news and tips.