While there are two approaches to carving, the most effective method of cornering sharp bowls or curved transitions is to separate the upper half and lower half of your body. The 2 legs must be able to move independently and twist in the opposite direction of the torso. Your waist is a pivot. The thighs move in tandem like the movement in the dance “The Twist” and freely follow distribution of weight instigated by the upper body and arms. You in effect are torquing your entire body throwing your upper body and arms in a circular motion instigating the carve or turn. The lower body follows the movement pivoting on the back trucks and wheels sometimes utilizing the “kickturn” as a method to make the turn when it is to tight to carve with the wheels on the wall or bank. Both things should happen simultaneously with the upper body twisting in the direction of the carve, and the lower body doing a normal carve with the feet in normal carving position. Basically the knees remain close together like slalom snow skiing or slalom water skiing, and the pivot actually occurs below the knees. Because you are vertical and in a tight curved transition the throwing twisting motion of the upper body is needed drive through the carve at the apex of your upward line to the coping. If you did not use the torque of the upper body to rotate the carve, chances are you would continue on your upward line and out of the top of the pool. Because of the steep angle of the vertical wall and because your body is perpendicular to the transition it is difficult to use the angle of your ankles to push the leading edge of the board back into the pool. This is way you must carve on the back trucks in a tight radius. You could consider the carve a carving kickturn dragging your back foot to stabilize your speed. When kickturning a carve to help make it, differently you are using your weight distributed on the leading edge of the board to bring it back into the pool.
