new snowboarder… I need help

hey guys,

Im new to snowboarding and I only started last season. I bought a setup without knowing a lot about the sport. I had some advice from people I know but Im not too sure if they know what they are doing either. I have a Banana Magic board with cartel bindings and i bought the Nike Kaiju boots. So far its been nothing but comfortable and I like what I have.

Last season I learned how to do toe and heel side turns and linking them. An instructor at Mountain Creek in NJ taught me to point towards the direction and let my shoulder guide my hips and that made the board turned. So this year I can do wide turns using my shoulder and no problems with linking turns.

Here’s the problem now…. I want to do the fast carves that I see people do at the parks. Im kinda doing it but I feel like Im wiperblading instead of shifting my weight and let my lower body do the work. I might have the wrong idea in my head so please help… I want to get this done and maybe move to learning swith for next year. BTW since last season I have only gone about 15 days combined last season and this season.

thanks for any advice….

JT

Go to http://www.snowboardaddiction.com buy theuir dvd’s, use the boardworld discount to get some $$$ off

watch these again, and again then put what you have learnt into practise.

I am a decent rider (if i do say so myself) but i found these vids had so much useful information for my everyday riding (i originally bought them just for the park instructionals)

Hi Xplicitz

If you have any video of you riding, we could really help you by seeing exactly how you’re riding. But we should be help anyway.

When you say you feel like your wiperblading, I think I know what you mean. Your arms and shoulder fling one way to make your board go the other way? Or your upperbody stays still and your lower body and board “wiperblade” back and forth?
If that’s what it is, we call that counter-rotating. And it’s what makes turn feel off balance and sketchy.

So don’t worry about ‘shifting weight’ or anything that your mates told you.
All you have to do - is hold onto your pants.

If your holding onto your pants at the hips, your upper body has to move with your hips. And at this stage in your riding, thats what you want.
So you will be turning using your hips knees and ankles only. If you can get this down, I promise it will make a BIG difference to your riding.

So grab your pants (you can do it discretely so you don’t look weird coming down the hill) and have a go. It WILL feel a bit scary and strange at first, but stick with it. If you can do it all day without letting go then you should be able to stop holding your pants and know how to turn without counter rotating.

Good Luck   Tell us how you go.

When I think of wiperblading, I think of a rider placing a majority of their weight on the front foot and kick around the back end back and forth.

In order to change your turn from a skid to more of a carve, then you have to consider equalling the weight on both feet, and initiating the turn with a very different movement than what you are used to.
I’d use the terms… less rotation and more tilt.
but that may not communicate my point.

Currently your “wiperblading” technique is realty allowing the board to slide around on the snow side by side to make turns. But for a turn that is more carved, then the board is always traveling forward with the nose making the line, or the path in the snow, and the tail follows that same line.
Less swishing and more tipping the boar don it’s edge to start the turn.

It doesn’t have to be a large tipping / tilting, it can be gentle and done at slower speeds.
Cruise on a green, thing of equal weight on both feet and apply pressure to both heels more and more, equally until the board begins to turn… do the same for the toes.
gradually increase the degree that you are pressing on each edge (heels vs toes) and you’ll be making a very different turn shape that you had been.

actually i have gotten away from the “wiperblading” technique. i am using my shoulder to guide my hips to turn now. An instructor told me to point where i wanted to go and let the shoulder help me move. Now i can do heel and toe without wiperblading. I will post my last run thanks guys this has been great help

Good to hear your progression is going well. Please keep us posted.

I am just thinking of taking a try in becoming a snow boarder and these will really help.