# Need help landing Frontside 5 (been practicing on medium jumps)



## Littlebigdreams (Jan 27, 2011)

I've been working on FS 5 a long time now so I think I've almost got everything right, except the landing part :facepalm1:

Due to super crappy conditions this year I'm only able to practice on a medium step-up jump, which is fine because it feels like just the perfect size for this. 

Right now I've finally gotten comfortable with speed and understood pop, so I can clear the flat part by about 1-2 meters which means that I should be in the sweet spot for landing every time. I'm also aware of separating the lower half body with the top half so that my board leaves the lip pointing straight, and i do pop upwards to keep myself more stable in the air.

So almost every time, I drop in from the left (I ride regular), build decent speed (1 speed check max), transition up the lip on toe side, switch to heel side just before leaving the lip, pop up, turn (almost effortless to get the 540 around), and once it's time to land I feel my legs touching the snow, then my butt sits down, then I get back up and ride away... I don't screw up any other way, it's identical every single time I try the 540 on the jump. I've been trying to add an indy grab while in the air but the same thing still happens (although I do feel more stable so I'll keep doing it). 

One thing I've been wondering is that every time I finish the 540 and am about to land, I land with my heel side. Most videos online recommend landing with my toe side. Is this going to help?

I don't have any videos at the moment, but I'll try to upload something and ask for review. Does this sound familiar to anyone and is there any tips to help me finally figure this trick out?


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## Brewtown (Feb 16, 2014)

Ive yet to land a clean 5 so take what I have to say with a grain of salt but ive experienced what your desrcibing. My problem is that unless I get over on my toe edge I tend to keep my weight back and shoulders open rather than balanced over the board which = instant wash out. If you have no problem with the roatation and just cant stick the landing I would work on perfecting fs 180s as its the same landing.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Learn big front 180's first. It'll teach you to remain flat at the apex of your air so you don't develop a habit of getting off axis during your 540's.


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## Littlebigdreams (Jan 27, 2011)

Extremo said:


> Learn big front 180's first. It'll teach you to remain flat at the apex of your air so you don't develop a habit of getting off axis during your 540's.


That's a thought, I'll starting to work on that ASAP. Come to think of it I rarely jump front 180's. Thanks!


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## sheepstealer (Aug 19, 2009)

Its tough to give advice w/ out seeing a video. I’m almost hesitant to give out advice b/c you’ve already got some and you shouldn’t overthink this but here it is anyways…

If you’re washing out to your butt on landing it makes me think that you’re not leaving the lip centered over your board, and you might be leaning too far in to the heel-side setup with your core (essentially meaning your butt/upper body is too far over your heel ede), which will get you slightly off axis and cause you to land heel-heavy, resulting in a washout to the butt. Snomie.com has a great (free) backside-3 tutorial which goes over that issue (it’s for a bs 3 but the concept is similar…). 

Grabbing indy/mute should help too.


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## Littlebigdreams (Jan 27, 2011)

sheepstealer said:


> Its tough to give advice w/ out seeing a video. I’m almost hesitant to give out advice b/c you’ve already got some and you shouldn’t overthink this but here it is anyways…
> 
> If you’re washing out to your butt on landing it makes me think that you’re not leaving the lip centered over your board, and you might be leaning too far in to the heel-side setup with your core (essentially meaning your butt/upper body is too far over your heel ede), which will get you slightly off axis and cause you to land heel-heavy, resulting in a washout to the butt. Snomie.com has a great (free) backside-3 tutorial which goes over that issue (it’s for a bs 3 but the concept is similar…).
> 
> Grabbing indy/mute should help too.


I think that's my problem as well. I'll try to take some videos tomorrow to take a careful look.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

Honestly it sounds to me like commitment. You have no problem with setup turns and getting the rotation around, it just sounds like when you go to land your legs buckle and you wash out. 
I've spent a lot of days practicing this trick and before my injury and relocation/full time work life I could land it pretty consistently. At first, I did exactly what you did and washed it almost every time on my heel. One night I was with my buddies and had a drink or two in me, just ripping some casual park laps. I went to try it again on the ~30 footer and just stuck it. Had it in my mind that I was going to land and ride away no matter what and just dug that edge in on landing and kept my legs strong. 
Once you get past that initial mental block and believe you can land it, you focus more on keeping your legs strong no matter what. 
Afterwards I started landing them at a much higher rate, I mean I would revert or come up short sometimes but if I had the right jump and was in the zone I was pretty consistent. 
Just keep at it and you'll get it


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

He shouldn't be landing heal edge. If he is, he's leaning too far back, probably from following the angle of the lip. Learning front 180s will teach him how to jump flat and to his toes. The 540 should be landed the same way.


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## Littlebigdreams (Jan 27, 2011)

Being an idiot I posted the link of the video in a different thread. someone already helped give me some tips but I figured I should put the link in the correct thread anyway =( 



> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0EUMfp1Kbk
> 
> I had a friend snap an attempt
> 
> ...


I was recommended to learn to lock my core muscles when I pop off the lip, and that is the proper way to bring my legs up to my chest (which I have trouble doing). Any other tips appreciated!


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

You're just not getting the 540. Unwind by throwing your arms more before pulling them into your body. That's a small jump for a 5, you'll need all the spin you can get to get it around.


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## stillz (Jan 5, 2010)

I'm not spinning 5's yet, but what allowed me to level out my 3's and incorporate grabs was to use a smaller upper body movement to get the spin around. I had been throwing 3's on flat ground, and needed a big wind up to get them around. On even very small features, that much wind up was unnecessary. With the way I was winding up, you'd be thinking I was attempting something big. Now I use a less aggressive movement and the grabs are coming naturally. I think that jump is plenty big enough to get a 5 around. It just might not look slow motion floaty.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

See the arms on this 720 at the 35 second mark? You should be using the same technique, just frontside, and maybe even a little harder on a small jump like you're hitting. You're clearing the knuckle, so the speed is good, you're just not getting the spin around. Create spinning momentum more with your arms.


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## stillz (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks, very good visual. So if I'm getting this Extremo, the arms are extended while to create more rotational inertia, and then pulled in as you take off for a faster spin. I also like how he said in the video to not throw the shoulders. That's kind of what I was trying to get at in my previous post. More relaxed shoulders and better timing made my 3's way better/more level and put 5's on my radar.

Having looked at littlebig's 540 again, you can definitely see his hands are close to his body as he creates the spin. A more extended arm position at takeoff followed by a more compact position in the air would create more spin. It would probably also require more core strength to keep it stable and level.


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## RIDERUK (Oct 22, 2014)

Extremo said:


> He shouldn't be landing heal edge. If he is, he's leaning too far back, probably from following the angle of the lip. Learning front 180s will teach him how to jump flat and to his toes. The 540 should be landed the same way.


I'm a bit stuck on this.
So on a front 3 you'd want to land on your toes to stop the rotation, so on a front 5 wouldn't you want to land on heels?

Same as backside 3 I would have thought was stomp onto heels?


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

RIDERUK said:


> I'm a bit stuck on this.
> So on a front 3 you'd want to land on your toes to stop the rotation, so on a front 5 wouldn't you want to land on heels?
> 
> Same as backside 3 I would have thought was stomp onto heels?


You always land toes. See how in the video he's coming around frontside to the landing and landing on his toes. It's the same landing as a front 5.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

stillz said:


> Thanks, very good visual. So if I'm getting this Extremo, the arms are extended while to create more rotational inertia, and then pulled in as you take off for a faster spin. I also like how he said in the video to not throw the shoulders. That's kind of what I was trying to get at in my previous post. More relaxed shoulders and better timing made my 3's way better/more level and put 5's on my radar.
> 
> Having looked at littlebig's 540 again, you can definitely see his hands are close to his body as he creates the spin. A more extended arm position at takeoff followed by a more compact position in the air would create more spin. It would probably also require more core strength to keep it stable and level.


Once you get the technique of generating more momentum with your arms, you'll figure out real quick how much windup you'll need and how much is too much...and how much to open up or stay closed to control your spin. It'll just come naturally as you learn it.


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