# I have no style and very little technique...can you critique my riding style?



## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

keep in mind this is like my second time ever holding a GoPro while riding. basically just riding groomers here and speed checking every once in awhile since i wasn't completely comfortable holding the camera. 

i feel confident on heel and toe but i seem to ride my edges and kind of skid turn every once in awhile to speed check. 

thanks guys. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSrkaqwtPCQ


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## Soul06 (Dec 18, 2010)

Riding on your edges are how you are supposed to be riding. So thats fine but you did appear to skid out all your turns instead of getting any smooth carving in. Does the speed make you nervous? I can't tell quite how fast you were going but you seemed to get nervous when you accelerated.

And I'm sure far better instructors and others with technical explanations are soon to chime in.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

ur abit rotated open in the shoulders, gots the invisable girlfriend, kind of sliding/ruddering the rear leg, not dynamic in the knees...and perhaps because of the gopro....doesn't look to be carving...just kind of swishing the tail back and forth...cause i didn't see any railing carves where ur getting angulated in the knees/hips. it seems ur not comfortable with railing speed and perhaps rightfully so because of lack of technique....intermediate level riding


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ur abit rotated open in the shoulders, gots the invisable girlfriend, kind of sliding/ruddering the rear leg, not dynamic in the knees...and perhaps because of the gopro....doesn't look to be carving...just kind of swishing the tail back and forth...cause i didn't see any railing carves where ur getting angulated in the knees/hips. it seems ur not comfortable with railing speed and perhaps rightfully so because of lack of technique....intermediate level riding


damn. ok. this is good insight. 

now, where can i learn to correct these issues? 

i've been riding, technically, since i was 17, i am 28 now. but i live in NJ and probably right 3-4x/year at MOST. some years, maybe 1x. 

i am really looking to improve as much as possible. thanks.


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## Adam718 (Jan 15, 2015)

njfastlfie said:


> damn. ok. this is good insight.
> 
> now, where can i learn to correct these issues?
> 
> ...


You should be riding way more than 1-4x a year. Repetition is what makes you better at anything. If you ride one day, start to feel a little comfortable with speed or carving, then take a month off and ride again, most likely you aren't going to be continuing your progression. Try to make it to the hill once a week and youll see that after 3 weeks you're going to progress enough to motivate you to go more often.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

Adam718 said:


> You should be riding way more than 1-4x a year. Repetition is what makes you better at anything. If you ride one day, start to feel a little comfortable with speed or carving, then take a month off and ride again, most likely you aren't going to be continuing your progression. Try to make it to the hill once a week and youll see that after 3 weeks you're going to progress enough to motivate you to go more often.


i know man it is tough. i am more than 2 1/2 hours from any decent hills and closer to 4 for anything "good"


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

ohhh...i'd think you'd have 11 years in...but ya, if you want to progress you got to go more often....like at least 1x/wk and at least 15+ days a year. as for my gezzerly self...it takes me 4-5 days to get back to where I left off the year before....generally going 1x/wk...for around 25 and hopefully more days/season.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

SGboarder said:


> Spend time riding instead of obsessing about gear.
> Spend money on lessons instead of on more gear.


huh?

i definitely don't think i need lessons and what do you know/care about what i spend money on?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Agreed...a lesson or two will certianly progress/get you to the next level...take a lesson in the morning and use it in the afternoon.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Taking lessons from a good instructor can fix small problems quickly. They will be able to see what you're doing wrong and on spot instruct you away from the bad habits.....


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

njfastlfie said:


> huh?
> 
> i definitely don't think i need lessons and what do you know/care about what i spend money on?


Other than pro snowboarders, pretty much everybody benefits from taking lessons - some of the most advanced riders I know regularly take lessons/coaching.

I do not care what you spend your money on - but you asked how to improve your riding. Simple and honest answer is that taking lessons and riding more are by far the most important factors to achieve that - rather than investing in gear, debating boot flex and mid vs. base layers on a this forum, etc.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

Argo said:


> Taking lessons from a good instructor can fix small problems quickly. They will be able to see what you're doing wrong and on spot instruct you away from the bad habits.....


never knew this. thought instructors were mainly for very beginners. 

wonder if there are any decent ones here on the east coast.


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## larrytbull (Oct 30, 2013)

njfastlfie said:


> never knew this. thought instructors were mainly for very beginners.
> 
> wonder if there are any decent ones here on the east coast.


I usually take at least one lesson each year. Money well spent.
They help keep me on track. I am still in intermediate riding, I see the benefit at each lesson.

If Pocono's are not too far for you,, and $$ is a concern take a group lesson, most times their intermediate snowboard group lessons consist of just you and the instructor and cost around $30. Just like a private lesson only cheaper.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

The hard part is the 'good instructor'. When you don't have a home mountain that you hit frequently and have a chance to get to know the snow school it's hit or miss.

At your age unless it's people you know you don't want to be stuck in a group lesson with a bunch of kids. For one thing, you'll learn differently. What you need is someone who isn't afraid to point out what you are doing wrong and will grill you on it. Instructors will tend not to do that with kids, rightly so.

That brings you to privates. So at $100+ a pop make sure you talk to them so they can pair you up with the right person.

Consider some trips to Catamount or Butternut. They are right on the NY/MA border. Well over an hour closer to you than Mt Snow. They aren't epic mountains at 1000' vertical so you aren't going to go back to work on Monday and talk about your amazing trip, but are way cheaper ($250 for a season pass) and closer so you can up your frequency.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

f00bar said:


> The hard part is the 'good instructor'. When you don't have a home mountain that you hit frequently and have a chance to get to know the snow school it's hit or miss.
> 
> At your age unless it's people you know you don't want to be stuck in a group lesson with a bunch of kids. For one thing, you'll learn differently. What you need is someone who isn't afraid to point out what you are doing wrong and will grill you on it. Instructors will tend not to do that with kids, rightly so.
> 
> ...


thanks man. i have only been to Hunter, Windham, Belleayre and Plattekill for more local mountains. 

i will check those 2 out.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

You ride fairly good, you just need to ride more and fix a few things. If you don't get a lesson then you need to ride with someone that is better than you and has the style that you like. When you ride with someone better than you they push you to be better and monkey see monkey do type of situation. I meet people every time I go, usually on a chair lift or the gondi and I end up riding with them if I'm solo. The more you work to improve the more you will improve.


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## Jamesinvt (Jan 30, 2014)

First off, watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvADH_dLb4w

When I watch you ride I am not seeing fluid carving. What you want to focus on is kicking up as little snow as possible while covering lots of ground laterally. When you see your tracks, they should be a single solid line, with very little rough snow. They should also be circular and tangent. 

Figuring these things out really helped my riding personally. I watch other people ride who are way better than me, and study their moves. Getting a lesson in would probably be a good way to fast track this if you don't have a local mountain to practice.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

Jamesinvt said:


> First off, watch this video:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvADH_dLb4w
> 
> ...


ah ok. i often find myself actually trying to kick up a lot of snow. for some reason it reminds me of surfing and hitting the lip. so i guess i kind of snowboarding in a surf-y, skate-y type way. 

thanks though! will work on it.


damn that dude can ride!!


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## Extazy (Feb 27, 2014)

f00bar said:


> The hard part is the 'good instructor'. When you don't have a home mountain that you hit frequently and have a chance to get to know the snow school it's hit or miss.
> 
> At your age unless it's people you know you don't want to be stuck in a group lesson with a bunch of kids. For one thing, you'll learn differently. What you need is someone who isn't afraid to point out what you are doing wrong and will grill you on it. Instructors will tend not to do that with kids, rightly so.
> 
> ...


I agree with good instructor part! I had lessons at Hunter mountain and Killington. At Hunter I didnt really like instructor instead of focusing on teaching he kept telling jokes and other "snowboard" related stories. In Killington instructor was very focused on teaching, but he was also very young and was easy with criticizing me. Maybe it's just me, I am just anal about everything and want to get most out of my money. I am going to try get a lesson this week in Windham see how it goes.

PS. all my lessons were group lessons, but out of 4 I had 2 of them one on one! 1 lesson had only 2 people and 1 had 3 people.

If you go on weekdays and take early lesson there is a high chance you will be the only person so it's almost like a privet lessons, it's just shorter. At the end of the lessons instructor also gives you a brochure with something like 50% or 25% off a privet lesson with him/her. My "privet" lesson at Killington was just lucky timing. It was weekend before Christmas and it wasn't crowded at all. There were a lot of skiers taking lessons, but only a few snowboarders and all except me were beginners, so I got lucky


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

That's actually a good point about timing. Both times I've taken lessons I ended up with a private for the cost of a group. This is where age actually helps. They'll often times put you off on your own rather than mix you with the kids.

Beginning of the year is also great because the season is young and they have a ton of instructors they want to give experience to to get them prepped for xmas.

The nice thing about Butternut is you buy lesson vouchers that don't expire, even between seasons. Beginning of the year I bought a 4 pack which got me one free. Every time I go I go over to the school and talk to them to see what they have available. There's a few instructors I really like, if they aren't available I just don't use it that day.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2015)

Dynamic riding...........go on youtube, watch the videos. 

Practice and then take a lesson to get critiqued. 


(I have personally been riding since 1990 and have seen it all, in and outside the USA)



The other thing no one has talked about is comfort level. You are obviously riding beyond your comfort level in relation to speed and technique is going out the window. Its the ride fast mentality because you think that makes you a better rider, then throw on the breaks when you have reached a speed you are not comfortable with. 


Slow down, start simple..........start making almost "C" style turns which eventually linked will be like an S. Focus on staying on an edge at all times. Once you watch the Dynamic riding videos, you will see how your edge to edge transition is almost making you stay on edge the whole time.

You will be riding slower while you practice, much slower but the technique will pay off. You transition that technique to double black east coast runs or out west or PNW, then you will see who the better rider is in the long run. It is harder too ride super steep terrain slow with proper technique then it is to ride it fast and out of control


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## SkullAndXbones (Feb 24, 2014)

in my opinion it wasn't that bad. it was just a lot of skidding. your weight seemed pretty centered. try making wider turns and really digging into your carves. you'll feel your edge lock in and kind of sling shot you into the next turn.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

SkullAndXbones said:


> in my opinion it wasn't that bad. it was just a lot of skidding. your weight seemed pretty centered. try making wider turns and really digging into your carves. you'll feel your edge lock in and kind of sling shot you into the next turn.


funny you mention that. in this video i was definitely going too fast. i think i was just trying to make it look cool for the video. 

once i put the camera away i was really trying to push into my turns and at one point was even able to grab the bottom of the board on a heelside carve. 

felt really good, the conditions were ripe for that. i am usually not so lucky. 

i think i am entrapped in the speed is everything mindset since the kid i usually rides with is trying to bomb the hill at 50mph+. i don't find that fun but i do want to keep up.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

f00bar said:


> ….That brings you to privates. So at $100+ a pop make sure you talk to them so they can pair you up with the right person.
> 
> *Consider some trips to Catamount or Butternut. They are right on the NY/MA border. Well over an hour closer to you* than Mt Snow. They aren't epic mountains at 1000' vertical so you aren't going to go back to work on Monday and talk about your amazing trip....


+1000 on getting to a hill, _ANY_ hill a lot more often! I am a 4.5 hour drive to the biggest hill near me and it's only got 500ft of vert to it. I didn't get 28 days, +/- in my first 2.5 months of riding by going there! I got those days by hitting the 300ft repurposed trash heap that is our local as often as I could! I even went so far as to take my board out strap in and ride on a few little toboggan hills close to home! These hills are so small I could only get maybe 2-3 quick turns before coming to a halt. Then it was unstrap, climb up, do it again! At the time it seemed hardly worth the trouble! :dunno:

However,.. I am certain that by doing all that, as well as by taking a couple of well timed lessons in my first 2 seasons? This allowed me to make the most out of committing to memory, muscle and sensory, the skills and progress I made after learning to link those first few turns. (…a lot of balance training in the off season doesn't hurt either!)  

Good luck & Get out there!! 
:hairy:


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## Jamesinvt (Jan 30, 2014)

njfastlfie said:


> ah ok. i often find myself actually trying to kick up a lot of snow. for some reason it reminds me of surfing and hitting the lip. so i guess i kind of snowboarding in a surf-y, skate-y type way.
> 
> thanks though! will work on it.
> 
> ...


Carving like this will keep your speed in check so that you don't need to kick up snow. However, you still can still pull off slasher's for style. But when you do that, it's not necessarily going to stop you. Once you get carving down, you'll be able to get low and grab your board during hard turns. You can also choose to quickly shift your boards direction and cause massive amounts of snow to spray out, which is slashing. The trick is to do this for long enough that it causes a giant spray, but not too long that you lose much speed. Done right, you'll fly right through the cloud of snow. It's super fun and on powder days you can create ridiculously big clouds.


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

Looks like your having a blast.

Ride more, keep at it.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

chomps1211 said:


> +1000 on getting to a hill, _ANY_ hill a lot more often! I am a 4.5 hour drive to the biggest hill near me and it's only got 500ft of vert to it. I didn't get 28 days, +/- in my first 2.5 months of riding by going there! I got those days by hitting the 300ft repurposed trash heap that is our local as often as I could! I even went so far as to take my board out strap in and ride on a few little toboggan hills close to home! These hills are so small I could only get maybe 2-3 quick turns before coming to a halt. Then it was unstrap, climb up, do it again! At the time it seemed hardly worth the trouble! :dunno:
> 
> :hairy:


Looking at tracesnow I get about 3m a run. Plenty of time to practice and progress, though it seems ridiculously short compared to the 20m runs I did with my son at Okemo (it's a long winding mountain road from summit to base that he likes because he can do his flat spins until he goes dizzy).

The key to enjoying a small mountain is setting expectations on what you want out of them. You're there because it's fun to ride and you want to progress. Not because you're looking for some amazing gopro moments "worthy" of youtube and 15 minute Monday morning water cooler discussions.

Some people can't be bothered with that so they end up making weekly road trips and spending gobs of money. And that is what works for them. There's no way I could afford the time or money to do that and luckily I'm happy with the alternative.


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## augie (Mar 14, 2012)

I ride that way when I am tired and have to get somewhere fast on a groomed run. In those scenarios, form goes out the window, carving anything more than a subtle rocking from edge to edge takes too much speed off, or my legs are too tired to hold an edge at high speeds and the board skips. Throwing my back leg out for a skidded speed check is just easier in that scenario.

but, I don't like riding that way often. This may sound strange, but I have a little sticker of a cartoon character who is a spring with eyes, actually the tien coilover logo, on the tips of my snowboard. He reminds me to compress my body when changing edges and to extend my body through the carve. He also reminds me to keep my knees bent towards the end of the day when I am getting lazy. Stay springy.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2015)

njfastlfie said:


> funny you mention that. in this video i was definitely going too fast. i think i was just trying to make it look cool for the video.
> 
> once i put the camera away i was really trying to push into my turns and at one point was even able to grab the bottom of the board on a heelside carve.
> 
> ...




Did you mean to quote me??


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

golfer1659 said:


> Did you mean to quote me??


i think i did. i forget. :hairy:


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