# New Snowboarder



## Northriver1 (Nov 24, 2013)

If your worried about breaking your arm you should get a pair of the gloves with the wrist guards built in, then dont worry about it and just have fun!....Goodluck!


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

or learn how to fall properly.


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## a4h Saint (Jan 24, 2013)

speedjason said:


> or learn how to fall properly.


He is not joking. Train yourself not to instinctively throw out your arms, it is weird, but it works. If you just cannot do it then get wrist guards as your other reply says.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Hannum said:


> I am a skier and today i tried out snowboarding. My friend broke his arm when he fell so that's kinda making me scared to fall so now i have a fear of going fast i am terrified to even get off the bunny hill so any tips would be helpful.


As mentioned, it's all about learning to fall properly and safely and staying within a 'safe-ish' margin of risk.

There are two main golden rules to remember when falling while snowboarding:

*Rule 1) *Don't stick your hands out in front or behind you to break your fall. Your natural reaction is to do this, but with snowboarding you have to train yourself to stop doing it.

Things like wrist fractures, dislocations etc tend to happen a lot more because people stick their hands out and the force of impact bends their arms in ways it's not meant to bend.

It's much safer to take the impact with everything tucked in and close to your body when you fall and just let your whole body take the fall instead of trying to break your fall with your hands.

So for example, if you fall forwards, you'd want to keep your hands and arms tucked up against your chest and fall with your forearms braced against your chest instead of falling onto your hands/wrists like you'd normally want to do. Instead of falling onto your wrist, then you'd be falling onto your braced forearms and chest, which is a lot less risky.

*Rule 2) Go with the fall.*

With most falls, the best idea is to go with the fall. What I mean by this is you don't want to fight against whatever direction you're falling and try to stop suddenly, instead you want to just tuck your arms in and let your body go with the fall and let the force get absorbed by the slope as you slide down the snow.

This is why you'll notice if you watch advanced riders in the park falling on jumps or even just on normal runs they'll just relax and slide down the landing before getting back up if they fall. They don't fight against the fall because most times it's better to just let the slope and snow absorb the impact instead of trying to fight it and breaking an arm in the process.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

speed knitting


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> speed knitting


LOL! That would do it!

....at the risk of scaring the skier even further,  ...and possibly jacking the thread. It occurred to me to ask if when falling "properly." Has anyone else ever had any trouble with whiplash type issues afterward?

I've noticed on a few occasions after some fairly hard slams, that for the next few days I can sometimes experience a fair amount of pain in the muscles in and around my neck. Specifically the sides of my neck or even down into/around my collar bone and the upper part of my sternum. Both with, or without having hit my my head. 

I attributed this to tensing up and trying to keep my helmeted melon from smacking the hardpack. Anyone else had this problem? (....or am I just likely carrying around a big assed pumkin' perched on a "bendy straw?") lol!

I was wondering about this because when falling properly, with extremities tucked in close. I would think the head and neck have a higher probability of being whipped/snapped one way or t'uther as the upper body hits the ground! I assume it's probably worse/more likely to occur like this while wearing a helmet due to the extra weight my neck is trying to support/steady in a fall?

Any thoughts?


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## Rasse (Dec 12, 2013)

chomps1211 said:


> LOL! That would do it!
> 
> ....at the risk of scaring the skier even further,  ...and possibly jacking the thread. It occurred to me to ask if when falling "properly." Has anyone else ever had any trouble with whiplash type issues afterward?
> 
> ...


Been there, done that. Both with or without hitting my head. I guess it's the helmet that makes it even harder for the muscles. Anyway, better having a helmet and a sore neck than no helmet and a cracked skull:laugh:


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## shauna03 (Nov 12, 2013)

Every sport has its own risks. Sure, snowboarding may be a little more extreme than other sports, but if you take the precautions mentioned above, you'll have much less of a risk of injury. 

When it comes to going too fast, I suggest trying some slopes falling-leaf style, until you get comfortable, and you can judge the steepness of the slope. And if you should decide that it's too much and that freeriding isn't for you just yet, maybe try your hand in the park with some beginner moves. It can be just as fun.

Just take baby steps if you need to, and try not to let your fears keep you from having a great time snowboarding, because it can really be a lot of fun!!


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

speedjason said:


> or learn how to fall properly.


This. You're gonna fall. I don't care how good you get, you're still gonna go down occasionally if you're pushing yourself and having fun.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

save the titties...grab you mammies...no wacky da racky...meaning fist your hands up to your chest.
tuck, get compact try to hit with the biggest body part and stay loose
if going backwards...try to sit down...but on one cheek/hip or the other...save the tail bone...and roll back
if blasting, drop in the knees and get low...slide it out...burning off speed
go down at an angle to glance and slide


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## kaborkian (Feb 1, 2010)

Skeletools shorts

Volleyball knee pads

Level halfpipe gloves


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## jml22 (Apr 10, 2012)

I agree, full padding will make you progress faster because you'll be able to fall.
We've all had that one fall that pretty much ended our day psychologically.
I wish i had bubble wrap around my entire body when i started learning, it was rough.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

chomps1211 said:


> Has anyone else ever had any trouble with whiplash type issues afterward?
> 
> I've noticed on a few occasions after some fairly hard slams, that for the next few days I can sometimes experience a fair amount of pain in the muscles in and around my neck. Specifically the sides of my neck or even down into/around my collar bone and the upper part of my sternum. Both with, or without having hit my my head.





Rasse said:


> Been there, done that. Both with or without hitting my head. I guess it's the helmet that makes it even harder for the muscles. Anyway, better having a helmet and a sore neck than no helmet and a cracked skull:laugh:


+1
Know this from snowboarding, horseriding and kitesurfing - all with helmet. If it would be less severe without, I don't wanna find out - helmet saved my life several times while crashing horseriding.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

neni said:


> +1
> Know this from snowboarding, horseriding and kitesurfing - all with helmet. If it would be less severe without, I don't wanna find out - helmet saved my life several times while crashing horseriding.


Oh yeah! Don't mistake my intention. I wasn't suggesting getting rid of a helmet just because it adds some weight or might contribute to the whiplash pain. I was just curious if anyone else had experienced this issue.


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## Fewdfreak (May 13, 2013)

I had whiplash-type pain for weeks after slamming on my back and hitting my head hard after riding switch fast on a flattish icy hill. Sucked the next day when it set in but I am fairly certain I would have been knocked out cold or worse if I didn't have the helmet on. Helmets may be restrictive but worth it. 

Otherwise like others have said fall smart. I try to bail on my butt if I can but even that can get painful. I also try to ride with my fists balled if possible bc I always seem to jam my fingers or thumbs back if I go down with an extended hand.



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## Magnum626 (Dec 31, 2009)

chomps1211 said:


> LOL! That would do it!
> 
> ... Has anyone else ever had any trouble with whiplash type issues afterward?
> 
> ...


Whiplash. No matter how hard you try to hold your head still there'll always be some movement in the muscles in your neck. And yes you can get muscle strain from tensing up as well. So the answer is both.. :yahoo:

What if my fear is not being able to fall down correctly? lol


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## Fewdfreak (May 13, 2013)

Magnum626 said:


> What if my fear is not being able to fall down correctly? lol


Lol. I think beginners learn this lesson pretty quick. When I am riding the lift I always play spot the newbs and call who will crash and while it's an easy task looking for the rotated body, leant back on straight legs, wobby bobbily posture accented by the unzipped jacket and pants tucked inside boots, you get to see some epic slams... 


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## caribchakita (Jan 20, 2014)

I started snowboarding this weekend. Used to ski and have been windsurfing since 97. I have never ever experienced such pain from multiple intense falls. Day 2 was way better. I did not learn how to fall. I suppose that will be in lesson 3. Everyone said get butt pads. I wish I headed their advice. I cannot even sit properly, but am hooked.


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## ThisIsSnow (Dec 7, 2013)

Fewdfreak said:


> Lol. I think beginners learn this lesson pretty quick. When I am riding the lift I always play spot the newbs and call who will crash and while it's an easy task looking for the rotated body, leant back on straight legs, wobby bobbily posture accented by the unzipped jacket and pants tucked inside boots, you get to see some epic slams..


It's pretty easy to predict when they will fall, too - you can tell when the back of the board is going to kick out within the next second, or that they're going to catch an edge and do a faceplant :laugh:



but yes, buttpads and wrist guards (or knowing how to fall).
I didn't have this wisdom to go on when I started, but whenever i fell backwards I would sort of dig into the snow with my heel edge and push hard so that instead of landing straight down on my tailbone I sort of slid on the snow. Seemed to help with the pain.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

ThisIsSnow said:


> It's pretty easy to predict when they will fall, too - you can tell when the back of the board is going to kick out within the next second, or that they're going to catch an edge and do a faceplant :laugh:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


my favorite part is just watch some noobs riding perfectly straight and then they lean more and more and more back to a point they just sit down with their board pointing straight down. they just slide all the way down like that lol.:bowdown:


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## ThisIsSnow (Dec 7, 2013)

they're just doing a tail press with tail grab! :yahoo:


also, slightly different issue but i've seen some women wear those long down coat things while skiing.
like this:


Spoiler















how the hell are you supposed to pizza well in that?!


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## Jessev2x (Jan 21, 2014)

I just started to snowboard and like others have mentioned, you want to just go with the fall. Do not try to fight it because it seems like you could get an arm/wrist/ knee/leg caught up and bamm that is where injury happens. 
I fell a lot the first time around, and my main concern was learning how to fall. I do not want to break anything! 
I fell a couple times where I just sorta glided down the mountain without feeling hurt.


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## Fewdfreak (May 13, 2013)

LOL We have a ton of those church types at my hill that wear the long dresses over the ski pants. Not sure how they pizza but there are a few of the teenage girls that manage to kill it on the skis in those and hit like the 40 footer and everything...:icon_scratch:


ThisIsSnow said:


> they're just doing a tail press with tail grab! :yahoo:
> 
> 
> also, slightly different issue but i've seen some women wear those long down coat things while skiing.
> ...


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