Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a boardsport on snow similar to skiing, but came about as an idea for a combination of surfing and skateboarding. Snowboarding is an increasingly common winter sport throughout the world where participants strap a composite board to their feet and slide down a snow-covered mountain.

Technique

Learning How to Snowboard

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Typically, the first couple of days learning how to snowboard are harder than skiing, with many more falls and bruises. However, some consider snowboarding easier to learn than skiing, requiring only the mastery of two edges as opposed to four edges and two poles in skiing with no chance of crossing your skis. Others believe that the snowboarding motion, which requires leaning into turns beyond the natural comfort level of one's center of gravity, and the lack of stability from just one edge are far more difficult skills to master than skiing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goofy or Regular?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Regular footed snowboarders ride with their left foot forward, while goofy footed snowboarders ride with their right foot forward. A common test for new snowboarders to determine their natural stance is to have somebody shove them from behind and see which foot they catch themselves with, though critics claim this is really testing which foot they happen to have most of their weight on at the time, and that people will naturally shift their weight from one leg to another while standing. A more accurate test is to have new snowboarders slide on a slippery floor while wearing socks and observe which foot they lead with.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Safety Tips

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• As the snowboard is not very stable unless it is in motion, the first lesson before learning to ride should be to learn to fall correctly to avoid injuries. The basic principle here is, when losing balance, to crouch down to reduce the falling height of the upper body. If falling forward, make your hands into fists and land on your knuckles. You may sink past your elbows, but this technique will prevent the sprained wrists that happen when you try to distribute the force over an open palm (since your weight pushes on the heels of your hands, the snow pushes your fingers back, spraining wrists easily). If falling backwards, you can either bend at the waist and land on your bum, or extend your elbows backwards and take up the shock with your arms.
• Wearing safety gear is highly recommended. The body parts most affected by injuries are the wrists, the tailbone and the head. Useful safety gear includes wrist guards, padded or protected snowboard pants and a helmet.
• Padding can be useful on other body parts like hips, knees, spine and shoulders.
• General safety tips for winter sports, alpine conditions and skiing should also be respected.

Carving

Contrary to popular belief, carving is not simply 'turning'. Most of the time snowboarders (and skiers) use sliding (skidded) turns, where the board is pivoted around a point between the feet to change its direction. In a carved turn, the boarder executes the turn without any pivoting of the board. Instead, the board is angled up onto its edge and by virtue of its shape a turn is achieved. When done correctly this results in a single, thin 'pencil line' track being left in the snow. Carving consistently (keeping the track to a pencil line with no interruptions) is a high performance technique that requires a high level of skill. This is in part due to the necessary speed and the resultant forces on the snowboard and the snowboarder.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To begin to experiment with carving, gain some good speed on a moderately steep slope to practice. With equal weight on both feet, initiate the carved turn by tipping the board onto its edge using your ankles, knees and hips. DO NOT simply lean over, as you will fall. Once you have tipped the board onto an edge, you can gradually lean against that edge as the forces build up in the turn. It is extremely important that you use your body weight, directed by your shoulders and head, to steer into the turn instead of kicking your legs out. It will be very uncomfortable at first because it requires that you go beyond a comfortable position over your center of gravity.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Freestyle

Jumping

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jumping and getting air can be as simple as riding off a ramp or jumping like you would in real life. The main thing for a beginner to remember when jumping is to launch with the board completely flat base. Launching from the heel edge often leads to a straight-backed "windmill", where the rider spins the arms at the shoulder in an attempt to maintain an upright position.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, to get "massive air", you will need to utilize a technique known as the ollie. This move, like many snowboarding terms, comes from skateboarding. To ollie, simply put your weight on your back foot as your come off the jump (though you don't need a jump to ollie, as it can be done virtually anywhere). As you reach the lip of the jump, quickly lift your front foot (not a rough jerk, just a lift), and immediately, jump hard from your back foot, using the tail (or nose if you're riding switch) of the board as a spring. It takes a while to perfect the ollie for huge airs or even to balance as you lean back, but as always, practice makes perfect. The upside to learning to ollie on a snowboard, as opposed to a skateboard, is that you can practice numerous times in one run, and even if you're bad at it, still get somewhere. As any skateboarder will tell you, learning to ollie on a skateboard is an extremely hard task, and all you can do is stand on the flat ground; with snowboarding, you're attached to the board, which helps, and you can keep trying and trying, while still having a fun run.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To land, simply angle your board so that it is parallel to the steepness of the ground you are landing on. It is helpful, however, to slightly lean back. Center your weight over the middle of your board and slightly bend your knees. As you hit the ground, crouch down to absorb the shock, gain your balance, and ride away. It's that easy! The main thing you should keep in mind is not to panic, no matter what. One technique that helps many people is to "stomp" your landings, applying some force through your legs down onto the snow as you land, which will help you maintain stability when you land.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since many snowboarding terms are derived from skateboarding, it can be helpful to look at skateboarding tricks for different grabs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spins

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are two kinds of spins, frontside spins and backside spins. A frontside spin is when your front foot moves backwards, and a backside spin is when your front foot moves forwards. Because this tends to confuse so many people, backside is sometimes also known as "blindside", meaning that when you turn this direction, your head will actually be turning uphill, and you'll have to turn it to see downhill again, whereas with frontside, your head does not need to move. To do rotations while soaring in the air, all you have to do is swing your hips for a easy 180. Anything above 180 will probably require more technique however.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To make a 360 spin or higher, you must set up the jump just right. First, as you approach the jump, rotate your arms and hips against the direction you plan to spin. This may throw off your balance so be sure to have your feet ready to offset the shift in weight. Then, right as you approach the jump, throw your hips and arms around and then wrap them around you for as little centrifugal inertia as possible (or take a grab you feel comfortable with). Keep your head facing the direction you spin. Once you think you have spun enough, or perhaps when you start getting sick, stick your arms out to slow down and spot your landing. Stomp the ground, tuck in a bit to absorb shock, and ride away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rails

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before riding rails, especially if it is new to you, be sure to wear some protection. At the very least wear a helmet. To ride rails is very simple. The only hard part, balance, can only be learned through experience. It might help to have a flexy board, boots, and bindings. Also be sure to dull your edges so that it will not catch in the rail and cause you to fall. Remember to center your weight for a 50-50 (board parallel to the rail) or boardslide (board perpendicular to the rail). Other tricks like nosepress or smith will require you to lean hard without losing your weight and is recommended for advanced riders only. As that many snowboarding terms are derived form skateboarding, it is helpful to look at skateboarding tricks to understand some of this terminology.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Boxes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A box is an obstacle usually located in a mountains terrain park. It is very similar to a rail, in the sense that it is made for doing a moving ?slide?. Boxes are generally built by first constructing a steel frame, then mounting plexiglass or other slippery but strong surface, and finally plywood is applied around the out sides. The benefits of a box over a rail is simply the ease of performing tricks (wider surface area).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Advanced

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Flips are not as scary as you might think. However; safety first, especially in aerial stunts. Make sure you are riding in soft snow conditions. Ideally, you should have protective gear. Most important is that you yourself know you are ready. If you feel hesitant, be wary. Most riders believe that if you can do a 540 you can do a flip, but it may differ among different people.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Firstly, be sure that you can do front and backflips confidently on a trampoline or off a diving board. This is not absolutely necessary but it will help. Next, find a jump you feel comfortable on and can get a lot of air just in case. Now, visualize every aspect from the takeoff to the landing. As cliché as it sounds, it is very helpful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As you jump, make sure to get as much air as you can, then throw your body back for a backflip or dive forward for a front flip. Make sure not to do it too soon or you may hit your head on the lip of the jump. Now tuck in to spin as fast as possible. As you complete the flip, stretch out to slow down, spot your landing, and stomp the jump. If you did this successfully, perhaps it's time to look for some sponsorships.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~