# Help with snowboarding technique



## davoemavo (Aug 7, 2018)

Hi all,
I have snowboarded about 6 times over the last 3 seasons recreationally, with this season being the first i am actually taking it seriously and trying to improve. 
I have filmed my self on the slopes, and something about my technique just kinda irks me a bit. Can someone please analyse my footage and see what i can do to improve?
Here is the video: (sorry if the footage isnt the best)
Cheers all


EDIT: THe website doesnt allow me to post links. WHat do i do?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

You must make more posts until you meet the required threshold...like 4 more to go...Do Not waste them...they will go on your permanent record.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

davoemavo said:


> Hi all,
> I have snowboarded about 6 times over the last 3 seasons recreationally, with this season being the first i am actually taking it seriously and trying to improve.
> I have filmed my self on the slopes, and something about my technique just kinda irks me a bit. Can someone please analyse my footage and see what i can do to improve?
> Here is the video: (sorry if the footage isnt the best)
> ...


Yay! These threads are fun. It will be easy for me to tell you exactly how badly you suck, because so many people have told me how badly I suck that I can just pass the knowledge on.


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## davoemavo (Aug 7, 2018)

I posted my vid on youtube and its called 'me snowboarding' posted by 'dave meese' sorry about the hassle and thanks in advance


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

Ozzy tree riding would be cool, ever get enough snow to do that, and if so, where?

Can't say anything about your riding from that vid, get someone to followcam you or film from somewhere down slope instead. 

Or was that you infront there? If so, more wax, more lean, more edge pressure.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

The trees in the video look amazing. Where the hell are you? It looks like Monterey, California but with snow.

There's not much to suggest other than "go faster, ride more challenging slopes." It looks like you have the basics down pretty well. The slope isn't steep enough to improve much beyond where you are, especially if that dude on the left can casually walk down it carrying a board. 

Here are the things that you're doing well:

1. You're not standing too upright or riding really stiff. You look comfortable and loose.
2. You're not trying to turn the board with your upper body or arms. Your turns look natural.
3. You have no problem committing to turns and you're turning back and forth regularly and seem to be in control.

When you ride steeper terrain here's what I think might happen to you:

1. You'll forget to keep your knees bent and you'll stiffen up.
2. You'll be a bit timid to go fast and you'll inadvertently keep your weight back instead of keeping your weight centered/forward on the board.
3. You'll intuitively want to bleed off too much speed through turns and you'll start using your upper body to make very wide angle turns, like a windshield wiper.

If you can do what you're doing in this video on steeper terrain comfortably you'll be most of the way there.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

haha love the t-bar in the middle of the run...that could be fun

the usual, get more dynamic, bend the knees and find the creepy basement vid


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)




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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

First, you're too fast for your cameraman. Get a new cameraman. :grin:

Second, you're rotating your upper body when you are on toeside. Stick to looking ahead of you; you don't need to look downhill.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Whoa, this was so much better in widescreen. Feels like I'm there.


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## davoemavo (Aug 7, 2018)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, i have a vid from a slightly steeper slope and ill probably upload it tonight after school. The mountain is mt baw baw in australia. Its not very large but it gets the job done.


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## davoemavo (Aug 7, 2018)

Alright guys ive got a new vid up its called 'me snowboarding 2' on the same channel. Cheers guys


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

davoemavo said:


> Alright guys ive got a new vid up its called 'me snowboarding 2' on the same channel. Cheers guys


You could bend down a bit more and skid a bit less when turning, but I don't see anything that's fundamentally wrong with what you're doing. Practice and try to make short, quick turns while going in a straight line down the mountain (hill) if that makes sense.

If it doesn't make sense, imagine a straight red line that's the quickest way down the run you're on. Now try to stay as close as possible to that line while still staying on an edge. As you deviate from the line, get onto your other edge. The quicker you do this and the less your board turns while you switch edges, the better.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

All these videos are making me want to fly to the other side of the earth and snowboard.


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## buller_scott (Jun 10, 2018)

hey man, here's my 2 cents - this of it as complimentary to the advice that the other guys have provided.

* you look relaxed, with a good stance - that's a plus!
* there's one shot where you look quite back-biased, in terms of which leg your weight is on. i would focus on having your front leg bend MORE than your back leg.
* to my mind, your back hand being out like it is, is a symptom of too much counter rotation "this early" in your snowboard career.
^^^^on this note, i would focus on having your front hand out to guide you / direct you, with more weight on your front foot, so that you lead your shoulders, then hips, then knees and board, thus powering into your turns, rather than counter-rotating your upper and lower body [in an effort to "skid" the board around].
* i know it's hard in crowded Aus [if that's where you are - it looked like it], but give yourself time and room to really draw out your turns, so that they're nice, clean S's, rather than skidding the board around.
* an easy fix to get more weight over the front, would be to have slightly more forward lean on your left foot, than right [being regular-footed]. it'll take some getting used to, but i think you'll be pleasantly surprised
* in my holistic approach to general mountain etiquette [which does not exist in Australia, very generally speaking] - next time someone comes off a side run onto YOUR run, and almost hits you because they didnt look at traffic already on that run, push them over. 
^^^^ make sure to have a good breakfast that morning. if you're going to be pushing over all the rude, utterly oblivious c7nts that ski/ride in Oz, you're going to be getting a fantastic upper body workout - you won't need to lift weights or consume protein powders, in order to get ripped.


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## Denverdoggy (Jan 20, 2018)

One way to work on not rotating is to practice on something with a little incline at the base of the hill, skating. Bring your knee, shoulder and hip forward together, while looking forward over your shoulder. Practice bringing your weight back and forth, even with the board, while skating. When you get the feel of it, you'll know how to correct it riding. Lead with your hand when you're practicing if that helps.


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## buller_scott (Jun 10, 2018)

Denverdoggy said:


> One way to work on not rotating is to practice on something with a little incline at the base of the hill, skating. Bring your knee, shoulder and hip forward together, while looking forward over your shoulder. Practice bringing your weight back and forth, even with the board, while skating. When you get the feel of it, you'll know how to correct it riding. Lead with your hand when you're practicing if that helps.


haha, interesting!!! no one i have ever taught / will ever teach, will EVER get out of a couple of hours' worth of front-foot-only riding at the very start. to me, back foot out is the absolute fastest way to force an understanding of weight distribution on a snowboard. 

[i'm not an instructor, i just like how i was taught back in the day - much better than all the sh7t-covered falling leafs that are schlopping down all around you when you go up the hill these days].


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

Id go for both feet strapped in Learning to carve/keep your weight over the edge. Go slow, bend your knees and touch the snow, then find the balance there while you tilt the board. Turns are easy enough when you can do this in a straight line, just zigzag a few times before you let loose. There are some good threads on this forum about it already, and lotsa youtube vids, at least from the carving guy using wide boards and skipoles, cant remember his name right now. Snowboard+carving in search should trigger it.


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## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

speedjason said:


> All these videos are making me want to fly to the other side of the earth and snowboard.


I had the pleasure of snowboarding on the bottom of the planet back in 2002. Very cool experience. Trees are f*cking weird over there, felt like I was in Africa or something. Snow actually wasn't too bad but the season is very short. I was at Thredbo. If you have the cash to travel that far, go to Japan. It is much better there, but can't ride in July in Japan. :frown:


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## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

davoemavo said:


> Alright guys ive got a new vid up its called 'me snowboarding 2' on the same channel. Cheers guys


You look pretty good. You are skidding a bit, but not terrible especially since the conditions look less than ideal. Try to get a bit lower in turns, really bend the knees.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Besides getting more dynamic, i.e., getting up and down...See the creepy basement vid. You look plateaued, thus you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone. My recommendation is to just mob with others who are better and try to keep up. Don't worry so much about form....trust the board and more importantly trust your body. Your body already knows what to do...and you are coming to the stage where your your thinking can't think fast enough. You need to get beyond the rather cautious stage. Then later go back and make a few tweaks to clean up some techniques/skills. This mobbing is the first foray into or introduction to riding with wild abandon...push your limits but dont break yourself....ehmmm too badly.


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## Denverdoggy (Jan 20, 2018)

You just practice keeping your weight forward while skating flat on something easy. Not leaning back or forward. One less thing to worry about when you strap in. Not for hours.


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