Snowboarding can be a very fun and satisfying sport to take up when you know the proper methods. Like all board sports, (Skateboarding, Surfing, etc.) snowboarding involves placing both feet on a single platform or board. The easiest way to tell if you are "Goofy Footed," riding with your right foot forward, or "Regular Footed," riding with your left foot forward, is to stand and jump forwards while turning 90 degrees. Whichever way your feet land, this will more than likely be your natural snowboarding stance. And don't let the names fool you. Being "Goofy Footed" does not mean you are abnormal. I myself am a right-handed Goofy Footer along with several of my friends, and many of my right-handed friends are Regular stance as well. It is simply a preference thing.
Picking Out the Board That is Right for You
As a beginner, odds are you don't need the hottest new 800 dollar freestyle deck. The first thing to know about picking out a deck is the size. Snowboards are measured in length in centimeters, and available in widths ranging from thin to extra wide. A good all mountain board should be anywhere from the bottom of your chin to the tip of your nose in length, while it is ok to have a shorter deck for freestyle. A good rule of thumb is that shorter decks are easier to rotate and used mostly for freestyle, where longer decks tend to be faster and better for carving powder.
Width is pretty easy to judge on account of boot and binding size. Your boots step into your bindings which are attached to the snowboard. Unless you are very very tall and have huge feet, I do not recommend getting a wide or extra wide deck because they tend to feel pretty cumbersome and difficult to manage. A good analogy would be that riding a wide deck would feel like trying to carve a mountain with a sheet of ply wood. Size counts here.
Your boots should be comfortable because if you are lucky, you will be spending a lot of time in them. Again, how you wear them is simply a matter of preference. Personally I like my boots to be tight enough to cut off the circulation when I first put them on because during the course of the day, your feet will get hot and stretch them out making the boots more comfortable and mold to your feet. Also, tighter boots means better board response. I do have friends I ride with, however, that love their boots as loose as can be because it takes a lot of pressure off of their feet.
When it comes to bindings, MAKE 'EM TIGHT. Your bindings are what secures you to your ride, so they should be firm and unyielding in their attachment to the deck as well as to your feet. Bindings are key when it comes to board control. I recommend getting bindings that have a toe-cap toe strap because I know what it is like to ride with a normal toe strap, and it gets pretty painful. The toe-cap is great because it pushes your foot deeper into the binding and doesn't put any pressure on your foot, it puts it on your nice, solid boot.
Oh and don't forget the Helmet. I used to think they were incredibly lame, but since buying one, it has saved my noggin and my life multiple times. It's a good investment.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Going for a Ride
Now that you are well equipped with a suitable board, and hopefully some warm clothes, it's time to hit the mountain, and yes, you will be hitting it, but with practice and help from this guide, you will soon get a strong foundation of basic riding maneuvers used by all snowboarders.
Riding a snowboard is a very fun and articulated activity. It incorporates your balance and muscles like you may have never known before. It is generally quite simple to go down the mountain, but the hard part is riding down with finesse and ability. If you were to stand sideways during your whole decent, odds are you would either fall or crash and fall. I always say, "Go with the flow," and never is this more evident than in snowboarding.
You must keep your body loose and your knees bent but still tight enough to keep you from collapsing. As your skill level increases you should eventually feel as calm as you do when you're struttin' your stuff. In order to control your speed and direction, the first thing that you must learn after standing up is how to carve. Carving is the act of weaving from side to side on your snowboard through the snow. It is a necessary skill for all snowboarders to attain. It is easy to start off with your board perpendicular to the mountain, as if you were sitting down on the mountain, and to learn heel control first. You begin by sliding down perpendicularly and leaning back on your heel side of the board. Use your knees and core to help reel in the edge and to let it out. You will slide gently forwards. Dig in the heel edge hard to come to a stop. Remember this because this is how you will stop from now on in the future.
Eventually once you gain more confidence, it will be time to turn your board 90 degrees and ride properly. This can be scary at first, and is a great opportunity to learn turning on your toe edge. The principles are exactly the same as before. Use your back foot in cooperation with your hips to swing the board to the toe side. By being fully perpendicular to the mountain, you will come to a stop, but by not going all the way perpendicular, you can continue traveling and your decent back to the chairlift.
The carve is a whole body motion that you will feel like second nature in no time. I like to think of myself as a rolling wave that is flowing over the terrain and taking it as it comes. You must always look ahead, but remain in moment and keep focus. This is part of why I love snowboarding so much. It allows for both excellent physical and mental activity to coincide.
An important rule to remember is that the majority of movements in snowboarding stems from the movement of the hips and knees. An excellent training exercise to help with carving is called the Catwalk. It involves skateboard. Put your feet on the skateboard's tail and nose (one foot on each) and without taking them off, attempt a grounded 180 degree turn by pressing down on one side and using the other foot to spin you around. This helps to train the body to move as one fluidly.
Riding a snowboard is a very fun and articulated activity. It incorporates your balance and muscles like you may have never known before. It is generally quite simple to go down the mountain, but the hard part is riding down with finesse and ability. If you were to stand sideways during your whole decent, odds are you would either fall or crash and fall. I always say, "Go with the flow," and never is this more evident than in snowboarding.
You must keep your body loose and your knees bent but still tight enough to keep you from collapsing. As your skill level increases you should eventually feel as calm as you do when you're struttin' your stuff. In order to control your speed and direction, the first thing that you must learn after standing up is how to carve. Carving is the act of weaving from side to side on your snowboard through the snow. It is a necessary skill for all snowboarders to attain. It is easy to start off with your board perpendicular to the mountain, as if you were sitting down on the mountain, and to learn heel control first. You begin by sliding down perpendicularly and leaning back on your heel side of the board. Use your knees and core to help reel in the edge and to let it out. You will slide gently forwards. Dig in the heel edge hard to come to a stop. Remember this because this is how you will stop from now on in the future.
Eventually once you gain more confidence, it will be time to turn your board 90 degrees and ride properly. This can be scary at first, and is a great opportunity to learn turning on your toe edge. The principles are exactly the same as before. Use your back foot in cooperation with your hips to swing the board to the toe side. By being fully perpendicular to the mountain, you will come to a stop, but by not going all the way perpendicular, you can continue traveling and your decent back to the chairlift.
The carve is a whole body motion that you will feel like second nature in no time. I like to think of myself as a rolling wave that is flowing over the terrain and taking it as it comes. You must always look ahead, but remain in moment and keep focus. This is part of why I love snowboarding so much. It allows for both excellent physical and mental activity to coincide.
An important rule to remember is that the majority of movements in snowboarding stems from the movement of the hips and knees. An excellent training exercise to help with carving is called the Catwalk. It involves skateboard. Put your feet on the skateboard's tail and nose (one foot on each) and without taking them off, attempt a grounded 180 degree turn by pressing down on one side and using the other foot to spin you around. This helps to train the body to move as one fluidly.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Some Foundation Tricks
I'm gonna start off talking about rails, because well, I love them. Rails are among my favorite obstacles to ride. Rails and boxes are man made terrain that snowboarders grind on an use to look really cool.
Start off small.
Hitting the big rails will come, but get the groundwork started before you find yourself in a situation that you won't know how to deal with. The easiest way to hit a rail is head on, like the way you would ride down a slope. This will put you in a 50-50 railslide. In many cases, the beginner rails have a small ramp leading up to them and with a little speed, you should get on just fine as long as you commit to it. In the case of rails without ramps, as well as for all ramps for that matter, you may utilized the Ollie. The Ollie is a technique used to project you and your board off the ground and is the foundation for all aerial tricks. To ollie you must compress your weight over the center of the board and explode upwards, shooting your front foot high and bringing up your back foot to meet its height, then landing. In the case of rails, the object is to come down with your board over the rail to ride on it. An important note to make is that unlike in the snow, DO NOT TRY TO DIG IN YOUR EDGES TO STOP. You will fall and potentially get injured. What ever speed you hit the rail at is the speed your destined to ride it. Just "Go with the flow." You can ride rails in endless manners and angles, so just have fun with it!
Ramps are where you are allowed to really go big. I recommend getting comfortable with the jump in question before you try and go all out. Here are some good grabs that give you style points and possibly help you put yourself back on balance while soaring through the air:
The Indy grab- Do your now mastered ollie at a decent speed and while airborne, you are going to grab the center of your board at the toe edge with your back hand. Remember, bring the board to you, don't go to it. Use your legs to bring the board to your hand or else you may get off balance rather quickly. Get a good firm hold and release and prepare for landing by straightening your legs back up, but don't ever lock your knees.
The Mute Grab is just like the Indy except you grab the center of you board with your leading hand.
The Nose Grab, this is still one of my favorite grabs because it feels comfortable to me and it looks great. It also gives the sensation of flight, especially when you tweak it to the side. You'll see. To do this one, when you are in the air, lift the front end of your board to a near vertical degree and grab it with your leading hand.
Remember to keep it safe and have fun. Even when certain aspects of the sport seem daunting, just think that snowboarding is a lifetime of satisfaction and learning, and with experience will come skill. Now get outta your chair and go ride already!
Start off small.
Hitting the big rails will come, but get the groundwork started before you find yourself in a situation that you won't know how to deal with. The easiest way to hit a rail is head on, like the way you would ride down a slope. This will put you in a 50-50 railslide. In many cases, the beginner rails have a small ramp leading up to them and with a little speed, you should get on just fine as long as you commit to it. In the case of rails without ramps, as well as for all ramps for that matter, you may utilized the Ollie. The Ollie is a technique used to project you and your board off the ground and is the foundation for all aerial tricks. To ollie you must compress your weight over the center of the board and explode upwards, shooting your front foot high and bringing up your back foot to meet its height, then landing. In the case of rails, the object is to come down with your board over the rail to ride on it. An important note to make is that unlike in the snow, DO NOT TRY TO DIG IN YOUR EDGES TO STOP. You will fall and potentially get injured. What ever speed you hit the rail at is the speed your destined to ride it. Just "Go with the flow." You can ride rails in endless manners and angles, so just have fun with it!
Ramps are where you are allowed to really go big. I recommend getting comfortable with the jump in question before you try and go all out. Here are some good grabs that give you style points and possibly help you put yourself back on balance while soaring through the air:
The Indy grab- Do your now mastered ollie at a decent speed and while airborne, you are going to grab the center of your board at the toe edge with your back hand. Remember, bring the board to you, don't go to it. Use your legs to bring the board to your hand or else you may get off balance rather quickly. Get a good firm hold and release and prepare for landing by straightening your legs back up, but don't ever lock your knees.
The Mute Grab is just like the Indy except you grab the center of you board with your leading hand.
The Nose Grab, this is still one of my favorite grabs because it feels comfortable to me and it looks great. It also gives the sensation of flight, especially when you tweak it to the side. You'll see. To do this one, when you are in the air, lift the front end of your board to a near vertical degree and grab it with your leading hand.
Remember to keep it safe and have fun. Even when certain aspects of the sport seem daunting, just think that snowboarding is a lifetime of satisfaction and learning, and with experience will come skill. Now get outta your chair and go ride already!
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