snowboardingtipsandtricks.net

I remember what it was like to be a beginner in the world of snowboarding. Bruises, knocks, scrapes and bumps! It was more than my ego that hurt after every session.

Once we have the magical moment we can stand up, balance and actually make our way down the slopes we all want to be able to pull off a few snowboarding tricks. Don’t run before you can walk or you could end up on your ass or worse still in hospital!

In this Blog I will share my snowboarding tips for beginners and experts alike and point you to some of the best resources to learn snowboarding tricks. Once you get the bug you’ll want to take your snowboarding to another level and here I will share my 11 years boarding experience and love of the sport in the hope others will get the enjoyment I do.

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Snowboarding Tips and Tricks

OK now let’s assume you have mastered the basics for a beginner in snowboarding … You’ve got the right gear, you can stand up and balance and you can move down the slopes. We’re making progress!

Naturally there comes a time when we want to move on and start to learn some snowboarding tricks. As always my advice for a new snowboarder is to start small and let your confidence curve gradually. Trying to move too quickly to advanced snowboarding tricks will injure your ego at best and your bones at worst!

Some simple jumps are a great place to start. To practice, start out on a flat section of terrain, away from other boarders if possible. Strap your feet to the board bending at the knees ready to jump. For now we just want to to bring the board off the ground and safely land again. Like a gymnast, you want to land in a good balanced stance – no wobbling! For a snowboarding beginner it’s as simple as that, don’t overcomplicate this stage. Once you feel comfortable with being able to jump enough to lift the board from the ground you can move on to jumping 30, 40 centimetres.

Mastered that?! Ok we now move to a gentle slope ready to try a jump on an incline. Again, take it slowly as every boarder had to start here! While the flat area was fine for your initial practice making a jump of a foot or more will be hard on both you and the board. As you prepare for the jump, crouch down a little and enter the jump by repeating the process you learned on the flat land. It’s key to land flat on the incline, with your weight centered on the flat of the board not on the edges.

I spent an afternoon doing this (My legs killed the next day!) but I swear it’s been a great foundation for some of the more advanced snowboarding tricks I can do today. You’ll have a few falls, you’ll wonder if you’ll ever get there, but stick at it and you’ll do fine.

Once you have kitted yourself with the right gear for your snowboarding adventures there comes a point when it’s man (or woman!) against the slopes.

As a snowboarding beginner the environment will seem completely alien – and you soon realise that what you expected to be nice soft snow is usually compacted and about as soft as concrete! Safety gear, snowboarding helmet and warm dry clothing … check … now we have to actually get on the board!

Get yourself familiar with your board and the way it feels tobe strapped in. Unless you’ve been a skier this can also feel very odd. Your first time out find a nice quiet area away from other boarders and where it’s as flat as possible. Rest your board on the snow with the bindings face down to secure it. Now lean forward and turn the board towards you. Fasten your feet, front foot first, and be sure to tighten the bindings. A great way to get used to your snowboard is now to stand and raise it by lifting your attached foot. This is great practise for your balance and for feeling the weight and momentum of the board.

This may all seem very basic but these are the foundations or a beginner in snowboarding. Your board should be an extension of you and by taking time to get feel for it this way you will feel the rewards when you move up to movement and snowboarding tricks. (Walk before you try to run … or jump!)

It may seem to obvious to say but the best tip for a beginner to snowboarding is to get your stance right.

As you get more experienced you can of course adapt your stance and you’ll hear snowboarders talke about having a ‘goofy’ or ‘regular’ stance. This refers to the foot that you have in front as you point your board down forward the slope.

A good rule of thumb to help you work out your natural stance is to think of how you kick a ball. Which foot do you use? Right foot makes you goofy, if it’s left then you’re likely to be regular. My advice if your a beginner to snowboarding is to choose one to begin with and see how you get on.

In my first adventures in snowboarding I went goofy but as I improved I felt more stable and comfortable going down with left leg first – not how I kick a ball! What feels right and best for you will probably serve you best – like many things in snowboarding it’s all about the feel of it not what the textbooks tell you!

There are three basic measurements you need to look at when you are playing with your snowboard stance:

• stance setback
• stance width
• stance angles

Stance setback and stance width are usually set when you mount your bindings and then you leave them as they are but you can play with your stance angles to find out what feels best for you.

I won’t hit you with too much info here and talk about Alpine stance, Forward stance and Duck stance!

Tope tip to get your stance right? It’s all about the feel of it, and staying relaxed. Keep your knees ’soft’ – as in don’t lock them up -  and literally go with the flow as you move along the slopes.