# First real jump!!!



## KillerDave (Mar 11, 2013)

Hi Folks,

My wife, daughter and I are going away over Christmas for our very first Skiing/snowboarding holiday!

We are going to Arinsal in Andorra, it's a small place aimed mostly at the family (They are not so stong skiers)

They do have 1 park and I plan on spending some time there...

I have a question though...

So for, my experiance has been riding our indoor slope and going to park nights each week....

So... What should I expect when I'm standing at my first big jump???]#

How should I hit it? What should I look for???

Any advice would be great! I just don't wanna kill myself !!!

Many thanks,

David...


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Don't do anything too BIG, build up slowly, and always ensure you have enough speed, speed is you friend, so watch where others go from and what sort of speed they carry, slowing on an approach leaves you very likely to hit a knuckle and knuckles are BAD...

Don't push too hard, you will find your own pace with jumps, and just try to relax and not overthink things...


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Assuming you have the basics of jumping down already and hit all the smaller jumps first, the key thing with bigger jumps is to watch other people hit it and pay attention to their drop in spot + line.

A big jump is exactly the same as a smaller jump, except getting the speed right becomes even more crucial because knuckles and overshoots hurt way more (especially knuckles).

You should be watching other people hit the jump first and noting their drop in spot, their line, how much speed checks they do, whether they scrub speed off by spinning too early off the lip etc. etc. while seeing where they land.

If they overshoot take note, if they undershoot, also take note.

You want to know exactly where to drop in and what the perfect line into the jump is BEFORE you hit the jump so you get the right speed.

If you need to, do a test run of your line first and pull out before you fly off the jump, this can give you an idea of what the line feels like and also give you a feeling of whether it's fast enough or not.

Besides this, the fundamentals of a bigger jump are the same that you use for a smaller jump, just remember to ease into it and don't rush it.

If you feel you have the speed wrong, pull out of the run in and abort the attempt, don't try to forge ahead with the wrong speed. It's better to wait until the next run then to get the wrong speed on a jump and blow your ACL up.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I have a real problem with knuckling because I'm terrified of overshooting. So this season, I'm planning on spending an entire day shadowing people on approach to the Mystery jumps, until I can really feel the proper approach speed.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Donutz said:


> I have a real problem with knuckling because I'm terrified of overshooting. So this season, I'm planning on spending an entire day shadowing people on approach to the Mystery jumps, until I can really feel the proper approach speed.


That's a smart idea. As long as you follow people in who know what they're doing it's a very good way to get a feel for the right speed and to get used to the speed you need to take into jumps.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Confidence is key to jumping. If it's not there, you're going to bail. That's pretty much a given.

How do you build confidence? Hit the same size jumps you were hitting at your local park or indoor place. Get comfortable in a new park, on the same sized jumps, and then move up from there.

I suck at jumping, I over think it and get wigged out (and I've been boarding for 21 or so years now). The only way I'll hit 30 ft+ kickers is when I'm in "the zone". The way I get in the zone is to take a few laps through the park hitting the small and medium jumps. I get my legs under me, get comfortable with the snow conditions, etc. Then I head for the large jumps and hit them without overthinking it. I have knuckled a couple 30 footers because of the wrong takeoff speed, and live to tell about it, so don't put too much fear into jumping. Yes you can get VERY hurt, but if you think to much about it, you WILL get hurt.

Always reach for a grab in between the bindings, even if you don't successfully complete the grab. The motion of compressing yourself in the air helps stabilize you, and then you bring the landing gear down to absorb the impact.

Compressed:


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## KillerDave (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for all the advice guys, I do appreciate it...

Last week I had 4hrs of kicker training at my indoor slope from the guy the trained the GB Olympic team! :thumbsup:

Really helped out and one thing that did stand out was the set-up and commitment are almost everything!

It was still only a small jump but it was great to get the tuition I did...

He gave me a drop in point and I went in from there... and knuckled it!
The next run, I started 10' further up and that was it! No problems at all and we went onto spins... All good!


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